IOA was handed a big win today!   Revisions to Title IX were released Friday 19, April and the IOA is thrilled to see the US Department of Education's inclusion of Organizational Ombuds as employees who may be designated as confidential employees for Title IX purposes.   Since 2012, the IOA has actively commented on proposed regulations and other guidance that addresses both Title IX and Clery Act.   In 2022, we upped our game.  In May 2022, we participated in an Executive Order (EO) 12866 Meeting on Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activi ..read more

Watch as Ellen Miller, IOA Executive Director, Mary Rowe, Hector Escalante, and Jennifer Schneider discuss the importance of the Practice Survey and why all practicing ombuds should take it.  ..read more

By Ellen Miller, IOA Executive Director The Ombuds Community has a variety of channels within IOA and outside of IOA to publish content about the profession and field:   1.  Within IOA:  Our Blog, The Independent Voice, is IOA's newsletter that is available to the wider ombuds community beyond IOA members. This is a perfect format to share how you got into ombuds practice (as part of the Ombuds Journey series), how you celebrated Ombuds Day, regional and affinity group gatherings, office milestones, offer perspectives on how we serve organizations and communities ..read more

By, Dr. Eng. Ion Anghel Director, PetrOmbudsman Department On March 25th, my team and I officially celebrated the 10th anniversary since the establishment of our Ombuds department in OMV Petrom. The occasion was marked with a special celebration event in the headquarters of the organization, together with people who have been there with us during all this time. I can say that we embarked on a time machine journey, on the path of memories, but also of ambitious dreams, to new heights that we set out to conquer, now that we have reached the milestone of 10 years as PetrOmbudsman. We had wit ..read more

By Shannon Burton, Dear Colleagues, This past year, the Journal of the International Ombuds Association (JIOA) placed two calls for papers in special issues. The editorial board wanted to send out a reminder about these special issues along with their end dates. Mary Rowe Special Issue – Manuscripts due by April 26th, 2024 for consideration. Rowe has produced a collection of published works and invited scholarly presentations that have had, we believe, a wide-ranging influence on scholars and practitioners in our field.  Her research publications highlight several areas specific to ombuds ..read more

By Kenneth Cloke, As I write, it is now the year of the 60th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement (FSM) at U.C. Berkeley, in which I was an active participant (I am at the far right in the photo.)  It is also a time when free speech issues are again triggering campus conflicts, largely because of intense polarization over fighting in Gaza, and the mutually antagonistic activities of student supporters of Israel or Palestine. Starting in the 1980’s, I began working as a mediator, conflict resolver, and dialogue facilitator, helping thousands of people and hundreds of organizations with ..read more

By Liz Hill The American Bar Association (ABA) has taken significant steps to enhance the ombuds profession by passing Resolution 500 at its recent Mid-Year Meeting. This resolution encourages the informed and voluntary use of Early Dispute Resolution (EDR), emphasizing its efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Resolution 500 urges lawyers and stakeholders to employ party-directed, non-adjudicative methods such as direct negotiation, mediation, and ombuds services for conflict resolution. The American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates unanimously approved the resolution spearheaded and dra ..read more

By Kenneth Cloke, Many political conflicts are taking place on campuses and in communities today over the war in Gaza between Israeli and Palestinian supporters.  Here are a few possible opening questions mediators and dialogue facilitators can use to encourage colleges and universities, groups, communities, and people on both sides or in-between to engage in facilitated dialogue and mediated problem solving.  They are suggestive, are likely to work best in small groups, and are only the beginning of a longer term process of discovering how to talk and learn from each other.  Fo ..read more

Learn about recent collaborations of the IOA and CO-OP® Boards of Directors, an exciting new Ombuds Program Certification proposal, and upcoming changes to the existing individual CO-OP® certification ..read more

By Alexandre St-Jean (il, he), Ombuds Office of the Ombuds | Bureau de l’ombuds | Shared Services Canada | Services partagés Canada In April 2023, SSC Office of the Ombuds presented at the International Ombuds Association Annual Conference in Seattle. Their session entitled: “Being a Change Agent for Diversity and Inclusion Using Data and Change Management Methodology” looked at the experience of equity-seeking employees at SSC. While the research report was not yet published during the IOA Conference, it is now available! In June 2023, SSC’s Ombuds published their report: “Uncovering the ..read more