By Sue Diviney, Co-Chair, Joint IOA/CO-OP® Accreditation Task Force

In May 2022, IOA announced a Joint IOA/CO-OP® Accreditation Task Force had been formed to advance IOA’s Strategic Direction, specifically, Goal 1.4: Develop a program for accreditation of ombuds offices that are structured to comply with IOA and Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics.

The purpose of the Task Force is to explore the creation of an office accreditation program that will pave the way for refocusing the CO-OP® designation to certify the knowledge, skills, and experience of individuals and remove program requirements from certification. Thus, the group is charged with developing a proposal to accredit programs separately from individual certifications.

There is no provision in the CO-OP® Bylaws that makes the CO-OP® Board responsible for an accreditation program. This gives tremendous flexibility in how the program might be built and structured. The Accreditation Task Force is comprised of eight IOA members with a wide range of diversity in backgrounds, organizations, and levels of experience. Before commencing work on the accreditation program proposal, the Task Force would like to hear from YOU, our members, with ideas and thoughts on what you would like to see in an accreditation program.

To that end, we will be holding two Community Conversations on 20 July 2022 at 8:00 AM Pacific Time and 3:00 PM Pacific Time. The sessions will begin with an overview of the Accreditation Task Force’s remit followed by facilitated break-out groups for brainstorming and discussion. A summary of the take-aways from the break-out groups will be circulated following the sessions. Please make every effort to join one of the sessions and share your views!

UPDATES: Share Your Thoughts

On 20 July, more than 80 IOA members and CO-OP® practitioners joined the Joint IOA/CO-OP® Accreditation Task Force in two Community Conversations to explore the creation of an office accreditation program. A summary of the discussions will be shared soon. In the meantime, if you were not able to attend or if you have further thoughts to share please take a moment to share them in this short survey.

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We hope to see you there!

Joint IOA/CO-OP® Joint Program Accreditation Task Force