Intercultural Competency

We have the will and desire, but do we have the skills needed to effectively create racial equity and the welcoming communities we envision?

 

Eastside For All invites you to explore this question through participation in a competency building effort that incorporates the use of a powerful assessment tool called the Intercultural Developmental Inventory (IDI)®.

We use the IDI to promote racial equity efforts because of its focus on the foundational skills and mindset related to intercultural competence. Our ability to be interculturally competent factors into the daily interactions we have with people who are different from us, the way we frame challenges, the solutions we come up with, the people we include (or exclude) in decision-making, the way we implement solutions, and how we evaluate success. In other words, cultural competency is essential for understanding and applying an equity lens to our work.

See our Resource Library for information we use to make the connection between intercultural competency, racial equity, and anti-racism efforts.

WHAT IS THE IDI?

The Intercultural Development Inventory™ (IDI) is a valid and reliable assessment of an individual or group’s ability to exercise intercultural competence. The IDI is based on Milton Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) and research conducted by Mitchell Hammer. The inventory has been used successfully since 1998 in corporate, academic, nonprofit, faith communities, and other settings to focus individual coaching, training, and action-planning, to guide multicultural team development in building competency for equity initiatives, and to conduct program evaluation and other research.

The IDI assesses intercultural competence through a 50-item questionnaire, available online that can be completed in 15–20 minutes. A wide range of organizations and educational institutions use the IDI. Thousands of Qualified Administrators in more than 30 countries have extensively applied the IDI in corporate, not-for-profit, government, faith-based, and educational contexts.

WHY THE IDI?

It’s developmental: The IDI is the only developmental assessment of intercultural competence. It facilitates cooperative conversations and actions directed toward growth and development rather than judgment and resistance.

It’s actionable: Detailed reports and the developmental model offer guidance to establish immediate goals, identify training needs, and effectively develop solutions. The IDI shows the difference between how we view ourselves (Perceived Orientation) and our actual level of competency (Developmental Orientation). Knowing if a gap exists supports groups to bring their intentions more into alignment with their impact.

It’s culturally valid: Items selected for the IDI were generated by a large group of diverse individuals, not the researchers. All language versions were back-translated to ensure linguistic and conceptual equivalence.

It’s predictive: Recent studies show that higher levels of cultural competence, as measured by the IDI, are strongly predictive of the successful achievement of goals related to diversity and inclusion.

LEARN MORE and GET STARTED

If your group or organization is based in East King County, and you’re interested in learning more about the IDI, please contact us.

Interested in Becoming a Qualified Administrator?

Learn more from the Intercultural Developmental Inventory, LLC.