Chief Cultural & Leisure Officers Association
Membership review brief
- Value proposition, pricing and growth
- Feedback from current and former members
- Benchmarking against other associations
- Fee up to £3,200
Membership review
Membership review: a fresh look at your model.
A membership review tests your whole model — the offer, categories, fees, subscriptions, recruitment and renewal — against what members, lapsed members and prospects say. We run them for associations, professional bodies and membership charities.
This page covers when to commission one, what it covers, how it runs, what published briefs budget, and how to write the brief.
A review you commission after falling renewals, a fee rise, a new CEO, a governance review, a merger
How a membership review runsseven stages
- 01Data auditjoins, lapses, categories, incomeAUDIT
- 02Memberscurrent and lapsed membersASK
- 03Non-membersprospects and barriersASK
- 04Comparatorsbodies in and beyond the sectorBENCHMARK
- 05Optionsmodels appraised and costedAPPRAISE
- 06Consultoptions put to membersCONSULT
- 07Implementrules, fees, phasing, commsDELIVER
From evidenceto a model members back
01/ what a membership review is
What a membership review is, and when.
A membership review is an independent look at your membership model: what members get, who can join, what they pay, and how you recruit and keep them. It ends in options, a recommended model and a plan. Some briefs call it a membership audit, a membership model review or a membership offer review.
Most are triggered by an event. The Royal College of Anaesthetists reviewed after members said joining had too many barriers. Pensions UK reviewed subscriptions because, in its words, depending on Business Members to fund 60% of its work for Fund Members “is not sustainable”. The OR Society timed its rethink with a new Executive Director.
01
Falling renewals or flat growth
Fewer joiners, more lapses, and no clear reason why.
45% → 38%associations reporting growth, MGI 2026 (US)
02
A fee rise is coming
Test value and options before members see a new price.
52.2%of professional-body income is subscriptions (PARN, 2021)
03
A new chief executive
A fresh leader wants evidence before changing the offer.
04
A governance review
Membership criteria, categories, rights and admission come into scope.
05
A merger or new categories
Two schemes, or new kinds of member, need one structure.
06
A strategy refresh
The plan changes; the membership model has to follow it.
65%+RCoA respondents backed simplifying (2025)
02/ readiness check
Do you need a membership review?
Not every problem needs a full review. If one thing is broken — the renewal reminder, a single benefit — fix it. A review earns its cost when several parts of the model are in question at once, or a decision is coming that members will notice.
Score your organisation on six questions. It is our rule of thumb, not a benchmark.
Membership review readiness · 0/6 answered
01Renewal over the last three years
02Can members name what their fee buys?
03When were categories last changed?
04A fee rise in the next 18 months?
05New CEO, strategy or merger?
06Do you know why members lapse?
Answer all 6 to see your result.
Our scoring, not a benchmark. Nothing you choose leaves your browser.
03/ membership model review
Renewals alone rarely grow a membership.
A model review asks how income moves when renewal, joiners and fees change together. Try yours.
The median renewal rate in Marketing General’s 2026 report stayed at 82%, a figure that has barely moved in years (a US survey). Tony Rossell’s point is that an association cannot grow through renewals alone unless it is fixing a major flaw in its value proposition or renewal system. That is what a review looks for.
For the renewal cycle itself, see membership renewals. For the measures a board should watch, see membership KPIs.
Your three levers
Subscription income over 5 years
- Now £150k
- Yr 1 £150k
- Yr 2 £150k
- Yr 3 £152k
- Yr 4 £153k
- Yr 5 £156k
+4%income after 5 years
895members in year 5
180joiners a year just to stand still
Income grows
Keep the renewal rate here and the fee rise does the rest.
Our arithmetic on your inputs. The 82% default is the median renewal rate in Marketing General’s 2026 report — a US survey. 1,000 members at £150 are example inputs.
04/ membership review scope
What a review covers: six workstreams.
A full review covers the value proposition, categories, fees and benefits, subscriptions, recruitment, renewal and retention, engagement, communications, data and systems, and the governance of membership: criteria, rights and admission.
Each workstream has its own page. Pick the one you need, or commission them together. Price and proposition testing, for example, asks members and prospects how appealing each package is and what they would pay, as Clusters describes for the Institute of Directors (a supplier case study).
