Intercultural Development Inventory

The Center for Global Education assists Tulane faculty and staff in taking advantage of the Intercultural Development Inventory in order to increase the intercultural competence of students, faculty and staff on campus. 

What is the IDI? 

An Introduction to the Intercultural Development Inventory

(from the IDI Website)

"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."

What are potential uses for the IDI at Tulane?

You may use the IDI for one of the following reasons:

  • To measure the development of intercultural competence in a group over time;
  • To use as a tool to develop, train or mentor staff or students; 
  • To use as an instructional tool in the classroom; 
  • To use to prepare students for entry into a new community or for self-reflection;
  • To use as a tool to prepare students to interview or enter the workforce.

Request the services of a Tulane QA

Faculty and staff may have interest in using the IDI for any of the reasons listed above. If you would like to request the services of a Qualified Administrator at Tulane, please email Annie Gibson agibson3@tulane.edu to discuss next steps, timeline, IDI assessment work proposal and goals, and associated costs for your group and/or individual. You may also reach out individually to QAs listed below to inquire about their availability.

Services Available

1. Administer the IDI to individuals and conduct a individual debrief session (faculty, staff or students)

2. Administer the IDI to a group and conduct a group debrief session (faculty, staff or students)

Tulane is home to over 20 Qualified Administrators who can assist your office in administering and debriefing your group.

Tulane Qualified Administrators in the Center for Global Education:

Annie Gibson

Other Tulane Qualified Administrators: 

Benjamin Brubaker

Maille Faughnan

Myriam Huet

Valerie McGinley

Anna Monhartova

Jamie Montelepre

Megan Ritterbusch