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2012 marks the fifth anniversary of IMI – a suitable moment to take stock of the groundbreaking accomplishments of IMI and to define its targets over the next 12 months and beyond.  

IMI was begun by a small number of users, mediators and providers in 2007 with a vision to drive and promote quality and transparency into mediation worldwide. It was innovative.  IMI set out to be user-driven while supporting the interests of all stakeholders.  Its over-arching goal has been to help make mediation a true profession.  This aim enabled IMI to establish itself as a non-service provider, a charitable institution funded by donations, without an agenda to compete.  That made IMI unique on the global mediation scene.

The most groundbreaking achievement, introduced in 2009 after an extensive worldwide research and consultation process, was to find a way to “certify” the competency of mediators.  An independently-prepared Feedback Digest is at its heart.  Because feedback is collected from users (parties and their representatives), the real life feedback complements the certification by carefully selected organizations designated by the IMI as Qualifying Assessment Programs.  Initially, some established mediators regarded it as invidious to put themselves up for quality assessment by their customers.  Most have since come around to the insight that a transparent check on mediators enhances the quality of mediation and its standing as a developing profession.  In a field operating behind closed doors, the parties are the best-situated assessors, especially when their experiences are aggregated.  Leading mediators now accept that a Feedback Digest is very credible marketing and more effective than mere reputation and anonymous cherry-picked compliments on their websites.  The IMI search engine now carries the Profiles of almost 400 mediators from around the world, all with a Feedback Digest.  The number is increasing.

A second groundbreaker was that IMI does not itself qualify any mediators for IMI Certification – this is done as indicated above by organizations or institutions that have developed a Qualifying Assessment Program (QAP), approved by the Independent Standards Commission.  There are now 19 QAPs in 14 countries, and many more in the pipeline. 

Although there has been a steady stream of other innovative developments, paramount among them is promotion of mediation.  Mediation is widely misunderstood by those who have yet to experience it.  Although good work has been done by some organizations to get mediation known, appreciated and used, widespread understanding of the value of mediation remains inadequate.  Most provider and professional organizations understandably spend their limited outreach budgets on their own services, which only incidentally promotes mediation itself.  IMI is using an increasing proportion of its funding not to promote itself but to promote mediation.  This it can do with more credibility than any service provider.

So, what are the top 10 goals that IMI has set itself to accomplish over the next 12 months or so?

1. Promotion to user groups.  IMI has begun to get its user tools and search engine more widely known to users.  In 2011, the IMI Certified Mediator search engine was adopted by the Kluwer Corporate Counsel Dispute Resolution Service, placing the search engine and other tools at the fingertips of hundreds of organizations that experience disputes. IMI will reach out to many user groups that can benefit from this awareness and access in future.
2. Increase the number of QAPs, and thereby IMI Certified Mediators.  IMI now has clear and well-tried criteria for organizations wishing to apply to become approved as a QAP to enable them to qualify experienced mediators for IMI Certification.  These criteria ensure that those qualifying for IMI Certification have a consistently high competency.
3. Attract more stakeholders to be actively involved in IMI.  Several stakeholder groups are under-represented in the governance of IMI, including regulators, educators, adjudicators and users.  Steps will be taken to correct this in 2012.
4. Introduce an IMI Inter-Cultural Certification.  During 2011, funded by the General Electric Foundation, a Taskforce of the Independent Standards Commission has developed assessment criteria and a training module to enable suitable QAPs to qualify mediators for IMI Inter-Cultural Certification.  With the work completed, this Certification will be launched shortly.
5. Introduce an IMI Mediation Advocacy Certification.  A Taskforce of the ISC is developing assessment criteria to enable suitable QAPs to qualify party representatives and advocates for IMI Mediation Advocacy Certification.  This will promote mediation advocacy quality, and therefore mediation itself, and also to increase the average success rate of mediations, as more representatives acquire and practice mediation problem-solving skills. 
6. Investor-State Disputes.  IMI is beginning work with the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and others to explore the adoption of mediation in disputes involving investors and government organizations.
7. Improved web portal.  The IMI web portal has been a great success but as new material is added a need emerges for a new front end with improved navigability and interactivity aids.
8. Training and development tools for developing mediation countries.  The Law of Diffusion of Innovations suggests training is an effective method of communicating the mediation message. Tools are needed that can be used on an ongoing basis by local trainers without copyright restrictions.  IMI has secured funding from the GE Foundation to develop such tools.
9. IMI regional hubs.  IMI is currently considering establishing itself in different regions around the world to make its global mission more readily implementable locally.
10. Refreshed IMI Vision & Mission.  IMI will continue to adapt its Vision and Mission, rendering it more inspiring and relevant to its changing work.

