The place for membership & association professionals

Reports & research for membership leaders.

Benchmarks, strategy papers and industry research — curated by Membership World and free to download.

Research Benchmarking

The Global Membership Economy Report — 1st Edition

2026 Gordon Glenister Membership World · The Research Concierge

The first authoritative framework for defining, classifying and sizing the global membership sector, published by Membership World with The Research Concierge. Across the US, UK, Canada and Australia it identifies 43,000–52,000 active associations employing 611,000+ people and generating $88–92bn in annual revenues — with a four-layer taxonomy spanning professional bodies, civil society, institutional communities and commercial subscriptions.

Download report PDF · 10 pages · 448 KB

Member Benefits Benchmarking

Member Benefits Benchmark Report 2026

2026 Parliament Hill · Membership World

Parliament Hill and Membership World explore the expectations, engagement trends and value drivers shaping membership organisations in 2026 — drawing on platform data from 1.4 million active users and nearly 1,900 campaigns across 100+ UK membership organisations. Members are choosing, not browsing: shopping, travel and wellbeing benefits dominate, and a 47% average email open rate shows members act when communication is relevant.

Download report PDF · 51 pages · 15 MB

Events Destinations

Why Switzerland Should Be Your Next Conference Destination

2026 Gordon Glenister Membership World · Switzerland Tourism

A strategic report for associations and membership bodies, written by Gordon Glenister with Switzerland Tourism. World-class venues, direct global connectivity, political neutrality and sustainability leadership — plus cost-mitigation strategies and destination-by-destination guidance for AGMs, summits and congresses.

Download report PDF · 17 pages · 3.6 MB

Benchmarking Research

2026 Membership Performance Benchmark Report

2026 iMIS · ASI

The 11th annual iMIS benchmark survey of 400+ association and membership professionals. Retention up sharply (45% of organisations improved, vs 32% last year), 61% grew new-member acquisition, and data-driven organisations are pulling ahead — with best-practice strategies across technology, acquisition, retention and engagement.

Download report PDF · 23 pages · 1.1 MB

Research Engagement

Bridging the Gap: Aligning Association Professionals and Members for Success

2025 Momentive Software · Edge Research

Momentive Software's 10th-anniversary survey with Edge Research reveals the misalignments between association professionals and their members. Loyalty is up — but nearly half of members rate career development as very important while fewer than 1 in 4 professionals recognise it, and the report digs into dues patterns, digital transformation and events strategy.

Download report PDF · 43 pages · 1.4 MB

Volunteering Guides

How Does Volunteering Help Employees

2023 Gordon Glenister Membership World

A Membership World guide to why volunteering works — for people and for organisations. How to build a volunteer strategy, recruit the right volunteers, and handle non-performing volunteers with confidence.

Download report PDF · 17 pages · 2 MB

Events Destinations

Introduction to Bristol & Bath

2023 Gordon Glenister Membership World

A destination guide from Membership World: two of the Southwest's most distinctive cities, 11 minutes apart by train — Bristol's innovation, street art and harbourside venues alongside Bath's UNESCO World Heritage elegance — and why the region is a compelling home for conferences and member events.

Download report PDF · 18 pages · 14 MB

Events Destinations

MICE Destination: The Algarve

2022 Gordon Glenister Membership World · Algarve Tourism

The Algarve as a destination for congresses, meetings, incentives and product launches, in association with Membership World and Algarve Tourism — 300+ days of sun, major congress centres from Vilamoura to Lagoa, four- and five-star hotels and the services to host a successful member event.

Download report PDF · 16 pages · 3.8 MB