The Office of the Ombudsman at the National Institutes of Health (the Office) is a neutral, independent, and confidential resource providing informal assistance to NIH scientists, administrators, and support staff in addressing work-related issues occurring within the 27 institutes and centers nationwide.

While there have been many informal projects and studies conducted by the Office, the Office has not undergone a formal evaluation nor has it received formal feedback from the members of the NIH community since its pilot evaluation in 1998, which was conducted by Lisa Bingham. Through the use of interviews, survey and focus groups students will conduct an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Office to provide it with desired feedback from the organization it serves and determine whether and how to modify aspects of its practice.

Our Work

Step 1: Background research on the Office’s functions and practices, as well as previous evaluation efforts.

Step 2: Identification of key stakeholders; interviews and surveys of stakeholders to determine their perceptions of the Office and the extent to which they value its services; an exploration of whether stakeholders have used the Office’s services and  their feedback is regarding the Office’s effectiveness and how the services could be improved.

Step 3: Analysis of compilation of stakeholder views and formulation of metrics for evaluation of the Office.

Final Product

Comprehensive report presented to the Ombudsman of the NIH, including an evaluation of the Office and recommendations for modifying its practices to better serve the NIH community. These recommendations will also include suggestions for means of ongoing feedback between the Agency’s stakeholders and the Office of the Ombudsman.