The public's ombudsman role: an analysis from functional, managerial, and citizen dimensions

Abstract

Public ombudsman office aims to promote the improvement of public service quality from the free manifestation of the citizen. Thus, it assumes different roles that encompass functional aspects, such as receiving and analyzing citizen’s claims; managerial aspects, which involves turning complains into possibilities for improvement in the public service; and aspects of citizenship, by enabling citizens to exercise their right to participate in public administration and to promote social control. Considering this context, the present study aims to analyze the roles of the Public Ombudsman Office, observing how they are applied and perceived by the ombudsmen. Therefore, a survey was held to 156 ombudsmen linked to the Executive Branch of the Santa Catarina state, allowing compare the data to the previously identified dimensions. Through exploratory factorial analysis, it was possible to identify two predominant dimensions – not three, as previously predicted. Besides, results indicate the disclosure to the community as a less recurrent activity among those carried out by the listeners. This situation encourages the debate on the nature of the Public Ombudsman itself.