Conference Ombuds Frequently Asked Questions

The Conference Ombuds provides confidential and informal assistance to people who have questions, concerns, conflicts, or difficult experiences related to the SRCD 2027 Biennial Meeting.

The Ombuds may help you:

• Describe and clarify what happened
• Identify the interests, needs, and concerns involved
• Understand relevant SRCD policies and resources
• Explore possible options and next steps
• Prepare for a difficult conversation
• Consider informal approaches to addressing a concern
• Connect with an appropriate formal resource when requested

The Ombuds helps visitors make informed decisions but does not decide what they should do.

Contact information and the confidential web form are available on the SRCD Conference Ombuds page.

You may use the form to ask a question or request a private appointment. The Ombuds will respond as quickly as possible and typically within 24 hours during the meeting.

The resource is available to attendees, presenters, staff, exhibitors, volunteers, and anyone else participating in the SRCD 2027 Biennial Meeting.

You may contact the Ombuds about a concern that affects you, another person, or the meeting community.

You may discuss almost any meeting-related question or concern, including:

• Communication problems or difficult professional interactions
• Harassment, including sexual harassment
• Discrimination or other identity-based concerns
• Accessibility or accommodation concerns
• Sexual misconduct or professional boundary concerns
• Safety or security concerns
• Free speech or expression concerns
• Research integrity or intellectual property issues
• Conflicts of interest
• Questions about the SRCD Code of Conduct
• Concerns involving the hotel or meeting environment
• A situation that simply does not feel right

You do not need to know whether a rule or policy was violated before contacting the Ombuds.

The Ombuds will provide time and space for you to describe your concern privately. Jai will listen carefully, ask questions, and help you clarify what is most important.

Together, you may identify options, review relevant policies or resources, and develop a possible strategy for addressing the situation.

You remain in control of whether and how you proceed.

Speaking with the Ombuds may help you gain:

• A clearer understanding of a complicated situation
• A different perspective on an issue or interaction
• Greater clarity about your goals and priorities
• A better understanding of available options
• A communication plan for a difficult conversation
• Information about relevant policies or resources
• A practical strategy for moving forward

Contacting the Ombuds does not obligate you to take any particular action.

The Ombuds treats communications as confidential and off the record. The Ombuds does not disclose information identifying a visitor or the details of a conversation without permission.

The principal exception is when the Ombuds determines that there is an imminent risk of serious harm or another narrow exception described in the SRCD Conference Ombuds Charter.

When sharing information might be helpful and there is no immediate safety concern, the Ombuds will ordinarily request the visitor’s permission before doing so.

Visitors are encouraged to discuss any confidentiality questions with the Ombuds at the beginning of the conversation.

Yes. You may contact the Ombuds without providing your name.

However, the Ombuds will need a way to reach you if you would like a response or appointment. You may discuss any concerns about identifying information directly with the Ombuds.

No. Contacting the Ombuds does not constitute formal notice to SRCD and does not begin a formal complaint, investigation, grievance, disciplinary process, or legal proceeding.

The Ombuds may explain available reporting options or refer you to an appropriate formal channel. You decide whether to use those processes.

The Ombuds does not:

• Conduct formal investigations
• Make findings of fact
• Determine whether a policy was violated
• Provide legal advice
• Provide therapy or mental health counseling
• Make decisions for SRCD or meeting participants
• Accept formal notice on behalf of SRCD
• Advocate for a visitor, another party, or SRCD
• Serve as a witness in a formal proceeding
• Participate in a grievance, legal, or disciplinary process

The Ombuds may help a visitor identify the appropriate resource when formal action is desired.

The Ombuds may raise general concerns or systemic issues with appropriate SRCD leaders and may recommend that the organization consider changes to a policy, practice, or meeting process.

The Ombuds does not have authority to require SRCD, staff members, attendees, exhibitors, or any other participant to take a particular action.

The Ombuds also does not make binding decisions or impose outcomes.

Yes. You may contact the Ombuds when you are concerned about another participant, a situation you observed, or something affecting the broader meeting community.

The resource is not limited to people raising concerns about something that happened directly to them.

When in doubt, you are welcome to contact the Ombuds and discuss whether the resource may be helpful.

Human Resources or Employee Relations: These professionals may apply organizational policies, conduct investigations, make recommendations, and accept formal notice on behalf of an organization. The Conference Ombuds does not perform those formal functions.

Lawyer: A lawyer advises and advocates for a client. The Ombuds does not provide legal advice or advocate for an individual or SRCD.

Mediator: A mediator generally works with two or more parties to address a specific dispute. The Ombuds has a broader role and may work privately with one visitor, provide conflict coaching, explain options, identify resources, or facilitate an informal conversation with everyone’s agreement.

The Ombuds complements these other resources but does not replace them.

The Ombuds does not maintain formal case files on behalf of SRCD and does not retain information that identifies visitors for longer than is necessary to provide assistance.

Working notes are kept separately from SRCD systems and are destroyed according to the practices established in the Ombuds charter.

The Ombuds may maintain general, non-identifying statistics about the number and broad types of concerns raised. These statistics do not identify individual visitors.

The Ombuds may provide SRCD with general, non-identifying information about the types of concerns raised during the meeting.

This may include recurring themes, systemic concerns, emerging risks, or recommendations for improving future meetings.

Summaries do not identify visitors or disclose confidential communications.

No. The Ombuds does not participate in formal grievances, investigations, disciplinary proceedings, administrative hearings, or lawsuits.

The Ombuds will not serve as a witness, speak with a visitor’s attorney about confidential communications, or testify about matters discussed with visitors.

The Ombuds may facilitate an informal discussion when all participants agree and when doing so is consistent with the Ombuds role.

The Ombuds is not part of an SRCD department or formal decision-making structure. The Ombuds operates under an approved charter that establishes the independence of the role.

The Ombuds does not take sides or advocate for a visitor, another participant, or SRCD. Instead, the Ombuds supports fair processes and helps people make informed decisions for themselves.

The Ombuds follows the International Ombuds Association Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

You are welcome to contact the Ombuds with any meeting-related question or concern, even when you are unsure whether the issue falls within the Ombuds role.

Visit the confidential contact form to ask a question or request a private appointment.