Why this case matters
SRA shows that one platform can support a portfolio of substantively different paid research services while the association retains control of methodology and participant relationships.
The challenge
SRA serves a large network of accountancy firms and has a long history of research and benchmarking. Earlier processes relied more heavily on Excel and static reporting. That made recurring collection, validation and individual feedback harder to scale.
The requirement was not one isolated benchmark. SRA needed infrastructure that could support several different studies while allowing its own team to remain in control.
The approach
Compare to Compete first supported SRA's business comparison and salary research and helped translate questionnaires, controls and reporting into an online process. Over time, additional programmes were brought into the same Survey Tool environment.
Today the portfolio includes financial and operational benchmarking, salary research, fringe benefits research, IT cost research, culture research and employee-satisfaction research. The exact methodology and output differ by programme, but the underlying infrastructure for collection, validation and reporting can be reused.
Who does what?
SRA — Defines the substantive research and methodology, manages the relationship with participating firms, performs or leads analysis where appropriate and can operate the studies itself.
Compare to Compete — Provides and configures the Survey Tool, implements changes, supports automated controls and reporting, and supplies additional technical or operational capacity when required.
What the programme delivers
Participating firms can receive individual dashboards and reports that put their own results in context. For culture research, a dedicated dashboard supports the specific research model.
For SRA, the platform makes it possible to offer several research services without building a separate technical process for every study. The research is also a service that participating firms can purchase individually or in bundles, creating a model in which research can contribute directly to member value and programme revenue.
The case demonstrates an important C2C principle: the customer can own the methodology and commercial model while using one configurable research infrastructure underneath.