I'm pleased to share with you the ICANN Office of the Ombuds' Annual Report for fiscal year 2025, covering the office's work from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025. I've also produced an infographic to accompany the report.
Cases Provide Insights About the System
Cases handled by the Ombuds Office increased by 50 percent compared to the previous year, and by 200 percent compared to fiscal year 2022. The majority of cases were requests for information or collaborative problem-solving. Together, these trends are positive – more community members are asking for help early, before a situation escalates. Every case handled by the Ombuds Office provides a rich source of data to guide learning and growth.
I've made changes to the structure of this annual report, adding an extended discussion of case management data and a new section with my insights and systemic observations. I hope these additions will inspire conversations, inform learning, and foster improvements in fairness across the ICANN community, leading to a more positive and productive working environment for all
Themes: Trust and Leadership
I want this Annual Report to reflect an honest picture of what community members have shared with me when they raised cases with the Ombuds Office. Two consistent themes emerged from these varied individual cases:
- Trust in the multistakeholder model is undermined by barriers to meaningful participation and power-sharing.
- Community leadership would benefit from more intentional and consistent candidate selection and development processes, and a deeper, more diverse pool of applicants.
Collective Action: Community and Leadership Engagement
The themes of trust and leadership present an opportunity for collective action. The value of the Ombuds Office extends beyond handling complaints and spotting problems; it also has a role to play in surfacing community wisdom to identify solutions and improvements.
With this goal in mind, I've begun offering opportunities for community members and groups to engage with me on the annual report to explore how these insights might better reflect and inform your work and ways of working.
Please contact me for more information about a future annual report engagement session or workshop to discuss insights gained from the data in this year's report and brainstorm potential systemic improvements. I'm happy to facilitate a community group session virtually at any time or in-person at ICANN87.
I also plan to proactively engage the ICANN staff and community leaders in a discussion on the theme of leadership and some of the challenges and suggestions raised through the annual report data. I'll address these themes of trust and leadership in more detail in upcoming blogs.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions, concerns, or feedback: [email protected] or [email protected]. You can also use the anonymous virtual suggestion box to share feedback and ideas. I want to hear from you!
For more information about Ombuds Office services and support for you or your community group, please visit the Ombuds Office webpage.