Professional associations

Engaging membership and lowering administrative burden with Vocdoni

Professional Associations are responsible for representing their members accurately while modeling best practices for their industry. The main forms of governance practiced by professional associations are infrequent board elections and referenda on specific issues, where security and transparency are instrumental in maintaining a strong reputation. At the same time, they also must maintain an active membership base; research shows members are more committed when they engage in regular governance processes[1] such as polling on key issues and input on professional standards.

Vocdoni can be an ideal solution for professional associations. Our voting system fulfills the requirements of both large-scale official elections and higher-frequency member engagement processes. Members can trust the transparency and security of our system while participating from their own devices. The state-of-the-art universal verifiability of Vocdoni elections helps associations build a reputation of forward-looking strength, adaptability, and governance, lending more weight to their professional standards.

The future of digital democracy in professional associations

Research shows that the most successful organizations are those with an active and committed member base. Not only do associations rely on their members to function, but a more active membership sends a positive signal about the group’s reputation and legitimacy. Membership engagement is key to retaining an active community, with experts recommending frequent, low-effort polls and meaningful interactions where members feel some ownership of the organization.[2] In the case of more traditional board elections, members are more likely to vote when they are convinced that an election is legitimate and transparent and that their vote will have a real impact on the outcome.[3]

As leaders in industry-standard practices and models for collective governance, professional organizations should use modern election technology that allows them to conduct various levels of decision-making.

These include:

Election of executive committee

Traditional large-scale election including all active members of the association. Members vote from a list of candidates.

Vocdoni lowers the cost of administering large-scale elections while maintaining high levels of security. Our flexible system allows for different voting types, such as ranked-choice voting, and can easily handle elections containing hundreds of thousands of voters. Members can vote from their phones or computers. Vocdoni’s real-time result tracking and universal verifiability ensure that all votes are counted accurately and transparently.

Policy and advocacy decisions

Elections to approve or reject a proposed policy.

Vocdoni provides a clear and straightforward voting process, enabling members to make informed decisions on proposed policies with ease and confidence. The adaptable interface could include a summary of a proposal, embedding a video explaining the implications of the policy, include graphic representations of a policy’s effects, or all of the above.

Professional standards recommendations

Voting processes to review new professional standards as industries evolve.

Vocdoni drastically lowers the cost of having a secure, transparent voting process. It also lowers the cost to voters, implementing a seamless registration and voting flow on members’ own devices. This enables higher-frequency, more interactive democratic processes. Elections could be simple yes/no decisions on proposals produced by an elected body, or they could include a more iterative member-driven process to create and approve various industry recommendations.

Membership engagement

Surveys to gauge community opinion on various issues or proposals. Members participate in non-binding polls that gather opinions on specific topics or future initiatives.

Vocdoni provides an efficient platform for conducting opinion polls, offering insights into member preferences and guiding association decisions. Non-binding member polling increases member satisfaction and makes a membership body more likely to remain active in the future.[4]

Case study: COEIC

COEIC: Modernizing professional association governance with digital Voting

Enhancing transparency, accessibility, and participation in professional elections
The Col·legi Oficial d'Enginyers Industrials de Catalunya (COEIC) is a professional association representing industrial engineers across Catalonia. Their Annual General Assembly (AGO) is a critical moment where members vote on key decisions, leadership roles, and financial reports. To modernize their governance process, COEIC turned to Vocdoni’s blockchain-based digital voting system, ensuring a secure, transparent, and accessible election process for all members.

COEIC required a voting system that provided integrity, security, and ease of use while accommodating a geographically dispersed membership. Vocdoni’s blockchain voting technology offered a comprehensive solution with the following features:

How it worked: A seamless, secure, and transparent voting process

1. Remote voting from anywhere, reducing time and costs
   Traditional voting processes often required members to be physically present at the AGO, limiting participation and incurring significant logistical costs. With Vocdoni’s platform, COEIC members could securely cast their votes from anywhere, reducing time spent on travel and making participation more convenient.

2. Live-streaming, document access, and easy follow-up
   Beyond just voting, members could follow the AGO through an integrated video streaming service, access relevant documents, and stay updated in a seamless, user-friendly interface. This ensured that all members remained fully informed and engaged throughout the process.

3. Immutable and transparent voting records
   All votes were recorded immutably on the blockchain, ensuring full transparency and auditability. Members and auditors could verify results in real-time, fostering trust in the election process.

4. Anonymous and private voting
   Using cryptographic techniques such as blind signatures and end-to-end encryption, Vocdoni ensured that votes remained completely anonymous while still being verifiable, preserving the integrity of the election.

5. Custom-branded digital voting interface
   To enhance user experience and ensure seamless adoption, Vocdoni deployed a custom voting page aligned with COEIC’s brand identity, including logos, colors, and tailored messaging. Other organizations can also configure the system extensively to match their own requirements.

6. A scalable and GDPR-compliant solution
   Vocdoni’s platform is designed to be fully GDPR-compliant, ensuring that member data remains secure while adhering to the highest privacy standards. Additionally, the system is highly scalable, making it an efficient solution for professional organizations of any size.

Results & Impact

By adopting Vocdoni’s blockchain-based voting system, COEIC successfully enhanced the governance of their Annual General Assembly with measurable improvements:

• Increased voter participation: Remote voting enabled more engineers to take part in the decision-making process without geographical constraints.
• More representative results: With higher participation rates, the election results better reflected the collective will of the members.
• Enhanced transparency and trust: Members could verify the election results in real-time, ensuring confidence in the outcome.
• Secure and tamper-proof process: Blockchain technology prevented unauthorized alterations or fraudulent activities.
• Reduced logistical costs: Digital voting eliminated the need for paper ballots, physical polling locations, and manual vote counting, making the process more efficient and cost-effective.
• Improved accessibility and engagement: The ability to follow the AGO live and access documents in a user-friendly interface made participation easier and more inclusive.

References

[1][2][4] Jacobs, Sheri. The Art of Membership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2014.
[3] Mærøe, Anders et al. E-participatory Budgeting Processes, 2020.