Intercultural Development Inventory

The Intercultural Developmental Inventory (IDI) is the only theory-based assessment of intercultural competence. Unlike other tools that measure separate personal characteristics (e.g., open-mindedness, flexibility), the IDI allows you to see an individual’s or group’s progression along a continuum of cross-cultural competence.

Because of this, the IDI provides in-depth insights on how individuals and groups make sense of cultural differences and also how they respond to cultural differences. The IDI measures both one’s mindset and skillset.

How?

The IDI facilitates cooperative conversations and actions directed toward growth and development rather than judgment and resistance. This is accomplished through sophisticated, customized individual IDI profile reports and group IDI profile reports. These reports present valid, quantitative information that integrates qualitative information about how an individual or group engages cultural difference in their day-to-day interactions with others. The IDI produces for each individual, a customized, Intercultural Development Plan (IDP) that guides the person through a series of activities and self-reflections that developmentally build intercultural competence.

Intercultural Development Continuum

The IDI will assess an individual’s intercultural competence using the Intercultural Development Continuum (IDC). The IDC describes a set of knowledge/attitude/skill sets or orientations toward cultural difference and commonality that are arrayed along a continuum from the more monocultural mindsets of denial and polarization through the transitional orientation of minimization to the intercultural or global mindsets of acceptance and adaptation. The capability of deeply shifting cultural perspective and bridging behavior across cultural differences is most fully achieved when one maintains an adaptation perspective. 

Intercultural Conflict Style (ICS)

A critical difficulty we face in our organizations is communication misunderstandings, conflicts, and problems across cultures that are often grounded in very different approaches people take for resolving difficulties with one another. The ability to recognize and effectively respond to cultural differences in communication and conflict styles is critically important.

This program utilizes the ICS to:

• Increase cultural self-understanding of one’s own communication and conflict resolution approach
• Increase cultural other-understanding—of diverse approaches others use to communicate ideas and resolve conflict
• Better manage stress and anxiety that is often present in conflict situations
• Use culturally responsive strategies in communicating your goals and interests to others
• More accurately interpret the statements and actions of the other party

Completion Requirements

• Completing the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), a 50-item questionnaire available online that can be completed in 15–20 minutes and the Intercultural Conflict Style Assessment completed in 15 minutes
• Attending an IDI Group Profile Session (approx. 2 hours) led by an IDI Qualified Administrators
• Participating in an Individual Feedback Session (approx. 1 hour) with an IDI Qualified Administrator; and working on an IDI Individual Development Plan