Impact & Innovation Award: Winner Announced

The OA are delighted to announce that Josh Barnham, the Improvement, Standards and Reviewing Officer at the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), is the 2026 winner of the OA’s Impact and Innovation Award (I&I Award).

The award was created in Caroline Mitchell’s memory to recognise and celebrate the outstanding work that so many in the ombudsman community do. Josh has been recognised for the impact he has had leading the implementation of SPSO’s Child Friendly Complaints Handling Principles and Process Guidance.

The Chair of the OA, Margaret Kelly, presented the award to Josh at the OA’s Conference, which took place at the voco Grand Central, Glasgow. 

Margaret said:

“I’m delighted to present Josh with the OA’s Impact & Innovation Award. The panel was particularly impressed by the transformative impact of his work in reshaping how children and young people experience complaints processes across Scotland, and by his innovative, co-designed approach to developing a framework grounded in rights, accessibility and inclusion.”

“I’d like to quote from the nomination form submitted by his colleagues, which highlights the real impact Josh has had:”

“Josh has been the driving force behind transforming how children and young people experience complaints processes across Scotland. Over the past three years, he has led the development of a Child Friendly Complaints Handling framework that enables children to raise complaints in ways that feel safe, accessible and meaningful, and which fully reflect their rights and needs.

His leadership ensured the work was authentically co-designed, working directly with children and young people alongside the organisations that support them. Through 21 co-design workshops involving over 50 children and young people and more than 200 professionals, Josh ensured that those the framework is intended for were central to its development.

The impact of this work is clear in the feedback received, with young people reporting that they felt genuinely listened to and included. Josh’s commitment to inclusion has also driven further innovation, including making the principles available in British Sign Language, expanding accessibility for those often overlooked in complaints processes.

This project is the first of its kind in the UK and one of the first in Europe. It has created a blueprint for other ombudsman organisations and public bodies, attracting national and international interest and supporting wider adoption of child-friendly approaches. Since its launch in July 2024, the framework has been supported by training and engagement activity reaching hundreds of practitioners, accelerating implementation across the Scottish public sector.

Ultimately, Josh has helped move the sector towards a more equitable, child‑aware approach to complaints. This is an impact that will continue to grow as more governments consider adopting child-friendly complaints handling principles and processes in the future.”

On receiving the award, Josh commented:

“Receiving an award in recognition of a project that has already been so rewarding feels almost too good to be true. As we know, children and young people are a traditionally underrepresented demographic in complaints. They told us this is because complaints can feel scary, risky, and undermining. I hope our child friendly complaints approach is a step towards complaints feeling safe, predictable, and empowering instead.

I am hugely grateful to everyone who has supported the project. In particular, I’d like to thank all my colleagues at the SPSO for backing a truly co-designed and rights-based approach. Most of all, I’m grateful for the creative and inspiring children whose imaginative ideas form the basis of everything we produced. It has been amazing to see similar projects being launched elsewhere, so I hope more OA members will soon experience the innovative power of an 8-year-old with a post-it note!”

The panel were also impressed by the innovative and impactful work of nominees across the sector, with several entries highly commended in recognition of their creativity, reach, and contribution to improving outcomes for service users.

This year’s runners-up included the TDS Adjudicator AI Workbench Team, recognised for their forward-thinking use of technology; Nuala Ward (Ombudsman for Children), whose work demonstrated significant impact in advancing practice; and the Relationships Team at the Energy Ombudsman, commended for their strong contribution to improving engagement and outcomes across the sector.