Membership reviewone review · six workstreams
What members value, why people lapse and what stops prospects joining.
insight-informed membershipWho can join, at what grade, with which voting and post-nominal rights.
membership categoriesWhat each category pays and what it gets, read side by side.
membership fees and benefitsSubscription rules, bands, caps and how a change is phased in.
membership subscriptions reviewAppeal and price sensitivity tested on members and prospects before launch.
price and proposition testingA growth plan with targets for joiners, renewal and lapsed members.
membership growth consultancy
05/ how a membership review runs
How it runs, stage by stage.
Evidence first, options second, members third, rules last.
Published briefs follow the same arc. CLOA asked for feedback from current and former members, then benchmarking. Crafts Council added potential members and comparator schemes, and favoured fewer, richer conversations over breadth. RCoA put three category models to members before setting fees.
Members’ data is personal data. Contacting lapsed members for research usually rests on legitimate interests: the ICO’s guidance sets a three-part test, and people keep an absolute right to object to direct marketing. Survey design sits with member surveys.
01 · Audit
Data audit
Joins, lapses, categories, income and benefit use, by year and cohort.
02 · Members
Member and lapsed-member research
A survey for breadth; interviews for the why.
03 · Prospects
Non-member research
Awareness, cost and perceived value as barriers to joining.
04 · Benchmark
Comparator benchmarking
Categories, fees and benefits at bodies members compare you with.
05 · Options
Options appraisal
Two to four models, each costed for income and members.
06 · Consult
Member consultation
Shortlisted options put to members before the board decides.
07 · Implement
Implementation
Rule changes, new fees, phasing and the notice members get.
The seven stages are our method. Each one appears in at least one published brief linked on this page.
06/ membership review examples
Membership reviews UK bodies have published.
Eight real briefs and reviews, from a £3,200 consultancy call to a college-wide consultation. Each links to the organisation’s own page.
The OR Society’s is a useful warning: its redesigned members’ survey had a very low response rate, so it read the results with caution (OR Society, May 2023). Plan the research for response, not just questions.
Membership reviews UK bodies have published
Crafts Council
Insight-informed membership
- Over 1,500 members; scheme refreshed 2025
- Current and potential members
- Comparator schemes in and beyond culture
- £5,000 budget
Royal College of Anaesthetists
Reviewing RCoA membership
- Categories, fees and benefits
- Three category models put to members
- Fees revised after a model is chosen
- Over 65% backed simplifying membership
Pensions UK
Subscriptions review: report on consultation
- Fund Member cap £23,405 → £35,000
- Rise phased over 2026–2028
- 49 affected members met the CEO
- Categories regrouped by assets
Association of Research Managers and Administrators
Governance review tender
- Membership criteria, categories, rights
- Admission processes
- Sector comparison
- £10,000 excluding VAT
Association of Senior Children’s and Education Librarians
Membership review ITT
- Members, non-members and partners consulted
- Membership make-up and subscriptions
- Structure and governance
- Operating models recommended
The OR Society
Rethinking our membership offer
- Timed with a new Executive Director
- Members’ survey redesigned
- Response rate very low
- Corporate offer under review
Voluntary Action Camden
Fee-based membership feasibility study
- Technical, economic and legal feasibility
- Options paper and financial model
- Paid 50% on draft, 50% on final
- Part of a wider strategy review
From each organisation’s own page, read 8 October 2026. Their briefs and decisions, not our work.
07/ subscription review in practice
A fee change phased over three years.
Pensions UK’s subscriptions review raised the maximum Fund Member subscription from £23,405 to £35,000. Affected members pay a third of the increase in 2026, two thirds in 2027 and the full amount in 2028 (report on consultation, October 2025).
The consultation came first: almost all 49 affected members met the chief executive in May or June 2025, before the formal paper. Phasing and early conversation are how a review lands a big change. The detail is on membership subscriptions review.
- 2025 £23,405Rule 31
- 2026 £27,270one third of the rise
- 2027 £31,135two thirds of the rise
- 2028 £35,000full amount
08/ what a membership review costs
What it costs, and how long it takes.
Only published briefs, labelled as such. CLOA offered up to £3,200. Crafts Council set £5,000, with participant thank-you vouchers funded separately. ARMA budgeted £10,000 excluding VAT for a governance review that included membership criteria, categories, rights and admission.
