The Ombuds Blog: IOI Strategic Plans Parallel IOA's

December 08, 2010

IOI Strategic Plans Parallel IOA's

In the latest issue of the International Ombudsman Institute's newsletter, newly elected President Beverley Wakem lays out her plan for the organization. Many of the strategic objectives are similar to those of the International Ombudsman Association.

Wakem's vision for IOI includes:

Desire to see IOI as the pre-eminent Ombuds organization;
Need to rebuild alliances with regional groups and other international integrity institutions to complement efforts to be relevant to membership; and
Strengthening ties with members and developing new services.

Recent developments (many due to the work of Secretary General Peter Postelka) are also similar to IOA's:

New website;
More robust process for assessing membership applications;
Resolution to focus on providing training to members;
Virtual library of ombuds materials, including research and legal information; and
An online directory of members.

(IOI Newsletters.)

1 comment:

Anonymous12/10/2010 7:56 AM
My comment from yesterday does not seem to have been posted.

I will rephrase.

Whilst there may be aspriational similarities between the IOI and the IOA, I believe there is an operational outcome difference. While the IOA speaks about being international, the IOI truly is. It embraces Ombudsman programs from all cultures and countries, while the IOA basically remains American - centric. The IOI takes into account the capacity of others, while the IOA remains self facing. The IOI is collegial in its approach, while the IOA remains cliquish end exclusive in nature.
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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Austria -- Ombudsstelle

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany -- Ombudspersonen

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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