Membership in The Dispute Board Federation

The Dispute Board Federation will now have four grades of membership, each giving you professional support and a range of services for whatever level of dispute resolution and prevention you work in whether it be infrastructure development and/or construction dispute resolution.

The Categories

Fellow

Achieving Fellowship of the Dispute Board Federation – FDBF
As a Fellow you are a dispute resolution professional of distinction, making significant contribution to your profession. You demonstrate both dispute board and dispute resolution excellence and leadership of your peers.

Experience Needed  
Those who reach the level of Fellow have been recognised by their peers as being at the uppermost level of dispute resolution and leadership in the field of dispute boards and adjudication internationally and having done so for a sufficient period of time:

• Fellows are expected to have had responsibility for adjudication decisions involving substantial projects over a sufficient period of time.
• A ‘sufficient period' is typically a minimum of 5 years working on substantial projects or other recognised activities that qualify.
• You can view profiles of recently elected Fellows by going to the DBF website to gain further insight into the requirements. 
• In order to apply for this grade you are required to be an existing Dispute Board Federation Corporate Panel Member (MDBF).  If you are not already a Corporate Member and are interested in this grade please contact Mr Herbert Wilson, Executive Director of the Dispute Board Federation h.wilson@dbfederation.org.
   

Corporate Panel Member

Achieving Corporate Panel Membership of The Dispute Board Federation – MDBF 
As a Corporate Panel Member, you have demonstrated an ability to serve on at least one of the Dispute Board Federation’s Panels: The Dispute Board Panel, the Arbitration Panel, and/or the Mediation Panel. With this grade of membership you have attained an internationally recognised and respected mark of competence and shown commitment to the dispute resolution goals of the Dispute Board Federation.

Experience Needed  
Those who reach the level of Corporate Panel Member are experienced in dispute resolution either as an arbitrator by being a FCIArb and/or Chartered Arbitrator, accredited adjudicator and/or mediator with at least 5 years of professional experience in their chosen area of endeavour.
 

Professional Member

Achieving Professional Membership of The Dispute Board Federation – PDBF          
As a Professional Member of the Dispute Board Federation you are likely to be a young professional working in the construction and/or dispute resolution field either as an arbitrator, adjudicator, mediator or in other closely related fields such as law, engineering, architecture, or construction.

Experience Needed  
Those who apply for the level of Professional Member are experienced in dispute resolution and/or construction and infrastructure development and are usually either an arbitrator adjudicator and/or mediator with at least 2 years of professional experience in their chosen area of endeavour or have been involved in construction claims and their presentation.
 

Affiliate

If you work in the construction industry or in the development of infrastructure from a developer, supplier, banker, or government official position the knowledge of dispute resolution in the effective management of the development and construction process is essential to a problem free project built on time and on budget. The better informed you are, the better your networks and contacts, the stronger you’ll be as a business and as an individual and that is why we have the Affiliate member category of the Dispute Board Federation.

As an example, perhaps you handle procurement, or claims management – if so you need to be familiar with the latest developments in project management, how to prevent claims which can delay the project and how to get the most out of your advisors, lawyers, and engineers.  As a Dispute Board Federation Affiliate member, you’ll be well placed to achieve those ends.

Also if your background does not fit in any of these categories but you just have an interest in a field of dispute resolution or dispute avoidance and feel that you can contribute more than most to addressing some of the world’s key challenges – re-building infrastructure in post war countries, prevention of corruption in development, and making the built environment better– then we’ll welcome you as an Affiliate member.
 

Students

If you are studying law, engineering or a related subject, joining the Dispute Board Federation as a student gives you the benefits of Affiliate membership and puts you on the path towards Professional Member status with the financial and career rewards that this generally brings. 

You are part of the next generation of dispute resolver professionals and we want to ensure you have access to all the study support you’ll need. That’s why we’ve put together a special student package to last the entire duration of your undergraduate degree.
 

For More Information

If you would like more information on Membership please contact Richard McGlade, Membership Coordinator, The Dispute Board Federation richard.mcglade@dbfederation.org