Overview
Free Association
A Digital Public Infrastructure for Resource Coordination
Free Association is a mathematically-proven coordination infrastructure that enables organizations, communities, and individuals to allocate resources efficiently based on recognition of contributions - without centralized control, bureaucratic overhead, or market exclusion.
The Core Problem
Traditional resource coordination relies on three mechanisms with specific constraints:
Markets - Exclude those without purchasing power
Charity - Creates dependency relationships
Bureaucracy - Slow and inflexible
These mechanisms face challenges matching the speed and scale required - from climate adaptation to humanitarian response.
The Solution
A fourth type of economic relationship based on priority aligned capacity distribution - where entities acknowledge each other's contributions toward shared goals and allocate resources accordingly.
This creates a self-organizing coordination system that is:
Fast - Allocations converge in seconds, not months
Fair - Mathematically guaranteed proportional distribution based on priorities
Efficient - Resources flow directly based on declared needs and priority alignment
Decentralized - No central authority controls outcomes or data
Try It Now
Browser-based, peer-to-peer, no installation required.
Next Steps
Free Association Documentation
Welcome to the Free Association documentation. This guide will help you understand how voluntary coordination and capacity-building can be re-engineered through protocols.
Core Concepts
Coordination is based on:
Publishing - What participants declare (capacities, needs, priorities, recognition, allocations, etc.)
Derivation - What can be computed from published data (optimal allocation, alignment metrics, network insights, etc.)
Many data types can be either published OR derived, depending on your coordination needs.
Getting Started
New to Free Association?
Try the System - Live demo
Quick Start Guide - 5-minute overview
Understanding the System
Core Concepts:
Identity - Who you are
Resources - What you have and need
Recognition - Acknowledging contribution
Allocation - Distributing resources
Architecture:
How It's Built - System Design
Distributed Architecture - Core Patterns
Implementation
For Organizations - Pilot programs
For Developers - Technical setup
Additional Resources
Use Cases - Real-world examples
Coalition - Join the coalition
Reference - Glossary, Mathematics, Protocol Spec
Project Info - License, Governance, Contact
Contact:
General inquiries: [email protected]
Coalition and partnerships: [email protected]
Technical questions: Open an issue
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