COFO 2023 Annual Conference: Call for Presentations

The Coalition of Federal Ombudsman has announced that it is now accepting proposals to present at its 2023 Annual Conference on October 13, 2023. The conference typically draws over 200 attendees from across the Ombuds profession and broader ADR community. The conference will be a hybrid event, returning to an in-person conference setting in Alexandria, VA this year, but continuing to also offer options for virtual attendees. Therefore, COFO is soliciting proposals for both virtual and in-person presentations and would like to have a mix of both at the event.

COFO is open to proposals of all lengths on substantive topics. Presentations ranging from 15 to 90 minutes will be considered, though 60 minutes is historically the most common session proposal. Additionally, COFO is again looking for “blips” – short presentations or interactive activities no longer than 5 minutes that reflect the creative talents of our community and are designed to help transition between presentations. Blips should be creative or artistic content which can be fun, entertaining, or reflective and can be specific to or adjacent to Ombuds practice, but don’t have to be.

COFO’s membership practices to many Ombuds models, so substantive topics of interest to both internally- and externally-facing Ombuds models are most likely to be selected. Topics specific to one model will only be considered if content is available to support concurrent sessions of interest to other models. Due to technological limitations, sessions should be designed for traditional presentation and Q&A rather than discussion-based breakouts. COFO has no budget and is unfortunately unable to pay a presenter fee or travel costs. Registration for the COFO Annual Conference, however, is free.

The Annual Conference is primarily a training opportunity for Ombuds practitioners serving in the federal government, but it is also always an Ombuds-wide family affair. COFO welcomes anyone either practicing as an Ombuds or interested in Ombuds work to join us as an attendee or presenter. Please email the title and description of your proposed presentation or blip, as well as the names, titles, affiliations, and bios of all presenters and whether you intend to present in person or virtually, by June 30th, 2023 to Paul Sotoudeh (paul[dot]sotoudeh[at-sign]uspto[dot]gov). (COFO Website.)

Related posts: Updated Website is Great Resource for U.S. Government Ombuds; COFO Opens Registration for 2021 Virtual Conference; Coalition of Federal Ombudsman Posts Agenda and Registration for 2022 Conference; Save the Date for COFO's 2023 Conference.