Some of these goals will be repeated and improved in future years, but these top ten objectives will help drive the mediation field relentlessly towards recognition by all kinds of users as a high quality profession that resolves disputes. This will benefit all stakeholders.  It is an exciting agenda, reliant on the support of a large number of people, worldwide, with change-driving capabilities, but it is all SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.

IMI Chair
Ute A. Joas Quinn, Associate General Counsel, Shell International
January 2012

A Look Back at 2011

Independent Standards Commission (ISC)

The Foundation’s governing body, the Board of Directors (Board), has the statutory and legal responsibility for overall leadership, direction and management control and feels a fiduciary responsibility to stakeholders. 

In discharging these responsibilities, the Board relies on two convened groups of thought leaders: the Advisory Council and the Independent Standards Commission (ISC).  Neither has any statutory or other legal responsibility for the IMI Board’s decisions, but the members of both support the Vision and Mission, provide directional support and guidance, and in the case of the ISC, several responsibilities delegated by the Board. 

The membership of the ISC is drawn from international thought leaders, each with substantial experience in one or more of the stakeholder groups, represented within the membership of the ISC.  The ISC’s responsibilities are advisory, and relate particularly to defining standards and criteria as well as ethics. 

Beginning in October 2011, the ISC Chair, Judith Meyer (pictured), will now attend IMI Board Meetings moving forward.

IMI Certification

At the end of 2011, 384 mediators had become IMI Certified.  Representing 45 countries in total, this makes the IMI Certified Mediator fellowship by far the largest, most geographically diverse source of mediators in the world.

It takes little effort on the part of experienced mediators to become IMI Certified.  IMI asks mediators to complete an online Profile comprising 8 mandatory sections and 7 optional ones.  This enables users to compare the Profiles of mediators more easily.

A vital feature – from a user as well as a mediator perspective – of the Profile is the Feedback Digest.  This is prepared by an independent person or organization, called a Reviewer, selected by the mediator and declared on the IMI Certified Mediator’s Profile.  The Feedback Digest is a short summary of information submitted by previous parties who have used the mediator on standardized feedback forms.  The Feedback Digest relieves the user from the burden of reading through dozens of feedback forms, and helps those considering engaging a mediator understand how previous users have assessed the mediator’s abilities, style, character and approach.  Selection choices are therefore much better informed and easier.

The IMI Search Engine enables users to find the Profiles of IMI Certified Mediators, add them to a shortlist, print and forward Profiles and generally make the task of finding the right mediator as transparent and informative as possible.

IMI Certification via the Experience Qualification Path (EQP)

During the period January-June 2009, mediators who were members of the mediation panels and rosters of certain provider and professional organizations were entitled to register on the IMI web portal and become IMI Certified without any further assessment.  This was known as the Experience Qualification Path.  Approximately 800 mediators took advantage of this opportunity, and about half have since completed their IMI Profile and become IMI Certified.  

IMI Certification via the Assessment Route (QAP)

Since mid-2009, the only route to IMI Certification has been via a Qualifying Assessment Program approved by the ISC.  At the end of 2011, fifteen organizations based in 11 countries have been approved as offering QAPs [1].  During 2011, 8 mediators became IMI Certified via the QAP Assessment Route and many more are currently in process. 

IMI Certified Inter-Cultural Mediator

Mediation is hard enough, but mediating inter-culturally is particularly challenging.  Inter-cultural skills go far beyond superficial familiarity with the cultures involved and are especially important for mediators who must not only avoid imposing their own cultural wiring onto the mediation process but know how to manage the interface of the parties on that level.  As disputes become increasingly multi-cultural, more locally active mediators face this issue as well as mediators encountering parties from different countries.

Since mid-2010, partially funded by a grant from the GE Foundation and with strong organizational support from the ICC, an ISC Taskforce chaired by Prof. Harold I. Abramson and Ms. Joanna Kalowski met several times to draft criteria for an IMI Inter-Cultural Certification and to develop a Pilot Program to guide QAPs in the assessment of inter-cultural mediation skills.  In March 2011, the draft criteria were published for comment by IMI and several leading mediation organizations.  The draft Criteria were presented at the 13th Annual Spring Conference of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution in Denver in April 2011 where they were enthusiastically received.  In May 2011, the Inter-Cultural Taskforce met in Singapore to finalize the criteria and design modules of a demo training/assessment program to be shared with Qualifying Assessment Programs.  Pilot programs were run in Australia, Europe and Asia with the collaboration of existing and candidate QAPs.  The Taskforce has now reviewed the feedback from all pilot programs and is finalizing the IMI Inter-Cultural Certification Criteria for the planned launch of the IMI Inter-Cultural Mediator Certification in early 2012.

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