New Program:
The Board of Certification approved a new individual certification model for organizational ombuds. The following are requirements under the new certification program:
Experience
31 January 2025
We know that so many in our US Government and US Higher Ed communities are being upended by uncertainty and the impact of new policies. We also know you may need to justify your roles and offices now more than ever. To help support you, we wanted to share some resources, including some talking points that may be useful:
First and foremost, please know we are here for you. Please reach out to IOA (President Sarah Klaper, members of the Board, Executive Director Ellen Miller) or your ombuddies if you need support, a sound board or just a friend. If there is something you need, please do not hesitate to let us know.
Earlier this month, U.S. District Court in Kentucky vacated the U.S. Department of Education’s Title IX regulations published in August 2024. This means the 2020 regulations are back in force (or remain in force for those institutions who didn’t make the change).
The 2020 revised regulations limited the ways in which an institution “knows or reasonably should know” of incidents of sexual harassment to give notice to the Title IX coordinator or an “official with authority to institute corrective measures.”
What does that mean for Ombuds?
The University of Maryland is conducting a study about ombuds’ perceptions of their work, and how ombuds care for themselves when engaged in challenging cases. Knowledge gained from this study can be used to inform the education and training of ombuds, and the development of interventions to support ombuds in their work.
The first 25 ombuds who complete the survey will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. The study has been approved by the University of Maryland IRB: 2259543-1.
Participate in the survey: https://go.umd.edu/UMDOmbudsStudy
Are you interested in helping to create Coursera course about the ombuds* profession, created in partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder. Produced by Liz Hill and Ken Skodacek, this free, on-demand course aims to promote global awareness and deepen understanding of the diverse roles ombuds play.
What’s in the Course?
Module 1: Introduction, history, and foundational elements.
Module 2: Public sector ombuds programs (e.g., classical, primarily external facing).
Module 3: Organizational ombuds (e.g., primarily internal facing, embedded or externally positioned/outsourced),
Module 4: Advocate ombuds, such as long-term care ombudsmen.
Module 5: Ombuds programs outside the U.S.
Module 6: Skills, careers, resources, and next steps.
As we begin 2025, many of our ombuddies are faced with extremes related to weather and other world events. While much of the US has been impacted by severe cold, snow and ice this week, our colleagues in Los Angeles County are facing tremendous uncertainty related to devastating wildfires. Their homes and the homes of their friends, family, colleagues and stakeholders have been impacted. If anyone would like more information on how to support, please reach out to our friends at Cal Caucus and particularly Serena Young at [email protected] for more details. What makes our community special is our connections and support of each other. Please keep these ombuddies in your thoughts and prayers.
Starting February 6, we will hold space for a quarterly community wellness check-in on the first Thursday of the 2nd month of the quarter at 8 am Pacific: 6 February, 1 May, 7 August, and 6 November. To join us, please use this link to access the space.
If there is anything IOA can do to support you, as always - please reach out and let us know.
We wanted to update the IOA Community regarding the status of Program Accreditation and its impacts on individual certification.
As we have previously shared, a Joint Task Force was established in 2022 to explore the development of a program accreditation model. This was the natural next step based both on IOA’s current Strategic Plan and the Board of Certification’s recommendations. To support the Task Force’s work, IOA hired a subject matter expert to review and benchmark our certification program against others. The consultant made a series of recommendations that matched the thinking of the Joint Task Force and also confirmed the direction we needed to go.
One of the recommendations was to stand up a Program Certification model, not a Program Accreditation model, so the Joint Task Force focused on what a properly structured office would need to look like, and how an office can be structured to allow the ombuds to adhere to the Standards of Practice. Many offices and organizations have expressed an interest in Program Certification to help demonstrate and highlight the importance of both the ombuds function and a properly structured office. Certain sectors i.e. higher education, government, healthcare, biomed research, also have a culture that values certification and accreditation, so this additional certification will be especially important for those offices.
IOA's Internationalization Task Force finished its work earlier this year and recommended a series of priorities to guide international activities. This included regional education, greater clarity for the four Regional Advancement Communities (RACs) and exploring how best to advocate and protect the OO model in Europe.
This prioritization identified Canada as the next area of focus internationally. As a result, we have increased our outreach to this important community, developed a Canadian focused Foundations curriculum, and teed up a regional Foundations instructor team going forward. We also participated in a special Ombuds Symposium convened by the University of St. Paul’s Center for Informal Dispute Resolution in May, and held our first Foundations in Ottawa this September.
Did you know that Canada is home to IOA’s second largest group of members? Did you also know that the Canadian Public Sector Ombuds are the largest population of organizational ombuds in Canada with over 120 and counting? There are currently 50 federal government ombuds offices supporting the federal public sector and the community is robust and organized. They have just completed an introductory video building on IOA’s Modern Ombuds video that is available in both English and French for Canadian offices. These videos were shared at the Forum for Canadian Ombudsman (FCO’s) Annual Conference in October:
Top Ten Findings
2024 IOA Practice Survey
Jennifer Schneider PhD, Timothy Hedeen PhD, Mary Rowe PHD, and Hector Escalante Meza EdD
The International Ombuds Association (IOA) surveyed organizational ombuds around the world regarding various aspects of their practice during the 2023 calendar year. The team responsible for creating the instrument and analyzing results selected a top ten list of interesting findings from survey responses:
By Lana Smith-Hale, Assistant Ombuds at UCSB & Anthony Keen-Louie, Associate Ombuds at UCSC,
If you’ve been a part of the IOA community for a while, you probably have a good sense of what Ombuds Day is, and have found creative ways to recognize the day with your colleagues and constituents. But for the newer Ombuds or for the Ombuds who are looking to refresh their Ombuds Day practices, this blog post is for you!
