An individual who has been designated as a confidential and informal information resource, communications channel, complaint-handler and dispute-resolver. The ombuds role was intended to be an antidote to abuses of governmental and bureaucratic authority and administration, and ombuds may serve as effective intervenors in cases of arbitrary decision making.
A neutral empowered to receive and investigate complaints about any institution, or business, or to investigate problems between individuals within the institution or business. Sometimes the Ombuds may produce a written report of his/her findings; sometimes the Ombuds is given the authority to facilitate solutions to problems or to make suggestions on how problems should be solved.