Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) ™

For your organization to be fully successful in an increasingly diverse, globally-connected workplace, you need true inclusion.  To fully comprehend what it takes to build true inclusion, you may need to understand and recognize the various levels of cultural competence without your organization.  The IDI ™ helps accomplish both tasks.

The Intercultural Development Inventory™ (IDI) is a statistically reliable, cross-culturally valid measure of intercultural competence based on Dr. Milton Bennett’s Development Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS).

The IDI is a 50 item, theory-based instrument that assesses the major stages of intercultural competence as conceptualized in the DMIS theory.  It generates a graphic profile of the predominant state of intercultural development and associated transition issues.   The 50-items or statements are answered as to the extent to which the person agrees or disagrees with the statement and measures how the person feels and thinks about, and consequently, how they react to cultural difference.  It is available in paper or on-line form and in different languages. 

The IDI can be used to improve intercultural competence in a wide variety of circumstances, including:

• Provide feedback to individuals regarding their approach to intercultural relations
• Assess needs during organizational or individual interventions
• Create guides for group learning and action plans for individual learning
• Establish a solid foundation for coaching to improve intercultural competence
• Overall enhancement of intercultural knowledge, skills and abilities

The IDI is used in business by executives, supervisors and employees in culturally diverse organizations, diversity councils, people on international assignments, marketing and public relations specialists, instructional designers, trainers and human resource professionals.

The potential benefits of using the IDI are:

• Reduction of cultural bias
• Increase in supervisory effectiveness
• Improved communication and productivity (individual, team, organization)
• Decline in frequency and impact of intercultural conflicts
• Greater patience and support across cultures 
• Enhanced capacity for self-reflection regarding intercultural experience
• Increased complexity of understanding regarding intercultural concerns in general and the needs and concerns of multi-cultural populations in specific.

If you are interested in learning more about the uses and the benefits to your organization of the IDI, please contact us.