2003 ADR in Ombudsman schemes

This page contains an outline of this research, and a summary of the key findings. Details of how to find the full report can be found at the bottom of the page.
 
Title
“The Use of ADR in Ombudsman Processes: Results of a survey of members of the British and Irish Ombudsman Association”
 
What is it?
The paper is a compilation of the results of a survey of ombudsmen and independent complaints handlers. The aim of the survey was to determine what alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes are being used by ombudsmen and to contribute to the development of good practice advice for ombudsmen.
 
Who did it?
The survey was conducted by Margaret Doyle and was published on the British and Irish Ombudsman Association (BIOA) website in March 2003. It involved a questionnaire sent to BIOA member organisations. The number surveyed was small (17 out of 39 responded); however, some general conclusions can be drawn.
 
Key findings
The author welcomes the use of ADR by ombudsmen if it serves the interests of four key stakeholders:

• the ombudsman service
• complainants
• organisations complained about
• the general public

However, a number of concerns were raised, in particular:

• is ADR a process that parties enter into voluntarily, and in an informed way?
• do both parties consent to an agreement reached through ADR, or is it simply “recommendation without investigation” by the ombudsman?
• can the ombudsman influence good practice in the organisations complained about if unpublished private local settlements become the norm?

The survey also found that definitions of the various ADR processes are needed, as ombudsmen use the terms in different ways. For example, many ombudsmen refer to their informal resolution process as “mediation”. However, mediation allows the parties to reach their own, mutually agreed settlement. In informal resolution it is the ombudsman who determines whether a settlement is appropriate, and what the terms of the settlement should be.
 
Among the other key findings of the survey are:

• Nearly every ombudsman service offers – and is placing increased emphasis on – some form of informal resolution
• In some ombudsman services 100% of complaints are resolved through the use of an ADR process
• Ombudsman schemes use a wide variety of different ADR processes
• Only one ombudsman scheme uses arbitration

 
The full report can be found here: ADR in ombudsman schemes.