This is a very good question. In my experience as an ombud for the last seven years—an organizational ombudsman, which is a bit different from a classical ombudsman—I think that psychological safety, creating a space where people can tell their true lived experience, is critical to any ombudsman's office. In the past, during my career, I often referred to the national standard for psychological health and safety in the workplace, in which there are 13 psychosocial factors.
In a nutshell, what we have to remember is this: How do we have an internal mechanism, within a department or organization, that will allow people to feel safe? If we don't have that, we don't hit the mark, basically.