What better way to benchmark ourselves than to look to our peers and colleagues? It inspired us to produce a series of annual surveys looking at the ‘who’, ‘what’, why’ and ‘how’ of online engagement and the use of onsite communities. The first, last month covered the charity sector and the second published this month is for professional membership bodies. In each report we’ve studied over 100 similar UK organisations - organisations that are similar enough to each other that we can make useful comparisons and conclusions.

In the charity report, to ensure focus and connection between charities, the report concentrates specifically on activities covered by ‘health’, as defined by the Charity Commission – namely advancement of health or saving lives, disability, prevention or relief of poverty and overseas aid and famine relief. This is not just coincidental; these organisations are naturally pioneers in online community as a key facet of their service delivery portfolio.

In the professional membership report, the focus is on bodies that support professionals, usually characterised by 'society', 'institute', 'association' or 'college'. Supporting invariably a closed group of members has its own set of challenges that are distinct from the more public-facing remit of health-related charities. Participating in collaborative conversations are seen increasingly to be a member's right.

To read either report for yourself, head to the Charity Report and Membership Report, where you can download them now.