The Lotteries Council has launched the society lottery sector’s first-ever benchmarking survey to promote best practice among its member organisations.

The project will examine strategies used by its member organisations over the past five years, to measure their effectiveness in promoting and retaining lottery players to maximise money raised for good causes.

The work will be delivered in two stages. A detailed survey will be made available to all Lotteries Council members who are required to submit data by Friday 12th June, 2015. In the project’s second stage, a finalised report will be circulated to members of the Lotteries Council in October 2015.

The council appointed Decaid Consulting – an organisation specialising in fundraising benchmarking – to undertake the project.

Clive Mollett, chair of the Lotteries Council said the initiative to “support members in their quest to explore new ways of harnessing lottery fundraising potential” was “long overdue”.

“This comes at a particularly apposite moment given the groundswell of enthusiasm for greater transparency to which this initiative can only make a very welcome and positive contribution,” he said.

Some 49 charities and society lotteries have committed to participating in the benchmarking project over the past week, including Marie Curie.

Decaid Consulting has set a target to sign up 100 Lotteries Council members to the project.

The final report aims to give society lotteries the tools to compare themselves against others in the market. Survey respondents will remain anonymous to protect sensitivities.

Rupert Tappin, director of Decaid Consulting, said the process was “testament to the increasing professionalisation” in the society lottery sector.

“With investment in fundraising from lotteries growing, it is crucial for society lotteries to understand the key drivers in lottery player retention, and how best to maximise returns to good causes," he said. "The project will help society lotteries learn from each other, and compare performance on a like-for-like basis, as charities and operators strive to understand how best to engage and support their players.”