Slides Reveal Full List of Ombuds Programs Evaluated by Harvard Law Students

Over the years, law students from the Dispute Systems Design Clinic at the Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program have consulted with various Ombuds programs. Sometimes the Ombuds were open about the consulting and sometimes they preferred to keep it quiet. Now a complete list is found in a presentation by Oladeji Tiamiyu, a Clinical Fellow at the HNMCP, that recaps his paper. "From the Field: An Ombuds Guide, Learnings from the Dispute Systems Design Clinic at Harvard Law School."

In his slide presentation, Tiamiyu explains:

This guide seeks to bring together learnings and insights from HNMCP’s clinical projects on behalf of ombuds offices. The content of this guide reflects themes that have recurred in these projects, and includes prescriptive advice drawing on the recommendations our students have provided based on best practices from the field.

Clients have included the Ombuds offices at: the National Institutes of Health (2010 and 2013); American Red Cross (2011); Asian Development Bank (2015 and 2016); DC Ombuds for Public Education (2016-17); Grinnell College (2018); Wellesley College (2018); California State University Channel Islands (2019); and the University of Cincinnati (2020). The guide isintendfed for not only practicing Ombuds, but also researchers and administrators who work with Ombuds. The guide identifies four categories of considerations for Ombuds, and offers design tips and practice pointers for each: Confidentiality; Concrete Options; Community Engagement; and Systemic Change. The guide was created in June and published last week. The author, Tiamiyu, will be speaking at the COFO conference later this month. (HCMNP Ombuds Guide.)

Related posts: Harvard Law Students Assist Red Cross Ombuds Office With Strategic Research; Harvard Students Provide Consulting Services to Two Different Ombuds Programs; Grinnell College Ombuds Engages Harvard Students for Five-Year Consultation; ABA Webinar: How the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program Assesses Ombuds Programs; Harvard Grad Students Complete Consultation with University of Cincinnati Ombuds; COFO Opens Registration for 2021 Virtual Conference.