The IDI^® is the only theory-based assessment of intercultural competence. Unlike other tools that measure separate personal characteristics (e.g., openmindedness, 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.

The IDI is the only developmental assessment of intercultural competence. This fundamental focus allows individuals and groups to focus on increasing their intercultural competence (from how they currently engage cultural differences to how they can more effectively engage diversity). The IDI facilitates cooperative conversations and actions directed toward growth and development rather than judgment and resistance.

The IDI allows extensive and in-depth insights on individual and group levels of intercultural competence. This is accomplished through sophisticated, customized IDI Individual Profile Reports and IDI Group 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.

For each individual who completes the assessment, the IDI creates a customized Intercultural Development Plan (IDP) that guides the person through a series of activities and self-reflections that developmentally build intercultural competence. In addition, IDI Guided Development^® is a proprietary, proven approach for designing training and other interventions that substantially increases intercultural competence for groups and organizations based on IDI profile results.

The IDI has been validated to provide a powerful and accurate profile of respondents’ orientations toward a wide range of “other culture” groups, including nationality, ethnicity, gender, and other diversity categories.

The primary applications of the IDI fall into three core areas. Often, organizations and educational institutions pursue 1, 2, or all 3 areas when they initiate the IDI in their workplace: (1) For individual feedback and development of intercultural competence, (2) for group/team feedback and training development of intercultural competence, and (3) for baseline assessments and organizational development, including training needs assessment, as an intercultural “engagement” survey, program evaluation, and benchmarking.

The Intercultural Development Inventory has been psychometrically tested and found to possess strong validity and reliability across diverse cultural groups (https://idiinventory.com/idi-validation/). This validity includes predictive validity within both the corporate and educational sectors. The IDI has been rigorously tested and has cross-cultural generalizability across both international and domestic diversity.

The IDI is available in two different versions: one for use in educational institutions and the other in organizational settings. Each version is customized with different demographics questions as well as customized analysis of individual and group profile results.

The IDI can be completed in multiple languages (click here for the full list of languages available). Each language version of the IDI has been rigorously “back translated” insuring both linguistic and conceptual equivalence in the meaning of each of the items.

To use the IDI in your own school or organization, you and/or your colleagues would complete the IDI Qualifying Seminar. This seminar provides in-depth training so that you can effectively use the IDI to build intercultural competence with individuals and groups and to achieve organizational development goals.

Our staff at IDI, LLC is available to provide email, telephone, and virtual support to ensure your success in using the IDI in your workplace or practice.

• A full set of resources available, including the IDI Resource Guide for use in your work with the IDI
• A virtual professional IDI community so that best practices can be freely shared with other Qualified Administrators
• The “Practical Applications of the Intercultural Development Inventory” video that engagingly explains the Intercultural Development Continuum and describes, with compelling personal examples, how individuals respond to cultural differences based on their developmental orientation
• The IDI Enterprise Account, which allows your organization to combine data from multiple Qualified Administrators
• Access to numerous IDI-related published articles, bibliographies, and a list of IDI-related Ph.D. Dissertations