Guidelines for Organizations Applying for their Assessment Programs to be authorized to Qualify Mediators for IMI Certification

IMI Certification is available to any experienced mediator who gains a certificate from a Qualifying Assessment Program (QAP) as a result of a performance-based assessment approved by the IMI Independent Standards Commission (ISC).

In order to authorize your organization the ISC needs to ensure that you will qualify mediators for IMI Certification under a Qualifying Assessment Program meeting Criteria established by the ISC. The Criteria are set out on the IMI web portal and are repeated below.

Please email your completed application and any supporting documents available electronically to Irena Vanenkova, Secretary to ISC, at Irena.Vanenkova@IMImediation.org who can also provide assistance or clarification if required – before and after the application is completed. Please send all information answering the questions and all attached documents in English. Please do not send any documents or materials in hard copy form.

The ISC aims to reach a determination within 2 weeks from the date of receipt of this completed Questionnaire, assuming that further information or clarification is not required.

Thank you for your cooperation in this process.

GUIDELINES

for Preparing your Application

These Guidelines are designed to secure the necessary information to evaluate your proposed Qualifying Assessment Program (QAP). If you are providing any further information to supplement your responses, please do so as an electronic attachment, referring to the relevant section number below. For your convenience, each Criteria is set out in blue below:

1. Mediator Experience. Your QAP must include a methodology for ensuring that Applicants have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Program's Assessors a substantial level of experience as a mediator. The QAP must include clearly identified criteria on this requirement.

Please explain your organization's methodology and criteria for determining that Applicants for the program have a substantial level of experience as a mediator, and if there is a stated requirement for a minimum level of experience, please provide details.

2. Mediation Knowledge. Your QAP must include a methodology for determining that Applicants have demonstrated a strong understanding of general mediation theory and practice which may be based on written tests, essays, reports, theses, interviews and/or other testing platforms.

Please explain your organization's methodology and criteria for determining that Applicants have demonstrated a strong understanding of general mediation theory and practice.

3. Mediator Skills. Your QAP must include a methodology for the evaluation of candidates' performance in terms of the occurrence and effectiveness of mediation process and mediation techniques, against high competency benchmarks. The Evaluations/Assessments may be based on roleplay or live action assessments, and may include videotaped and online assessments such as web dramas, self-assessments, interviews, peer reviews, user feedback and other in-practice skill evaluations.

Please explain here, or attach, your organization's methodology and criteria for the evaluation of candidates' performance in terms of the occurrence and effectiveness of mediation process and mediation techniques, against high competency benchmarks.

4. Program Transparency. The benchmarks and criteria applied by your QAP must be published and be openly accessible on the organization's website. Details of all approved programs will be listed on the IMI web portal www.IMImediation.org and will include a direct link to the credentialing organizations' websites.

Are your QAP's benchmarks and criteria published and openly accessible on your organization's website, or will that be the case?

If Yes, please indicate the link.

If No, please explain why not and indicate whether you intend to make it published and the timeframe.

5. Program Integrity. Each Assessor must have substantial experience of assessing the performance of mediators. At least one of the Assessors on each Program must be independent of your organization.

What criteria are applied in appointing your QAP's Assessors?

Are the QAP's Assessors, or any of them, required to be independent of (a) your organization and (b) the training Faculty?

If Yes, please explain how independence is determined.

If No, please explain the Assessors' relationship with your organization.

6. Ongoing monitoring of Programs. Your QAP must include a process for the ongoing monitoring of the performance and practice of the Assessors. IMI will liaise closely with all recognised program organizers to maintain a sustainable quality control system.

Please explain how the performance of your QAP's Assessors are/will be monitored to ensure a consistent application of high quality standards. Please confirm your agreement to provide all necessary information and accept monitoring from IMI.

7. Commitment to Diversity. Your QAP must be accessible on an equal basis to experienced mediators regardless of their professional affiliations, gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation or other personal characterization.

Please explain how participation on your QAP is accessible on an equal basis to experienced mediators regardless of their professional affiliations, gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation or other personal characterization.

In addition, kindly provide the following information:

8. Does your organization provide other mediation training or assessment programs?

If so, please give general descriptive information of the programs offered and for how long they have been running in their current or previous forms.

9. Are any of your mediation training or assessment programs designed for experienced mediators?

If so, please explain and attach a copy of the program outline(s).

Please also include the following General Information:

(a) Your organization's full legal name:

(b) In what year was the organization formed and under the laws of what country?

(d) Detail of the person completing this questionnaire:

Name and title/position of the person

Telephone number:

E-mail address:

Website URL: