Other Ombudsman Organizations and Offices

  • Asian Ombudsman Association
    The AOA is an independent, non-political, democratic and professional organization of Ombudsman throughout Asia. Its objectives are to promote the concepts of Ombudsmanship and to encourage its development in Asia, to develop professionalism in discharge of the functions as Ombudsman, to encourage and support study and research regarding the institution of Ombudsman, and to sponsor training and educational programs for the institutions of Ombudsman in the region.
  • Coalition of Federal Ombudsman
    The Coalition of Federal Ombudsman is the principal interagency forum that provides collaboration, advice, and guidance on professional Ombuds standards, skills development, program development, and effectiveness. Coalition members and committees work as an integrated and networked enterprise to increase the professionalism and effectiveness of Ombuds serving United States government agencies by sharing experiences, ideas, policies, standards, best practices, and innovative approaches to providing world-class Ombuds services.
  • The Forum of Canadian Ombudsman (FCO)
    FCO provides a network for ombudsman offices from all sectors and of all types – as well as people simply interested in ombudsman issues – to meet and to exchange information. In late 2000, a working group of interested ombudsman and staff from all sectors began work on establishing the national network organization. Their work culminated in the first Annual General Meeting of the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman in November 2001.
  • The International Ombudsman Institute (I.O.I.)
    I.O.I. was established in 1978, is a worldwide organization of ombudsman offices. It is incorporated as a non-profit organization under the Canada Corporations Act. Institutional Members are public sector, independent ombudsman offices located around the world. Specialized ombudsman offices and public human rights organizations can become Institutional Members if they meet the criteria contained in Article 6 of the I.O.I. By-Laws.
  • International Ombuds Association (IOA)
    IOA was officially formed in July 2005 following the merger of the University and College Ombuds Association (UCOA) and The Ombudsman Association (TOA). IOA is an international association of professional organizational Ombuds practitioners.
  • IRS Taxpayer Advocate
    The IRS has established the Taxpayer Advocate service for taxpayers who have an ongoing issue with the IRS that has not been resolved through normal processes, or for taxpayers that have suffered, or are about to suffer a significant hardship/economic burden as a result of the administration of the tax laws.
  • National Long Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center
    The National Long Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center provides support, technical assistance and training to the 53 State Long Term Care Ombudsman Programs and their statewide networks of almost 600 regional (local) programs. This website also includes an Ombudsman Locator for State Long Term Care Programs. The Center’s objectives are to enhance the skills, knowledge and management capacity of the State programs to enable them to handle residents’ complaints and represent resident interests (individual and systemic advocacy).
  • Organization of News Ombudsmen
    Formed in 1980, ONO is a nonprofit corporation with an international membership of active and associate members. It maintains contact with news ombudsmen worldwide, and organizes annual conferences, held in a member’s city, for discussion of news practices and a wide range of issues connected with ombudsman work. ONO works to help the journalism profession achieve and maintain high ethical standards in news reporting, thereby enhancing its own credibility among the people it serves.

Other Conflict Resolution Organizations

  • Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR)
    ACR is a professional organization dedicated to enhancing the practice and public understanding of conflict resolution. ACR represents and serves a diverse national and international audience that includes more than 6,000 mediators, arbitrators, facilitators, educators, and others involved in the field of conflict resolution and collaborative decision-making. ACR was launched in January 2001, when the Academy of Family Mediators (AFM), the Conflict Resolution Education Network (CREnet), and the Society for Professionals in Dispute Resolution (SPIDR) merged into one organization. ACR has an Ombuds/Ombudsman interest section.