Strengthening governance worldwide

When Citizens
Complain
Internal audit
and risk
For ombudsmen,
commissioners and

management
complaint handlers

Adding value

One-week professional development workshop

25 to 29 June 2018

BRITISH ACCREDITATION COUNCIL

ACCREDITED SHRT COURSE PROVIDER
PAI is accredited by the
One-week workshop British Accreditation Council
7 to 11 March 2016for Independent Further and Higher Educatio
About the workshop How participants will benefit
“When Citizens Complain” is a high-level The workshop will provide a valuable
one-week workshop. Its main aims are to: opportunity for you to:
 Improve public services and promote  Broaden your knowledge of the concept
good governance in different countries and institution of the Ombudsman and
 Raise awareness of the importance of the variations of the Ombudsman model
Ombudsman, human rights and  Learn from the experience and
complaints Commissioners in dealing expertise of UK Ombudsman offices,
with corruption and human rights relevant parliamentarians, lawyers, civil
violations servants and leading scholars and
 Explore a variety of systems and practitioners
approaches to complaint handling and  Improve your capacity to manage
dispute resolution in different countries. investigations, produce effective
reports, communicate with the public
Who is the workshop for?
and other key stakeholders and deal
The workshop is for Ombudsmen and
with the media
Commissioners and their senior staff. It will
 Make international comparisons and
also be relevant for:
identify areas for developing and
 Staff from complaint-handling
improving your own Ombudsman and
organisations
complaint-handling systems
 Policy makers from countries which have
 Develop practical skills in managing the
an Ombudsman system, which are in the
business of your office
process of setting one up or which are
 Familiarise you with how Ombudsman
thinking of doing so
and complaint-handling organisations
 Staff from complaint-handling or dispute
deal with complaints and redress
resolution departments in any public
grievances
body
 Share with one another individual
 Public servants who wish to get a better
experiences.
understanding of how Ombudsman and
complaint-handling offices work to
improve services for the public.

“Since attending this workshop, I have changed the way we write recommendations
and our way of dealing with the media has also improved. The knowledge and advice
gained from attending the programme has been very useful. The workshop was one of
the best I have attended.
Natasa Jovic
Assistant Secretary General, Protector of Citizens (Ombudsman)
Serbia
 What the workshop will cover
The workshop will cover issues of principle and practice relating to the role of Ombudsman
and complaint handling organisations and will provide a balance between tutorial sessions,
discussions and visits. Workshop notes, presentations and a range of different materials
will be provided on an Android tablet for you to use during the workshop and for future
reference and follow up. It is designed flexibly so that it can be adjusted in emphasis to
meet your specific requirements and those of your organisation.
A key element for sharing experience and best practice will be sessions during which you
will be invited to give an informal presentation on your own office and complaints system.
You will also be asked to describe your approach to handling a range of cases and will be
involved in problem solving exercises and discussion groups.

The workshop includes seminar-style discussions; exchanges of information and

experience from the countries represented; practical casework, action planning and a range
of visits to speakers from the offices of the UK Parliamentary Ombudsman, a Local
Government Ombudsman, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, a private
sector Ombudsman, mediators and other relevant complaint handling organisations.

Programme outline
AM PM

Day 1  Welcome and introductions Visit to the Parliamentary and Health

 The Ombudsman: an evolving Service Ombudsman
institution, worldwide  Achieving compliance with
 The UK Ombudsman scene recommendations
 Participants’ informal presentations  Investigation techniques
 Training and development

 The role of the Local Government The work of the Adjudicator’s Office:
Day 2
Ombudsman in improving public complaint handling and dispute resolution
services: annual reports, the use of for Government Departments
publications and the media Visit to the Independent Police Complaints
Commission (IPCC)
 Learning from investigations
 Publishing annual statistics

Day 3 Visit to the Centre for Effective Dispute  Challenges and opportunities:
Resolution (CEDR) syndicate work
 Effective dispute resolution  Participants’ individual cases
techniques
 Dispute resolution in practice

Day 4 Visit to a private sector Ombudsman  Practical management skills:

office leadership, organisation skills and time
 Overcoming barriers to access: management
gender, race, literacy, disability
 The role of the Independent Assessor

 The complainant’s perspective:  Putting it right: redress and remedies

Day 5
case studies  Review and evaluation
 Image and reputation: facing the  Presentation of certificates of attendance
challenge
 Governance of Ombudsman schemes

We reserve the right to change the programme as necessary.

