HFES is pleased to announce that it will provide Ombuds services at its live, in-person meetings.  The Ombuds is an independent, impartial, off-the-record, and confidential resource for meeting attendees to obtain information, seek guidance, voice their concerns about misconduct, harassment, discrimination, and hostility, and to discuss options for how they can deal with concerns that they may experience or observe at HFES meetings.  

We are pleased to announce that HFES member Sylvain Bruni will serve in this role. Symposium participants may contact Sylvain Bruni by telephone at (617) 417-0359 or by email at Ombuds@hfes.org. 

This action is taken to uphold our commitment to provide a safe and productive meeting environment free of discrimination, hostility, and harassment, in any form, for everyone, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, physical or mental disability, medical condition, physical appearance, ethnicity, race, religion, political affiliation, nationality, or any other group identity or basis protected by federal or applicable state laws or local ordinances. 

The ombuds will serve as a confidential resource for meeting attendees to discuss any concerns they may have concerning meeting-related behaviors and activities.  The Ombuds will be able to provide information confidentially and provide a safe place for people to discuss their concerns in a confidential way to explore options for any further action.  Initially, the ombuds will be for our live, in-person HFES events.  It could expand in the future. 

The role of the HFES ombuds does not include making management decisions, conducting investigations, advocating/taking sides, testifying or producing documentation for legal proceedings, or substituting for any formal channels/processes. 

In addition to serving as a resource to assist individuals attending the meeting, the Ombuds—without breaching the confidentiality of any communications by people using the services—will provide HFES with feedback on the nature of issues raised at the meeting and any insights or observations about systemic issues relating to the meeting or the Society.  

To support our commitment to the HFES Code of Ethics and our Statement of Appropriate Conduct at HFES meetings, HFES has decided to provide organizational ombuds services in connection with its live, in-person meetings.  Our goal is to have meetings that are as inclusive and accessible as possible for attendees, regardless of gender, sexual orientation/identity, race/ethnicity, religion, employment status, or status in the field.  In addition, HFES desires to improve the conduct and climate at future meetings with aggregate data and non-confidential feedback on trends and recommendations from the ombuds. 

The HFES Ombuds Program is designed to be an independent, impartial, off-the-record, and confidential channel for meeting attendees to discuss any issues they may have concerning their meeting related experiences or observations.  The ombuds selected to provide these services ("Meeting Ombuds" or "Ombuds") will be available to provide information confidentially and will provide a safe place for people to discuss such issues as safety, actions from overly-friendliness to harassment, micro-aggressions, free speech, integrity, privacy, conflicts of interest ( including accessibility, lodging, and food), alcohol consumption and meeting cliques.  The Ombuds is a resource to informally discuss any of these or other meeting-related concerns and help inquirers develop options, problem-solve, create paths for self-advocacy, and make informed choices about the best path forward.

This Charter sets forth the operating principles under which the HFES Ombuds Program will operate and reflects our commitment to the meeting Ombuds and the role of this position. 

Standards of Operation

The HFES Ombuds shall be provided membership in the International Ombudsman Association (IOA) and shall adhere to IOA's Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice in performing ombuds services for the HFES.  These tenets require organizational ombuds programs to be independent, neutral, informal, and confidential:

