Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Rob Behrens was pleased to present a new study at the IOI World Conference on Wednesday 26 May: The Art of the Ombudsman: leadership through international crisis. The study sets out the findings of an international research project initiated by Rob with support from the International Ombudsman Institute and the University of Glasgow.

Ombudsman offices were both involved in and affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as they sought to help citizens whose lives had been affected in unprecedented ways. The research set out to identify the challenges this presented and the different ways in which Ombudsman offices across the world were responding. The study is based on responses from 53 Ombudsman schemes in 37 different countries.

The comparative experiences of Ombudsman offices raises interesting questions about the role of an Ombudsman during times of crisis, and the contribution they can make to learning lessons in real time where their powers enable them to do so. The study also raises broader questions of leadership and organisational development.

You can read the report here.

Read Rob’s blog about the study here.