Timescales are short. CLOA’s ran about three months from the application deadline to the final report; ARMA’s about three. Cost rises with the number of workstreams and the depth of research. Voluntary Action Camden paid half on the draft report and half on the final.
Budgets in published membership review briefs
Dec 2025
Brief published
Consultancy call, fee up to £3,200 · CLOA
5 Jan 2026
Applications close
Proposal, CV, EDI statement, costings · CLOA
Jan–Feb 2026
Member survey
Mid-January to mid-February · CLOA
Mar 2026
Draft report
Early March · CLOA
13 Apr 2026
Final report
Short-, medium- and long-term priorities · CLOA
09/ membership review brief
Writing the brief: an invitation to tender.
Pick the modules you need. The brief assembles on the right, ready to copy into your invitation to tender.
Good briefs say why now, what decision the review informs, the scope, the research expected, deliverables, a timeline and a budget. ARMA capped responses at six sides of A4 and asked for approach, team, milestones, risks and budget. Crafts Council let applicants propose their own day rate and days within the budget.
Build your membership review brief
Context
Scope
Method
Deliverables and terms
Membership review: invitation to tender
14 lines · 9 modules
Choose a module to start the brief.
About us
- Who we are: [organisation], [charity / company / chartered body], [number] members.
- Our membership today: [categories], [fee range], [renewal rate], [trend over three years].
Why now
- Why we are reviewing now: [falling renewals / fee rise / new CEO / governance review / merger].
- The decision this review informs, and who takes it: [board / council / members in general meeting].
Value proposition
- Test what members value, which benefits are used, and where the offer falls short.
Categories and criteria
- Review membership categories, eligibility criteria, rights and the admission process.
- Note which of these sit in our articles or rules and would need members’ approval to change.
Fees and subscriptions
- Review fees, discounts and subscription bands against value, cost and comparators.
- Model the income effect of each option, and how any change could be phased.
Recruitment and retention
- Review recruitment, renewal and retention: who joins, who lapses, and why.
Engagement and comms
- Review engagement, events and member communications, and how members hear about benefits.
Data and systems
- Audit membership data and systems: what we hold, its quality, and what it can report.
Member research
- Research current and lapsed members: survey plus [number] interviews or focus groups.
Non-member research
- Research non-members and prospects: barriers to joining, awareness, perceived value.
Benchmarking
- Benchmark against [number] comparator bodies inside and outside our sector.
Member consultation
- Put the shortlisted options to members for comment before the board decides.
Deliverables
- A draft and a final report: findings, options appraised, a recommended model.
- An implementation plan with short-, medium- and long-term priorities.
Timeline
- Proposals by [date]; interviews [date]; start [date]; draft [date]; final report [date].
Budget
- Budget: up to £[amount] [including / excluding] VAT and expenses, with a day-rate breakdown.
How to respond
- Respond in no more than [number] sides of A4: experience, approach, team, timeline, costs.
- Data: the supplier works under UK GDPR, uses our member data only for this review, and returns it.
Our template. The modules mirror what published briefs asked for — CLOA, ARMA, Crafts Council and ASCEL. Nothing you pick leaves your browser.
10/ membership governance
Changing categories and rights may need members’ approval.
Categories, voting rights and admission criteria often sit in your articles or rules, so changing them is a governance change, not a marketing one. A company amends its articles by special resolution (Companies Act 2006, s.21). Pensions UK’s changes were written as numbered rules.
The Charity Governance Code notes that some membership organisations have distinctive governance features that may need a different approach. Check yours before you consult, not after. Not legal advice.
Ready to put options to members?
01Have you checked whether categories, rights or fees sit in your articles or rules?
02Is each option backed by member, lapsed-member and non-member evidence?
03Is each option costed for income and member numbers?
04Do you have a lawful basis to contact lapsed members?
05Is there a plan to phase any fee change and give notice?
Answer the 5 questions to see where you stand.
Sources: Companies Act 2006, s.21; ICO, legitimate interests; Pensions UK. Not legal advice.
11/ questions
Membership review FAQs.
