BackThe I.O.I. certainly has a rich information resource to assist members in their work which is why the I.O.I. Board decided in 2009 to focus on training activities which will help both to maintain and raise the level of professionalism in Ombudsman offices around the world. In addition, the Board decided to offer I.O.I. trainings free of charge to all its members in good standing and to use I.O.I. funds that generate from membership fees for scholarships. In order to identify the specific training the I.O.I. General Secretariat has sent all member institutions a questionnaire that should help identifying their individual training needs. Based on recommendations by the Training Committee the Board will discuss and decide on future regional training activities.
The past membership year 2010/2011 has seen first steps towards the successful implementation of this policy. The I.O.I. General Secretariat hosted two I.O.I. editions of the “Sharpening Your Teeth” (SYT) training programmes in November 2010 and June 2011 in Vienna. This educational programme for staff members of ombudsman institutions is based on the successful format established by Ontario Ombudsman André Marin in 2005. Ombudsman Marin and his deputy Barbara Finlay held three-day training sessions on conducting effective investigations and tackled various topics of every day investigative work.
Overall, 75 participants representing five of the six I.O.I. world regions participated in the I.O.I. trainings in Vienna. 14 of these highly-qualified participants profited from an I.O.I. scholarship covering travel and accommodation costs. Both SYT trainings were evaluated by the General Secretariat and the data gathered from the participants' feedback questionnaires resembles the very positive reception by all participants. With a grading system running from 1 “Excellent” to 5 “very poor” participants thought that “the training satisfied their expectation” (Average: 1,39), they were convinced that “the acquired skills would be relevant for their practical work” (Average: 1,52) and they stated that they would “recommend the Vienna I.O.I. training to other colleagues” (Average: 1,52).
This huge success that will be followed up by the first French I.O.I. edition of SYT to be held in Burkina Faso in February 2012 showed that there is a strong demand among member institutions for training activities. The I.O.I. is therefore highly aware of the necessity of shaping tailor-made training programmes for its members and is planning to offer additional training courses focusing on areas that are of specific concern to ombudsman institutions and taking into account regional topics of specific interest.
