Last year, we conducted a member satisfaction survey to find out what Ciarb means to our members*. Here’s what the respondents said – and how we’re answering.

Our aims

Our main focus for our member survey was to assess overall member satisfaction, ascertain members’ future aspirations for Ciarb, and understand the support that members need from us.

We also took time to get to know our respondents, by learning more about their experience and what matters to them.

While we wanted to know who our respondents were, we also wanted to learn about their practice areas, and their experience. We found out that almost 40% of the respondents had been appointed as a neutral in the last three years.

• 67% were appointed as an arbitrator.
• 46% were appointed as a mediator.
• 22% were appointed as an adjudicator.

Then we looked at what Ciarb meant to our members and what they want in the future. Overall, we found that our respondents had positive feedback about Ciarb.

Over half of the respondents said they felt proud to be part of Ciarb, and the majority felt it was an organisation they could trust. The majority felt part of a diverse and global Ciarb community.

When benchmarking responses against other organisations (where this is possible), Ciarb’s member satisfaction is higher in terms of trust, feeling proud and feeling part of a professional community. However, just under half of our members felt they could get more from their membership, and we hope that improvements to our website and MyCiarb, events programme, networking opportunities, publications and involvement with our thought leadership groups and other activities, we enable more members to get involved and benefit from Ciarb’s global membership.

The survey also revealed that only 39% of our members get involved with their local Branch, we are working with Branches to increase opportunities for participation and member benefit from not only our global programme, but also locally via our extensive Branch network.

Currently Ciarb has over 44 Branches across the world, and we recently opened a new Branch in Saudi Arabia in 2024. To find out more about our Branches, visit here.

Ciarb has three strategic aims, and the one that resonates the most with members is our ongoing goal to globally promote the constructive resolution of disputes. To find out more about our strategic aims, read Ciarb’s full strategy here.

While offering professional development courses is a key aspect of what we do, Ciarb participates internationally in discussions about private dispute resolution. Ciarb sits as an observer at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Also, Ciarb acts as secretariat for the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alternative Dispute Resolution (APPG on ADR) to raise awareness of the profession at central government level. To learn more about Ciarb’s policy work, visit here. Our Professional Practice Guidelines are developed and written by the world’s leading dispute resolution practitioners, and curated by Ciarb. To find out more, and get involved, visit here.

Membership benefits

The survey looked into the benefits that members value the most. The vast majority of respondents had taken part in ongoing learning and webinars, Branch training and networking. To learn more about our events, which are in-person and virtual, visit here. Some of the most valuable benefits for respondents included professional practice guidelines, ongoing learning webinars, and workshops. To read Ciarb’s Professional Practice Guidelines, visit here.

The respondents also valued postnominal recognition and Branch membership. To find out more about your local Branch, visit here.

Future priorities

The respondents’ main priority for the future is their professional development. They want Ciarb to help them reach their career goals by continuing to provide high-quality education and training for private dispute resolution practitioners.   

Ciarb offers a wide range of professional development courses and assessments that enable members to progress through Ciarb’s membership grades. Every year we train thousands of private dispute resolution professionals from a wide range of backgrounds from all over the world, supporting them on their career paths. Our courses are designed and delivered by dispute resolution experts who have an immense amount of practical experience. For more information on Ciarb’s courses, visit here.  

We recently published our competence frameworks which set out the minimum competence statements for each Ciarb membership grade. This is part of our ongoing programme of education and training reform, ensuring that our qualifications and training continue to set the global gold standard for private dispute resolution. 

Catherine Dixon MCIArb, Ciarb’s CEO commented, “Thank you to everyone who took part in our member satisfaction survey. We value our members’ feedback and have analysed the results in depth. The findings are proving invaluable and are being used to improve our services for members based on what members tell us they want and need from their Ciarb.”  

*Conducted by independent research agency Research by Design