British Ombudsman Association Annual Conference Marks 25 Years

The professional association for Classical Ombudsmen in the UK, Ireland, and British dependencies looks back on its first quarter century at its next annual meeting. TOA has announced details of the conference set for May 24-25 at the Hilton Edinburgh Carlton Hotel:

Thursday 24th May

Welcome to Conference, Nick Bennett, Ombudsman Association Chair and Donal Galligan, Director

Plenary: "Barrels and Barrel-makers" -- Dr David Whetham, leading expert on military ethics, on need to continually discuss ethical behaviour with staff, train and monitor them, and from Samantha Peters, on what promotes or inhibits altruism, and its importance for complaint handling.

Lunch

Workshop Sessions A

• Caseworker Competency Framework 
• Proportionality in decision making 
• Adding value 
• Customer centred approach

Workshop Sessions B

• Supporting staff through the complaints process 
• Service Standards Framework: measuring and reporting performance 
• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
• Quality Assurance

Plenary Session: "Breaking the stigma" -- Jonny Benjamin MBE & Neil Laybourn on mental health and what can be done to support people.

Dinner

Friday 25th May

Plenary Session: "More than just lip service" -- (Chair: Rosemary Agnew) Plenary session on equality and diversity, with presentations on the reality of equality and diversity in the workplace and how to bring about change, including from Dr Sally Witcher OBE, Inclusion Scotland.

Workshop Sessions C

• Human rights approach 
• Reasonable adjustments vs. Unreasonable behaviour 
• Caseworker Competency Framework Workshop 
• Rise of the robots

Plenary Session: "Speaking truth to power" -- Andreas Pottakis, Greek Ombudsman, and Mick King, Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman on the additional challenge of speaking truth to power in a time of austerity.

Closing address

Lunch

Registration for the conference is now open. (OA 2018 Conf Info.)

Related posts: BIOA Offering Ombuds Training and Certification;  British and Irish Ombuds to Meet This Week in Wales;  British and Irish Ombudsman Association Holds Annual Meeting in Belfast; British and Irish Ombudsman Association Rebrands as the Ombudsman Association; Ombudsman Association Publishes 2011-12 Annual Report; British Ombudsman Association Gets Introspective for 2017 Conference.