Measuring performance is an important requirement for any organisation whether at national or local level. NABMA has been measuring performance of the markets industry for over twenty years through a series of national surveys, and this has helped us argue the case for Markets with government and other national bodies.

At the same time NABMA has encouraged members to take part in benchmarking to view the performance of local Markets against what is happening in other Markets across the country. We were fortunate in partnering APSE in this work and in recent years we were delighted that APSE included Markets in the portfolio of local authority services that they officially recognised for benchmarking purposes.

Sadly, benchmarking was not the success we envisaged and therefore we decided to pursue an alternative model in 2024 that inspired more enthusiasm and support from our members.

NABMA has actively encouraged its members to participate in benchmarking, enabling local Markets to compare their performance with others nationwide. We were fortunate to collaborate with APSE and were delighted when Markets became part of APSE’s officially recognised portfolio of local authority services for benchmarking. While benchmarking presented some challenges, it provided valuable insights, and in 2024 we embraced an alternative model that has inspired greater enthusiasm and support from our members, strengthening our commitment to continuous improvement and engagement.

The launch of the NABMA Performance Network in 2024 followed consultation with a group of senior market officers and listening to some of the comments of members who felt unable to engage with our original benchmarking strategy.

NABMA is very grateful to EDGE IT Systems Ltd, a NABMA sponsor, who have been of enormous help in developing the software of the NABMA Performance Network.

In 2026 we are undertaking another Performance Network Survey to build a clear evidenced based picture of the current markets industry. This collective intelligence will play a critical role in informing and underpinning an organisation review of NABMA itself as planned during the year to ensure our resources are targeted at the membership needs. As always, it will be a huge resource that we can use in our discussions with government and national partners about the economic, social and community benefits with markets as the anchor of many high streets.

Thank you to all who supported the Network in 2024. Hopefully the revised framework will again encourage members to take part. We are hoping for a minimum of 100 participants in 2026. Please support us.