Intercultural Development Inventory 

The Intercultural Development Inventory^_® (IDI^_®) is the premier cross-cultural assessment of intercultural competence that is used by thousands of individuals and organizations to build intercultural competence to achieve international and domestic diversity and inclusion goals and outcomes. IDI research in organizations and educational institutions confirms two central findings when using the IDI:

• Interculturally competent behavior occurs at a level supported by the individual’s or group’s underlying orientation as assessed by the IDI.
• Training and leadership development efforts at building intercultural competence are more successful when they are based on the individual’s or group’s underlying developmental orientation as assessed by the IDI.

In contrast to many “personal characteristic” instruments, the IDI is a cross-culturally valid, reliable, and generalizable measure of intercultural competence along the validated intercultural development continuum (adapted, based on IDI research, from the DMIS theory developed by Milton Bennett). Further, the IDI has been demonstrated, through research, to have high predictive validity to both bottom-line cross-cultural outcomes in organizations and intercultural goal accomplishments in education.

To learn more about the IDI, visit their website. 

In alignment with the goal of the CLIMB program to increase the cultural and linguistic competence of GSSW graduates, all CLIMB students will take the IDI at the beginning and the end of the academic year. The assessment is a 50-item survey that takes about 20 minutes to complete.

As part of the IDI process, one-on-one coaching sessions with trained Qualified Administrators occur after the assessment. During the coaching session, the Intercultural Development Plan is started. For the CLIMB program, Michele Hanna and Erin Poole serve as the QAs.

Practical Applications of the Intercultural Development Inventory

Information for CLIMB Field Supervisors

The goal of this HRSA grant is to train students in evidence-based interventions focusing on culturally and linguistically competent care for the patients and clients receiving services from your organization. The IDI supports this goal through coaching and plan development that students engage throughout the year.

We are so excited this year to be able to offer all CLIMB Field Supervisors the opportunity to participate in the IDI assessment and individual coaching with the CLIMB team.

We believe participation in the IDI will increase your ability to support your student around their CLC goals and that it will directly benefit you and your work.

Things to know about participating in the IDI process:

• Your assessment and coaching are private and won’t be connected to your CLIMB student
• Your participation in the IDI will help you understand and support your student's goals
• Your participation in the IDI will also help support your own personal and professional goals 
• There is no cost to you to take the IDI
• The total time commitment is about 2 hours over the next 8 months

To participate, simply email erin.poole@du.edu to express your interest in this opportunity.