• Independence - The Ombuds functions outside existing administrative and management structures within HFES
• Impartiality - The Ombuds provides impartial assessments of concerns. As a neutral third party, the Ombuds is a resource for equitable and fair process, and the fair administration of process. The Ombuds does not, however, provide legal or other kinds of advocacy or enforce the HFES standards of conduct or ethics.  The Ombuds does not render services or become involved in any matter that would be a conflict of interest for them to do so. 
• Informality - The Ombuds provides a means for off-the-record discussions of concern. The Ombuds is empowered to provide only informal assistance and does not conduct investigations, make or override decisions, determine policy, testify or participate in formal or administrative proceedings with respect to confidential communications, provide legal advice, or accept legal notice of claims against HFES or any other organization, entity, or person. For those wishing to assert claims or have on-the-record communications, the Ombuds can identify resources for individuals to make informed choices about which process they decide is best for them to pursue. For example, the HFES Ombuds may inform a meeting attendee about the Statement of Appropriate Conduct at HFES meetings and the Incident Report form.
• Confidentiality - Communications with the Ombuds are confidential to the maximum extent permitted by law.  This principle of confidentiality helps the Ombuds provide a safe place for meeting attendees to voice concerns, evaluate issues, and identify options for possible further action. The Ombuds is a purely voluntary resource. No one is required to use it, but those who do will be deemed to have agreed to respect and abide by the above principles on which it was created and not to call the Ombuds to testify or produce documents related to confidential communications in any administrative or legal proceeding.   

Consistent with the International Ombudsman Association Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, the only exceptions to this confidentiality principle are:  (a) when, during the course of communications with the meeting Ombuds, an inquirer gives the Ombuds permission to make a disclosure and the Ombuds agrees it is appropriate to do so, or (b) when the Ombuds determines that there is an imminent threat of serious harm. 

Scope of Services

The Ombuds will be available to consult with meeting attendees concerning any meeting-related issues identified above.  The Ombuds will be available on-site at the meeting attendees will be advised how to contact the Ombuds. 

As a neutral third party, the Ombuds is an advocate for fair and equitable process.  The Ombuds does not, however, provide legal or other kinds of advocacy or enforce the HFES Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.

Accountability and Reporting

The HFES Ombuds reports to the HFES Executive Director.  The Ombuds may also meet with and alert senior leadership of HFES regarding any systemic issues or trends the Ombuds believes may help the HFES address identified or potential issues, improve the climate for membership or future meetings, or improve its policies and practices. Even when reporting issues to senior leadership, the Ombuds will do their best to protect the confidentiality of those using the Ombuds' services.

Record Keeping

The Ombuds provides only informal assistance, and although informal notes may be temporarily created only as needed, the Ombuds does not retain permanent records containing personally identifiable information or confidential communications.  Any post-meeting reporting to senior leadership will contain only aggregate data and the Ombuds’ insights and observations on the types of issues raised and any organizational recommendations. 

Mr. Sylvain Bruni (he/him) will serve as Ombuds at ASPIRE in Phoenix.  Mr. Bruni is Principal Engineer and Deputy Division Director for Performance Augmentation Systems at Aptima, Inc. His technical work focuses on developing and deploying human-AI collaborative systems and technologies in defense and healthcare domains. Mr. Bruni supervises a portfolio of defense and civilian cognitive assistants called Sidekick™ (Systems for Interactive Discovery and Exploitation of Knowledge and Insights with Contextual Kinetics). He holds an SM in Aeronautics and Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Diplôme d’Ingénieur from CentraleSupélec (France). He is a trained SAFe Advanced Scrum Master and Product Owner, and a certified CMMI v2 Associate.

Mr. Bruni is additionally the Co-Chair of Aptima’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Antiracism (IDEA) Committee, and the Chair of the Council of Affinity Groups (COAG) at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), following two years as founding Co-Chair of its LGBTQ+ Affinity Group. He is a trained IDEA ambassador (basic and advanced levels) and has over ten years of experience mediating difficult conversations. He has previously volunteered as ombudsperson for international conferences and maintains awareness of the International Ombudsman Association Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

Mr. Bruni is a member of HFES, IEEE SMC, ACM, INCOSE, and the Human Systems Integration (HSI) Standards Committee of SAE.

How do I contact the Meeting Ombuds before, during, or after the meeting?

Mr. Bruni is accessible to meeting attendees by telephone at (617) 417-0359.   He also may be reached by email at Ombuds@hfes.org.  Additionally, you will see Mr. Bruni throughout the meeting at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel.  He would enjoy meeting and speaking with you.

What is an Ombuds? 

