Why this case matters
VvDN shows how an association can obtain recurring market intelligence while deliberately keeping individual member submissions outside its own access.
The challenge
A market monitor only works when participants trust the process and the results remain comparable over time. For an association, there can also be a deliberate reason not to access individual company submissions at all.
When VvDN selected C2C after an RFP in 2020, the programme therefore needed both a repeatable quarterly workflow and a clear separation between individual data and the association's market-level results.
The approach
Existing usable historical information was brought into the new environment. Each quarter, participants provide their data through the Survey Tool. Automated reminders support the collection process and C2C performs validation and consistency checks.
To interpret market development over time, C2C calculates panels of organisations that have participated consistently across successive periods. The detailed panel methodology remains part of the research design rather than being reduced to a simple all-participant average.
C2C prepares the group and development figures for the committee. The committee discusses the context and VvDN then prepares its market communication and press release.
Who does what?
VvDN — Owns the research model and content, discusses and interprets the aggregate market results through its committee, and communicates the conclusions to the market.
Compare to Compete — Operates the recurring process, manages invitations and reminders, performs validation and consistency checks, calculates the panels and prepares aggregate group and development figures.
What the programme delivers
Participants receive market-level reporting as well as an individual benchmark report and dashboard. VvDN receives the aggregate information needed for market communication without accessing individual company data.
That separation is not a generic requirement for every association study. It is a deliberate operating model that fits this programme.
The case shows that outsourcing more of the research operation does not require the association to receive more individual data.