New Program:
The Board of Certification approved a new individual certification model for organizational ombuds. The following are requirements under the new certification program:
Experience
Minimum Hours: At least 2000 experience as an OO within the last 4 years, performing the full scope of ombuds duties. Must have experience handling direct case work with visitors.
Education
Minimum Hours of Education/Training/Specific coursework required: 80 hours using PDH parameters, must include Foundations or similar training/suitable substitute to ensure the applicant fully understands the OO model (i.e. worked as a FT OO for a certain number of years).
Bachelor's Degree or equivalent.
Recommended readings: IOA training materials, JIOA articles and books recommended but not required
Exam
Exam eligibility: Applicants may take the exam after experience hours have been obtained. Exam will be open April 15 and will be available as an online exam or in person exam.
Exam Expiration: Exam will not expire until the exam is substantially changed
Other Requirements:
“Case Scenario” Assessment: Applicants will need to answer case scenarios either by video or in writing to demonstrate process understanding (i.e. opening statements, getting the story, moving to option generation, how to deliver a difficult issue) and certain behavioral and technical core competencies (more will be posted on this requirement later in March).
Ethical/Moral Requirements: Self-attestation that you have not been removed from your position as an ombuds and/or have not been convicted of a crime.
Letters of Recommendation: Letter of Recommendation from supervisor or someone you are accountable to, or if not available -a CO-OP certified to speak to skills and abilities and professional integrity as an ombuds.
Core Competencies: The application, interview, and scenario will assess certain behavioral technical and core competencies i.e. How have you engaged with different organizational partners?
Application and Interview: The Eligibility Committee will review all applications and conduct a virtual interview of applicants.
Launch date: While we hoped the program would be ready by April 15, we will launch no later than May 15. If your exam expired/expires between January 1 and May 15, 2025, please reach out directly as no one will be disenfranchised by these changes.
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Recertification: The Board is considering a recommendation from the Recertification Committee at its next meeting and will report back.
New Name for CO-OP Certification: Given changes to individual certification and the addition of a new type of certification (program certification), the Board also voted to create a new naming protocol for the certification program.
First, they approved an umbrella name that all certifications will fall under:
IOA- Ombuds Certification Program (OCP)
Second, they approved a new name for individual certification: Certified Organizational Ombuds and certified Individuals will be certified as OCP-Certified Organizational Ombuds. The Board intentionally did not approve an acronym for the certification itself as the full name not the letters help us to better educate stakeholders about the certification.
Finally, soon to be certified programs will receive a logo that says OCP-Certified Ombuds Program and the logo will have a tagline that says: This Office has been certified by the International Ombuds Association.
Whether current Certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioners can continue to use the CO-OP designation and how to transition current CO-OP certified ombuds from the old program to the new program are key questions that still need to be addressed with the Board and outside counsel and we will report all decisions to the community as soon as they are available.
As we promised, no one will be disenfranchised by these changes, so if you have questions, please reach out to Mollie Berg or Ellen Miller. Thank you for your patience as we navigate the many elements of these exciting changes for the field.