The Ombuds Blog: The MacArthur Foundation Unveils Ombuds Program

October 07, 2024

The MacArthur Foundation Unveils Ombuds Program

MWI has announced that Jacqueline Villafañe and Ralph Johnson will serve as Ombuds team members for the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support nonprofit organizations in approximately 117 countries around the world. Villafane and Johnson will serve over 200 staff at their headquarters in Chicago, and offices in India and Nigeria. Previously, a different contractor provided Ombuds services to the Foundation for a little over years.

After a recent solicitation, the Foundation selected MWI to provide an IOA-compliant Ombuds resource. Jacqueline Villafañe, CO-OP, has been an ombuds with the U.S. Department of the Interior, the American Red Cross, and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences. She also serves on the IOA Board of Directors. Ralph Johnson is an experienced Ombuds who served as the America Ombuds for 10 years at McKinsey & Company and was a core faculty member for IOA’s Foundations Course. (Macfound Ombuds.)

Updated 10/8/24: Details added and language revised to indicate a longer history of Ombuds programs at the MacArthur Foundation.

3 comments:

Tom Kosakowski10/07/2024 7:55 AM
I didn't see the RFP either.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Anonymous10/07/2024 1:48 PM
It may have been a sole-sourced RFP.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Alnoor Maherali10/08/2024 9:14 AM
Congratulations. Wonderful news.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

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

Comment Policy

Content and Relevance

Stay on topic: Comments should be relevant to the post.
Be respectful: Personal attacks, insults, profanity, inflammatory language, and discriminatory or harassing comments will not be tolerated.
No self-promotion or spam: Comments should contribute to the conversation and not be used to for commercial purposes.
No confidential information: Do not share confidential information about your organization or visitors.

Length and Format

Keep it concise: Comments should be clear and to the point. Excessively long comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Use appropriate formatting: Do not use all caps unnecessarily. Comments may include HTML formatting for readability.

Other Considerations

Be professional and respectful: Please be mindful of your content, even when commending anonymously.
Comments may be edited: I reserve the right to remove or edit any comments that violate these guidelines. My edits will be noted.
Complaints about IOA: This is not the appropriate forum to lodge formal complaints against the International Ombuds Association.
Guest editorials: Please email me directly to discuss a guest editorial offering a longer, more in-depth perspective on a topic related to the organizational ombuds profession