Benenden Health (UK), has successfully increased member engagement among its 870,000+ members by 845% since 2022. This case study explores the strategies and initiatives that contributed to this significant achievement, focusing on the implementation of new democratic processes and the launch of an online community platform.

In 2023, Benenden Health, a UK-based affordable healthcare provider, overhauled its democratic structure and undertook initiatives to increase engagement among its 870,000+ members. The previous structure, where members belonged to local ‘branches’, each with its own committee with elected representative delegates who voted at the annual Conference, meant only those who were able to physically attend a branch meeting could participate. As a result, only 0.4% of members participated in decision-making.

This formal structure felt increasingly out of date and unattractive to members. Once a year, members were invited to a meeting at their local branch. The meetings had a formal agenda based around branch business (committee elections, finances etc) and formal conference business. Some branches invited guest speakers, which proved to be popular with the those that attended, however, the majority of members did not get involved and feedback was that the meetings were not appealing…