Founding Research Partners

Join a founding research cohort.

Your industry deserves benchmarks it doesn’t have yet. Founding members are the ones who make those benchmarks possible.

You contribute data once a year. Your cohort shapes what gets measured. You receive findings your peers don’t have access to. Active participation is what makes your membership work.

No obligation until eligibility is confirmed
Applications are reviewed within five business days. No payment is required until we confirm your eligibility and you choose to proceed.
Your commitment as a founding member:
  • Annual data submission (estimated 30 to 45 minutes), unless your cohort agrees to a different reporting cadence
  • Review of the draft metric set before data collection begins
  • Active participation for a minimum of two consecutive submission cycles
  • Data contributed in good faith and to the best of your organization’s knowledge
How the consortium works

What you’re joining

Before you apply, here is what consortium membership actually looks like in practice.

01
You contribute data once a year
Your annual submission takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes through a guided form. Benchlytics handles the analysis, methodology, and report production. You get the findings without doing the research.
02
Your cohort shapes what gets measured
Before the first data collection cycle opens, founding members review and provide input on the draft metric set. If your industry has a metric that matters, you can propose it. Final definitions are published before any data is requested.
03
Your data is anonymized before it enters the dataset
No other member sees your individual figures. Your identity is separated from your data before it enters the benchmark. What the cohort sees is the aggregate, not your organization’s specific numbers.
04
Your benchmark improves as the cohort grows
Every new member makes the data more statistically precise for everyone already in it. A larger cohort produces sharper benchmarks. Your early membership makes the research better for the organizations that join after you.
What you receive

The value of going first

01
Metric design input
Your feedback shapes what gets measured before data collection begins. If a metric matters to your industry, you can propose it during the founding review period.
02
State of industry summary
With cohort approval, an annual state of the industry summary report may be published. You receive it before it is made available for public purchase. You are contributing to shared research, not selling your data.
03
Annual benchmark report
You receive an annual benchmark showing where your organization stands relative to the cohort. If your cohort chooses to move to a quarterly cadence, quarterly reports are available.
04
Founding rate on each annual renewal
Your founding rate applies to each annual renewal while you maintain active data contribution. Rates are not transferable if membership lapses.
05
Research without the overhead
You contribute data. Benchlytics handles everything else: instrument design, data collection, analysis, and report production. Your time investment is approximately 30 to 45 minutes annually.
06
Member portal access
Access to your benchmark dashboard and historical data. Coming Q4 2026.
Current founding cohorts

Choose your research track

Each track is a separate consortium with its own metric set and data collection cycle. Apply for the track that matches your industry.

◐ Founding cohort open
Charitable Nonprofit

The nonprofit track supplements publicly available 990 data with contributed operational metrics: HR and people operations, marketing, IT, and constituent success. You receive both the 990-based financial benchmarks and the fuller operational dataset as it develops.

  • 990-based financial benchmarks included
  • Operational metric supplement (HR, Marketing, IT, Constituent Success)
  • Annual benchmark report
  • Metric design input before collection begins
  • State of industry summary with cohort approval
Apply for the nonprofit track
◐ Founding cohort forming
Cruise & Ferry: Customer Engagement & Middleware

Benchmarking for software vendors and operators in the maritime passenger sector, focused on customer engagement platforms and middleware systems. This is the first dedicated benchmarking program for this segment of the industry.

  • Metric design input before collection begins
  • Annual benchmark report
  • State of industry summary with cohort approval
  • Founding rate locked for life of active membership
  • Member portal access (coming Q4 2026)
Express interest in this cohort
What happens next

A clear path from application to published research

1
You apply
We review your application and confirm your organization operates in the selected industry and can contribute meaningful data. No payment is required at this stage.
2
You review the draft metric set
Founding partners receive the draft metric set before data collection begins. Your feedback shapes what gets measured. Final metric definitions are published before any data is requested.
3
You submit historical data
To build a statistically sound inaugural benchmark, founding partners are asked to submit historical data covering the prior three years where available. This gives the first benchmark meaningful trend context without requiring multiple submission cycles before results are delivered.
4
You receive the inaugural benchmark
Founding partners receive the inaugural benchmark report. With cohort approval, a state of the industry summary may be published for public purchase. Your organization is credited as a founding research partner.
5
Annual cadence begins
Full membership begins at your locked founding rate. Annual data submission and reporting continues. Your cohort can choose to move to a quarterly cadence at any point.

Apply for founding cohort membership

We review applications within five business days. We will confirm your eligibility and walk you through the data contribution process before you make any commitment.

No payment required until eligibility is confirmed.

Application received. We will be in touch within five business days.
Research track
Your information

No payment required until eligibility is confirmed. We do not share your information with third parties.