Language Cancellation
The workshop is conducted in English. You If you have to cancel your booking, you
will need to have a good working knowledge of must let us know in writing and we will
the language. acknowledge in writing your cancellation

Location and arrival arrangements Substitutions and transfers

The workshop is based in central London and If you have booked a place on a workshop
will include visits to relevant Ombudsman and and are not able to attend, we will accept an
dispute resolution offices. We can arrange appropriate substitute at any time without
travel to and from one of the London airports penalty, but our normal terms and
into central London if you let us have your conditions will apply. Also, it is possible to
flight arrival details in good time. The cost of transfer to a future workshop, but only one
airport transfers is included in the fee. transfer is permitted. Please get in touch
with us and we will advise you about
Fees
transfers.
The fee for the workshop will be £2,180. It
includes tuition, travel to and from the airport Please see our website for our full terms and
in London, travel on scheduled visits which conditions. If you prefer a hard copy of our
form part of the programme1, presentation full terms and conditions, please let us
material and other documentation It also know.
includes an Android tablet for you to use
http://www.public-admin.co.uk/terms-and-
during the workshop and take home with you.
conditions-for-booking/
We also provide a light lunch and
refreshments during each working day as part Insurance
of the fee. We advise you to arrange travel and health
insurance cover before you leave your home
Other costs
country.
Airfares and daily travel to and from the
workshop venue are not included. Our
workshops are non-residential and you are
responsible for your accommodation costs.
We can help you with booking hotel
accommodation so please let us know if you
would like us to advise you or make a
reservation. We suggest that you should allow
approximately £160 per day for a modest
standard of hotel (for example, three-star),
local travel in the UK, meals (apart from a light
lunch on working days) and other incidental
expenses.

Value Added Tax

We do not have to charge UK Value Added
Tax (VAT) if you can provide written
confirmation from your government or its
accredited representative that you are
“employed by the government in furtherance
of its sovereign activities”. In all other cases,
we will have to charge VAT (currently 20%) in
addition to the fee.

Ways to pay
You, or your government agency, can pay by
bank transfer or by cheque, made payable to
Public Administration International. We also
accept payment by credit or debit card but
there is a surcharge for this way of paying.
Please contact us if you would like to pay by
credit or debit card.

Discounts
We offer a 10% reduction on the full tuition
fee if we receive payment no later than 21 days
before the first day of the workshop. If we
receive payment after that, we will charge the
full tuition fee.

Additional discounts may be available. Please

contact us if you would like to discuss options.
_____________________________________
1
Travel to and from the airport in London and on
scheduled visits during the workshop are provided
at cost.
Workshop Director
The Workshop Director will be Sir Anthony (Tony) Redmond. Tony has had a long and successful
career in public service, in particular in local government. He was Chairman and Chief Executive of
the Commission for Local Administration and Local Government Ombudsman in England for nine
years. During this time he also served as Chair of the British and Irish Ombudsman Association for
two years.

Prior to being an Ombudsman he was Chief Executive of the London Borough of Harrow, Deputy
Chief Executive and Finance Director of Knowsley (Merseyside) and Treasurer of the Merseyside
Police Authority. In his earlier years he was Deputy Finance Director of Wigan (Greater
Manchester) and Chief Accountant of Liverpool City Council.

Tony is currently Local Government Boundary Commissioner for England and Treasurer of
UNICEF UK, as well as being involved in other non-executive roles. He is also Chair of the
Consumer Council for Water for London and the South East.

Who we are
PAI (Public Administration International) specialises in management consultancy, training and
development services for organisations in, and associated with, the public sector worldwide. We
provide advice and support for governments going through political, economic, structural and
legislative change. Our extensive network of associates includes practitioners, academics and
independent consultants. Our key objectives are promoting good governance and good practice in
delivering public services. This workshop is one of our range of specialist UK-based professional
development workshops designed to meet the needs of public services worldwide.
We pride ourselves on our:
 High quality, practical advice and support for our clients
 Professionalism and integrity
 Ability to offer excellent value for money
 Sound experience and track record internationally
 Networks and partnerships across the world
 Flexible, collaborative approach
 Friendliness and focus on putting people first.

How to apply
Please complete the PAI application form and post, fax or email it to Clare Walters, Programme
Manager, at the address on the bottom of the page.

You can also apply online via our website www.public-admin.co.uk

If you would like to discuss this workshop, any of our other international workshops or our
consultancy services, please contact Claire Cameron, Director.

We also have extensive experience of designing tailor-made training (from one day to two or three
weeks) which can be run in your own country or in the UK to meet the specific needs of groups or
individuals at all levels within your organisation. Please contact us if you would like further
information.

Public Administration International

56 Russell Square London WC1B 4HP UK
T: + 44 (0) 20 7580 3590 F: + 44 (0)20 7580 4746 E: pai@public-admin.co.uk