DSpace@MIT

This section contains articles (from 1987 to the present, in reverse chronological order) that cover such topics as discussions of risk management for an organization and all its members; the 2016 Ombudsman Report to the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS Report); a very detailed overview of difficulties encountered in assessing the cost-effectiveness of ombuds services, and—nevertheless—some estimates of the value of ombuds offices.

Other subjects include:

• the importance—for all the members of an organization and the organization’s image and reputation—of having a safe, accessible, fair, and credible professional with whom to discuss any work-related issue and develop options going forward.
• the ombuds’ role in reducing risk for all constituents who wish to discuss a concern or a good idea and how this helps the organization manage risk by helping to surface information to leadership.
• the role of an ombuds in responsive listening throughout an organization, identifying and assessing new concerns, good ideas, and issues needing attention.
• the ombuds’ role in sustaining attention to recurring problems like racism; discrimination on the basis of gender, identity, or religion; xenophobia; ableism; ageism; myriad forms of abuse and retaliation; unfair processes; and integrity issues.
• the importance of ombuds office data collection and especially a) collecting benchmark data before an ombuds office starts, and b) data about an ombuds’ most serious cases.
• the ombuds’ roles in dispute resolution, including as sounding board, interpreter, go-between, catalyst, bridge-builder, informal fact finder, facilitator, and expert resource (as an “inside outsider”) for the conflict management system.
• the ombuds' role in providing informal and largely invisible coordination for all the units in a conflict management system in the context of constant referrals to and from the office.