IOA’s New Strategic Plan Signals a Shift in Priorities Through 2030

The International Ombuds Association has adopted a new five-year strategic direction, continuing a planning process that started in 2020. IOA’s “Strategic Direction 2021–2024,” identified four goals: Strengthening Ombuds’ capacity and tools; Increasing organizational leaders’ understanding and appreciation of the Ombuds function; Ensuring that IOA operated effectively and had sufficient financial resources; and Developing a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion and engagement. The “2026 Strategic Direction” retains those four broad goals but explicitly describes the change as one of different strategies and tactics.

The changes in strategy suggest several significant pivots from the priorities of the previous five years. Beginning this year, IOA plans to focus on:

• Sharpening Members’ Professional Skills. The earlier plan set a goal for Ombuds office accreditation, which IOA has since implemented, while the new plan emphasizes individual professional development through business and political acumen, specialty certifications, mentoring, coaching and supervision.

• Documenting Evidence of Value. The focus shifts from helping Ombuds communicate their value toward research, data collection and data-based storytelling to demonstrate it.

• Strengthening Advocacy. The focus shifts from general outreach toward targeted communications with organizational leaders, clearer messaging about the Ombuds role and efforts to influence legislation.

• Diversifying Revenue Sources. The focus shifts from financial stability and reserves toward corporate partnerships, an endowment, consulting and expanded external training and certification.

• Broadening Inclusion and Belonging. The focus shifts from DEIB initiatives toward the day-to-day membership experience, including onboarding, volunteering, barriers to engagement and the needs of IOA’s diverse communities. This includes an emphasis on inclusion of non-U.S. members.

• Evaluating Organizational Effectiveness. The focus shifts from establishing governance and administrative structures toward reassessing staffing, processes and organizational roles.

The new plan is notable not only for what has changed but also for what has remained constant. Demonstrating the value of the organizational Ombuds role remains a central concern, as do professional development, organizational effectiveness, financial sustainability and member engagement. At the same time, the 2026 plan is more explicitly operational, with specific tactics including new toolkits, website revisions, research, partnerships, certifications, revenue initiatives, onboarding procedures and a membership plan.

The plan therefore appears less focused on establishing the basic infrastructure of the profession and IOA and more focused on scaling, differentiating and demonstrating the value of what the association and its members already do. Its emphasis on monetizing services, reaching external audiences and reassessing staffing also suggests that implementation will involve significant attention to IOA’s business model and organizational structure over the next five years. (IOA Strategic Direction 2026-2030; Strategic Direction 2021-2025.)

Related posts: IOA Board Shares Three-Year Strategic Plan; IOA Rolls Out Office Certification Program; IOA and ABA Form Joint Taskforce for Ombuds Model Act; IOA Seeks Feedback on Final Draft of Standards of Practice.