The name “ombudsman” (om budz man) comes from Swedish and literally means “representative.” At the most fundamental level, an ombuds is one who assists individuals and groups in the resolution of conflicts or concerns. There are a number of different titles or names for this position: “ombudsman,” “ombudsperson” or “ombuds” among others.  Ombuds work in all types of organizations, including government agencies, nonprofits, academic institutions, corporations, healthcare systems, news organizations, meetings/conferences, and more.

What sort of issues and concerns may come to the Meeting Ombuds?

A full range of topics may come to the Meeting Ombuds including, among others:

• All types of identity-based concerns
• Harassment (including sexual harassment)
• Free speech and free expression
• Integrity issues/intellectual property/research concerns
• Conflicts of interest
• Problems about the hotel, safety, etc.
• Issues related to the organization

If I have a concern on someone else's behalf at the meeting, may I contact the Ombuds, or is this service only for people who are concerned about themselves?

Ombuds welcome those with a serious concern about colleagues or a meeting situation as well as those with a complaint about something that affects themselves.

Will my communications with the Meeting Ombuds be confidential? Are there exceptions to this confidentiality?

One of the ethical principles of an organizational ombuds is to hold all communications with those seeking assistance in strict confidence.  The ombuds does not disclose confidential communications unless given permission to do so. The only exception to this privilege of confidentiality is where there appears to be an imminent risk of serious harm.

What is the process to inform HFES leadership about inappropriate conduct?

HFES does not tolerate discrimination or any form of harassment and is committed to enforcing its Statement of Appropriate Conduct (the "Code") at all HFES events.  Individuals wishing to report a situation should complete the Incident Report form.  In these cases, HFES will conduct an investigation and will have conversations with all involved parties.

Does the Meeting Ombuds report to HFES on issues they dealt with at the meeting?

The ombuds—without breaching the confidentiality of any communications by people using the services—will provide HFES with feedback on the nature of issues raised at the meeting and any insights or observations about systemic issues relating to the meeting or the Society.

What authority does the Meeting Ombuds have? What authority does the Meeting Ombuds not have?

The ombuds will serve as an independent, neutral, off-the-record, and confidential resource for meeting attendees to discuss any concerns they may have concerning meeting-related behaviors and activities.  The ombuds will be able to provide information confidentially and will provide a safe place for people to discuss their concerns in a confidential way to explore options for any further action.  The ombuds will not, however, be authorized to serve as a place where notice of claims can be given to HFES.  Likewise, the ombuds will not have responsibility or authority to investigate any issues raised. 

Are there different kinds of Ombuds? 

There are different types of ombuds with different roles, functional responsibilities, and standards of practice including organizational, classical, and advocate ombuds.

• The organizational ombuds is defined as: “a designated neutral who is appointed or employed by an organization to facilitate the informal resolution of concerns of employees, managers, students, meeting attendees, and, sometimes, external clients of the organization.”
• The classical ombuds … “typically is appointed by a legislative body to represent the public with concerns of the public with regards to the conduct of governmental agencies; they conduct formal investigations.” 
• An advocate ombuds is defined as one who “advocates on behalf of a designated population, such as patients in long-term care facilities.”

Is the HFES Annual Meeting Ombuds an Organizational Ombuds?

Yes

Is the Meeting Ombuds the same as a Mediator or a lawyer? 

No.  While many ombuds are trained as mediators and often use mediation skills and techniques as one of many approaches to problem-solving and conflict management, the ombuds role is broader and connected to the organization. A lawyer is an advocate for their client and is associated with more formal processes and the legal system. An Ombuds does not provide legal advice.  A mediator is typically an outside professional focused on helping people solve a specific issue or problem as compared with the ombuds who has a broader scope of work.

Effective science requires the free exchange of ideas.

HFES asks attendees to create an open, interactive space where all voices are valued and respected. Recognize your privilege and make room for underrepresented, minority, and marginalized voices to be heard. If you are experiencing any obstacles to engaging in conference activities, please follow the QR code to report and address your experience. Your feedback is important to us.