A membership review is an independent assessment of a membership model: the value proposition, categories, fees and benefits, subscriptions, recruitment, renewal and retention, engagement, communications, data and the governance of membership. It draws on member, lapsed-member and non-member research and comparator benchmarking, and ends with options, a recommended model and an implementation plan.
Usually after a trigger: falling renewals or flat growth, a planned fee rise, a new chief executive, a governance review, a merger or a strategy refresh. The Royal College of Anaesthetists reviewed after members reported barriers to joining, and over 65% of its 2025 survey respondents supported simplifying membership.
Published UK briefs give a range. CLOA offered up to £3,200, Crafts Council set a £5,000 research budget, and ARMA budgeted £10,000 excluding VAT for a governance review that included membership categories, rights and admission. Cost rises with the number of workstreams and the depth of research.
Often about three months for a focused review. CLOA’s ran from a 5 January 2026 application deadline to a final report by 13 April 2026. A review that changes categories or fees takes longer, because members are consulted and changes are phased in: Pensions UK is phasing its new maximum subscription over 2026 to 2028.
Briefs use the terms loosely. An audit usually means the evidence stage: the data on joins, lapses, categories, income and benefit use. A review goes further, adding research with members and non-members, benchmarking, options and a recommended model.
Who you are and your membership today, why you are reviewing now and what decision it informs, the scope, the research expected, deliverables, a timeline, a budget and how to respond. ARMA limited responses to six sides of A4. The brief builder on this page assembles one you can copy.
Yes. Lapsed members say why people leave; non-members say why people don’t join. CLOA asked for feedback from current and former members, and Crafts Council asked for potential members’ barriers, such as awareness, cost and perceived value. Check your lawful basis for contacting them against the ICO’s legitimate interests guidance.
Often. If categories, rights or admission criteria are in your articles or rules, changing them means amending those documents; a company does that by special resolution (Companies Act 2006, s.21). Check your governing document early. This is not legal advice.
Consult early and phase it. Pensions UK met almost all 49 affected members before its formal consultation, then phased a rise in its maximum Fund Member subscription from £23,405 to £35,000: a third of the increase in 2026, two thirds in 2027 and the full amount in 2028.
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes on your membership review.
Book 15 minutes to scope a membership review: the trigger, the workstreams you need, and the brief.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02Your trigger and scope, read back
- 03Which workstreams to commission
- 04A plain next step
Pick a day that suits · live availability
Book 15 minutes · no obligation
A membership model members would choose again.
Evidence from members, lapsed members and prospects; options costed; a change members have been consulted on.
13/ sources
Every claim, and where it came from
Every source was read on 8 October 2026. Briefs are the organisations’ own; US and supplier sources are labelled.
- Chief Cultural & Leisure Officers Association — Consultancy opportunity: membership review for CLOA — up to £3,200; timetable to 13 April 2026Published brief, UK
- Crafts Council — Freelancer brief: insight-informed membership — £5,000 budget; over 1,500 membersPublished brief, UK
- Association of Research Managers and Administrators — Tender invitation: governance review — membership criteria, categories, rights; £10,000 ex VATPublished tender, UK
- ASCEL — Membership review: invitation to tender (June 2018)Published tender, UK, dated
- Royal College of Anaesthetists — Reviewing RCoA membership — three category models; over 65% backed simplifyingMember consultation, UK
- Pensions UK — Subscriptions review: report on consultation, October 2025 — Rules 31–33, phasing 2026–2028Publisher’s own report, UK
- Voluntary Action Camden — Specification: feasibility study for a fee-based membership model (2023)Published specification, UK
- The OR Society — Rethinking our membership offer, Inside OR, May 2023Sector body, UK
- Marketing General Inc. (Tony Rossell) — Just released: the 2026 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report — 82% median renewal; 45% → 38% reporting growthIndustry survey, US
- PARN with haysmacintyre — Financial Benchmarking for Professional Bodies launch — subscriptions 52.2% of income (2021 data)Sector benchmark, UK, dated
- Clusters — Price and proposition testing: Institute of DirectorsSupplier case study, secondary
- legislation.gov.uk — Companies Act 2006, section 21 — amendment of articlesStatute
- Information Commissioner’s Office — When can we rely on legitimate interests?Regulator guidance
- Charity Governance Code — Charity Governance Code — using the Code (membership organisations)Sector code, UK