Ombuds Day grew out of the ABA Dispute Resolution Committee, which realized that the field needed to better understand the role of an Ombudsperson. So now, every second Thursday in October, we celebrate Ombuds by both connecting Ombuds with others in the Community (usually with a free webinar - link to sign up for this year’s event), as well as an opportunity to encourage each Ombuds to engage with their own constituents. IOA highlights this as an opportunity to understand the profession deeper and encourage greater awareness and use of the Ombuds services and programs.
The DEIAB Committee announces the book for this quarter's Book Club: bell hooks' Feminism is for Everybody. bell hooks is one of America's foremost literary thinkers. She died in 2021, having produced an incredible mass of writings on race, feminism, class, and belonging.
Feminism is for Everybody makes the case for a gender equality movement that is not about division, but is rooted in the wisdom of experience and common sense. Please join us at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET on Thursday, 5 December, for a discussion of the ideas in the book, feminism, and gender issues more broadly, and how we can promote gender equality as ombuds.
Even if you don't have time to read the book, please join us! Every IOA member and ombuds has ideas about gender and diversity that the rest of us are interested in hearing.
The European Group of Ombuds and Mediation Representatives, a gathering of professionals from large European and international organizations is meeting at SAPs headquarter in Walldorf for their annual conference. This annual event offers a unique opportunity to come together, share best practices, and collaborate on the evolving role of Ombuds in today’s world.
"At SAP, we’re excited to not only share our own 15 years of experience as Ombuds in the IT and High-Tech sector, but also work with this group of professionals on topics like AI and tools and best practices in a series of Breakout Sessions throughout the 3-day event," says Carsten Pöschl, Global Ombudsperson at SAP. At next week's gathering, attendees will dive into workshops, discussions, and explore how technology and innovation can support the Ombuds community in addressing todays and future challenges. A highlight will be welcoming Sarah Klaper, President of IOA and other Ombuds professionals on stage for panel discussions with the group of 60 experts expected from across Europe.
IOA would like to extend our thanks to the European Ombuds and Mediator Group co-chairs Jutta Reitmeier at Mars and Diana Vermeul, at HarmoniKon and Carsten Pöschl and SAP for their sponsorship and support of this conference.
July Webinar Recap: We were honored to have Dr. Nadia Ferrara present on "Cultural Humility," where she explored ways to incorporate cultural humility in our everyday lives to help promote a more inclusive workplace. Members can log into the Online Learning Center to watch the recording. Check out her recent blog post on Trauma-informed Ombudsry.
Upcoming Events: Save the date for the DEIAB sponsored webinar,"IOA Live: Compassionate Inquiry" on 12 December featuring the bestselling author and renowned speaker, Gabor Maté.
The IOA Professional Development Committee (PDC) is looking for members to facilitate webinars in 2025. We would love to hear from fresh voices, so we encourage you to submit a proposal even if you have never presented for IOA before!
For more information, visit the IOA Webinar/Seminar Proposal Form. or contact the PDC webinar committee chairs, Brooke Wichman ([email protected]) and Robynn Pease ([email protected] ) for more information.
The deadline for full consideration is November 1, 2024. We would love to hear from you!
By Martina Peskoller-Fuchs
Ombudsperson, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL),
In the workplace, how we label and discuss issues can significantly impact their resolution. Terms like "conflict," "bullying," and "discrimination" carry strong connotations and can influence perceptions and outcomes. Understanding why people might avoid these terms and exploring alternative approaches can lead to more effective and empathetic problem-solving.
Submission Deadline: May 1st, 2025
Organizational Ombuds, with their emphasis on conflict resolution, ethics, and systems, play a pivotal role in addressing challenges arising from power dynamics, political tensions, and societal polarization. In an era marked by the proliferation of misinformation, the erosion of trust in institutions, and the amplification of diverse voices, the ombuds profession stands at the forefront of navigating complex ethical and social issues.
This special issue aims to explore the multifaceted relationship between the ombuds field and the broader landscape of power, politics, and polarization. We invite submissions that critically examine topics such as:
From Steen Erik Larsen, Maersk Ombuds Function
The IOA Board asked the Research and Assessment Committee to take the lead in helping members understand how they can effectively use artificial intelligence (AI), including considerations/pitfalls to pay attention to when using AI. Ideally, the Independent Voice Blog, CommUnity, Good Day IOA Videos, conferences, webinars, and informal events (i.e. Community Connections) are platforms that could be leveraged for discussion and dissemination.
By now, we expect that most ombuds have heard of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”). Stories of Large Language Models (LLMs, such as ChatGPT) that can replicate human speech and writing (and code) with shocking speed and considerable accuracy seem to be everywhere. Generative AI programs, such as Midjourney and DALL-E can create extraordinary photorealistic images based on simple text prompts. Meanwhile, “Deep Learning” programs such as AlphaFold have already solved medical and scientific problems previously thought nearly impossible. We are in a new world–one that contains potential for extraordinary benefits and risks to ombuds practice. It is certain that AI will affect the work of Organizational Ombuds in fundamental ways. Already, many ombuds are using AI, such as using Microsoft CoPilot to draft documents and articles, or even just using AI-integrated search engines. Others may be exploring ways to use LLMs to enhance productivity, for instance using ChatGPT to draft emails, refine and edit documents, or create blog posts. These uses only scratch the surface of what AI has to offer to our field. Some
other possible uses include:
by Dr. Jacqueline Villafañe, on behalf of the IOA Board SOP Work Group
May 2024
In the ever-evolving landscape of organizational ombuds services, staying abreast of industry standards is crucial for maintaining effectiveness and integrity. This was underscored by the recent revisions to the International Ombuds Association (IOA) Standards of Practice (SOP), which were initiated in 2021 and came into effect with significant changes by 2022.
