By Elizabeth Hill, J.D., CO-OP®
Associate Director, Ombuds Office at the University of Colorado Boulder

Greetings! In October 2021, Caroline Adams, Jenn Mahony, and I established a LinkedIn Discussion Group called OmbudsLinked. It is an independent forum, not affiliated with any of the ombuds associations. The purpose is to create space for all types of practicing ombuds regardless of model, sector, standards of practice, etc. to congregate, network, share information and ideas, build camaraderie, and unite the profession. It is also a closed group, which will hopefully allow members to speak freely without judgment or scrutiny of individuals outside the ombuds profession. Accordingly, members must be invited by a member or request to join. The group administrators monitor the requests to join.

What does the engagement look like?

Each week the administrators, Caroline Adams, Rob Behrens, Elizabeth Hill, and Jennifer Mahony, offer the following:

Ombudsperson, Graduate School at Virginia Tech, 
Independent Voice Blog Editor

What should a single-person ombuds office do when a member of their community contacts the ombuds office about a matter, but the ombuds determines that they have a conflict of interest in working with that individual? 

An inquiry of just this type was recently raised with the IOA by an individual that encountered that situation with their ombuds. In this case, the ombuds told the individual that they could not provide assistance to them. The Ombuds apparently did not explain the basis for the conflict of interest nor suggested any other means to provide assistance to the individual who considered themselves one of the constituents served by the ombuds office. The individual contacted IOA because they thought that the ombuds may have acted improperly and wanted to raise the issue with the IOA. Since the ombuds involved in this situation is not COOP certified and there is no relevant procedure for investigating the conduct of non-certified IOA members, it was established there is no basis for the IOA to become involved. 

The dilemma presented in this case surely is not unique. While it is likely not appropriate in most situations to disclose to an individual the basis for the conflict of interest, is there nothing that the ombuds can do to help an individual receive assistance? Because this may be a recurring problem for single-person ombuds offices, we thought we would offer a suggestion here that an ombuds may want to consider and invite IOA members to suggest other possible options.