Because intercultural development is goal-directed, it is essential to understand a group’s or organization’s goals before determining the most appropriate resources or approaches for development. The IDI is a tool that supports these goals—engaging with the IDI should not be the goal itself.
There are not Group Intercultural Development Plans (IDP). The IDP is an individual, confidential resource tied to a respondent’s Individual IDI results. Because of confidentiality requirements, individual results cannot be shared or used to organize participants into groups or activities. However, individual members of a group will benefit from receiving an Individual Debrief to obtain their Individual Profile and IDP. Because each group member's Developmental Orientation (DO) may be different than others in the group and from the group's overall DO, working on their IDP guarantees that each member has targeted developmental activities based on their own IDI results. Increasing each group member's personal intercultural competence will increase the group's intercultural competence overall.
At times, groups may not have the opportunity to engage in an Individual Debrief to receive their Individual Profile Report and IDP, or they may wish to also engage in development as a group.
Before designing group development activities, QAs should gather information about the group's intended outcomes. Examples of common goals for groups include:
Strengthening intercultural communication and collaboration
Ensuring that policies, practices, and systems are inclusive
Increasing cultural diversity of teams or programs
Addressing specific cross-cultural challenges or tensions
Improving the group’s ability to serve or work with culturally diverse communities
Group Action Planning can be as simple as engaging in a conversation with the group about how they can utilize their IDI results to meet their goals. Use the questions on the last page of their Group Profile Report to guide this conversation.
If the group wants to engage in further development as a group, the best materials and strategies will depend on the group’s context, goals, and available resources, as well as the QA's knowledge, skills, and expertise. Because of this, IDI, LLC does not provide a list of recommended resources for group development.
When selecting resources and approaches for group development, QAs should consider the group’s:
Goals (e.g., more equitable policies, improved teamwork, better service to diverse stakeholders)
Developmental needs identified through the Group Profile Report
Preferred learning methods (discussion-based workshops, experiential activities, readings, case analysis, etc.)
Available time and resources
Related opportunities