Global Network of Irish Studies chooses ReadyMembership to build its global research community
The Global Network of Irish Studies (GNIS) — a newly established academic network co-sponsored by the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool and the Keough Naughton Institute of Irish Studies, University of Notre Dame, Indiana — has selected ReadyMembership as its membership and community platform. The organization will use ReadyMembership not to migrate an existing membership, but to build one, launching its portal as the primary vehicle for connecting academics across the world whose research specialism is on Ireland.
GNIS represents a deliberately new model for academic networking. Founded to address the fragmentation of Irish Studies as a discipline, the network's purpose is to unite researchers across literature, history, politics, economics, sociology, and any other field where Ireland is the subject of inquiry, regardless of the institutional label applied to their work. Its member base will span researchers in North and South America, Europe, the Nordics, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, all accessing the network through an online portal.
Building a membership rather than migrating one
GNIS represents a distinct departure from ReadyMembership's typical engagement model. Rather than arriving with existing member data and a legacy system to replace, the organization is building its membership community from the ground up using the platform itself.
Alison Grundle, the Programme Manager responsible for establishing the network based at the University of Liverpool, explained the thinking:
We are using ReadyMembership as the vehicle to build a global network.
With no existing membership base, the platform selection process focused not on migration capability but on the platform's ability to support community building at scale across a globally distributed audience — one that brings together academics who may sit in entirely different departments, disciplines, and institutions but share a research interest in Ireland.
Why ReadyMembership
Having previously encountered the platform in an earlier role, Grundle was familiar with ReadyMembership's core capabilities before beginning her evaluation. In assessing options for the network, she found that alternative platforms were heavily weighted toward subscription management and renewal workflows — functionality that GNIS, operating on a free-to-join model, has little need for.
What mattered was the platform's strength in community interaction: the ability to create layered groups, facilitate discussion across disciplines, share research news and resources, and host events, all within a single managed environment. ReadyMembership's groups functionality — which allows organizations to configure subject-specific groups with their own administrators, communications, and content — was a decisive factor.
An equally important consideration was long-term sustainability. The GNIS network intends to operate with minimal staffing overhead, focusing its resources on adding functionality. A cloud-based, outsourced service requiring minimal technical overhead was very attractive and a decisive factor in choosing ReadyMembership.
"It's very difficult to envisage things that don't already exist, which makes predicting future needs challenging," said Grundle.
One of the most attractive features of ReadyMembership is the ability to create and launch a platform that meets our needs right now, knowing we have the ability to grow functionality as our organization develops and have a better understanding of how we will work. Another huge benefit for us of ReadyMembership is the ability to tap into the membership expertise that exists within Pixl8. The upgrade path for the platform brings forward functionality we wouldn't have thought of on our own but can take advantage of – that's again, a huge benefit of ReadyMembership over other platforms we considered.
A phased, community-led build
GNIS is planning a minimum viable product launch in year one, with development expected to extend over a three-year period as the network grows and its requirements become clearer. Planned future functionality includes event management, eCommerce for potential book sales and conference registrations, and expanded payment capability — all of which can be added incrementally as membership grows.
The platform's adaptability was central to this decision. Rather than attempting to specify the full scope of a membership organization that does not yet fully exist, GNIS will allow the community itself to shape the platform's evolution over time.
"I think Pixl8 know more about membership organisations than I do," said Grundle. "Being able to benefit from that is a huge thing. And the flexibility that comes with having our own instance — if we don't want to take something, we don't have to. If we want something uniquely created for us, we can have it."
The network is currently building its initial contact list across existing Irish Studies organizations and the wider academic community.
