International Mediation Institute

www.IMImediation.org

Professional Mediation Worldwide

Overview

• Mediation & Professional Status

• Backgrounder on IMI

• IMI Certification

• Wider Mission of IMI

• Future

Any occupation wishing to exercise authority must find a technical basis for it,assert an exclusive jurisdiction,

link both skill and jurisdiction to standards of trainingand convince the public that its services

are uniquely trustworthy and tied to a set of professional norms

Harold J. WilenskyProfessor Emeritus of Political Science, UC Berkeley

The Professionalization of Everyone? 1964

On an international scale…• Mediation is still new

• Under 35 in the US• A lot younger elsewhere and being re-discovered

• Few began their careers as mediators• Most have moved from other professions• Mediation is still an “occupation” for most

• No user recognition of an “exclusive jurisdiction”• No consistent high standards of training• No governing professional bodies• Few qualifications• No universally-accepted professional norms• Lack of transparency

As a result…& despite the efforts of many mediators, providers and others…

• Quality is still highly variable• Anyone can call themselves a “mediator”• Few methods to assess/measure a mediator’s quality• High standards are neither visible nor credible• Best practice sharing is too insular, sporadic• Inadequate promotion poor understanding• Poor understanding limited acceptance• Patchy leadership/inspiration• Mediator supply far exceeds mediation demand• Finding the right mediator is a problem for users

• Expressed another way…

The Keys to the Growth of Mediation- QUALITY and…

The Keys to the Growth of Mediation- TRANSPARENCY

Overview

• Mediation & Professional Status

• Backgrounder on IMI

• IMI Certification

• Wider Mission of IMI

• Future

Vision & Mission of IMI

VisionProfessional Mediation Worldwide

Promoting Consensus & Access to Justice

MissionSet and achieve high standards in mediation

Convene stakeholders and partiesPromote understanding and adoption of mediation

Disseminate skills for parties, counsel and mediators

About IMI

• Charitable foundation• Funded entirely by donations• No provision of services to the market• True Public Interest Initiative• Internet-based, low overheads• Heavy reliance on pro bono support• Not a peak or superior body• Glocal focus

IMI and the United Nations

• Special NGO Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations

• Observer status at meetings of the UNCITRAL Commission for Working Group II

IMI Founding Institutions

American Arbitration Association/ICDRNetherlands Mediation InstituteSingapore Mediation CentreSingapore International Arbitration Centre

IMI Funding Institutions

American Arbitration Association/ICDRBahrain Chamber of Dispute ResolutionCenter for Effective Disputes Resolution (CEDR)JAMS – The Resolution ExpertsNetherlands Mediation InstituteShell InternationalSingapore Mediation CentreSingapore International Arbitration CentreInternational Chamber of Commerce

IMI Board of DirectorsChair: Deborah Masucci (AIG)

Directors: Shawn Conway (Conway & Partners)

Doug McKay (Shell International)

Kehinde (Kenny) Aina (Aina Blankson LLP)

Andrea Carlevaris (ICC)

Harold Coleman (AAA)

Malik bin Rabea Dahlan (Institution Quraysh for Law and Policy (iQ)

Isabelle Hautot (CCIAG)

Ute Joas Quinn (Hess Corporation)

George Lim (SMC)

Lim Seok Hui (SIAC)

Karl Mackie (CEDR)

Michael McIlwrath (General Electric Oil & Gas)

Kimberly Taylor (JAMS)

Wolf von Kumberg (Northrop Grumman Corp)

Diana Wallis (ex Vice President, European Parliament)

IMI Advisory Council

Lord Woolf of Barnes Chair UK

Prof. William Ury US

Prof. Tommy Koh Singapore

Sheikha Haya Al Khalifa Bahrain

William K Slate II US

Former Justice Minister Ales ZalarSlovenia

Jay Welsh US

IMI Governance• Board• Advisory Council• Independent Standards Commission (all pro bono)

• Chair– Judy Meyer (Mediator) (US)

• Vice Chairs– Constantin-Adi Gavrilă (RO) Appraisals– Margaret Halsmith (AU) Standards & Implementation– Jeremy Lack (CH) Taskforces– Joel Lee Tye Beng (SI) R&D– Geoff Sharp (NZ) Communications– Ellen Waldman (US) Ethics

• + 70 Thought Leaders from > 30 countries– Mediators, Users, Judiciary, Providers, Trainers, Educators

Role of the Independent Standards Commission

• Providing advanced thought leadership

• Setting high competency standards for mediators

• Reviewing/approving programs to qualify mediators for IMI Certification

• Ensuring continuing quality control of approved programs

• Monitoring the IMI Code of Professional Conduct

• Influencing public policy developments in mediation worldwide

• Appointing assessors to review Code of Professional Conduct complaints

• Proposing and approving enhancements to IMI Vision and Mission

Overview

• Mediation & Professional Status

• Backgrounder on IMI

• IMI Certification

• Wider Mission of IMI

• Future

IMI Certification

• A way to distinguish real experience– Competency and suitability

• Supported by User feedback– In summary form, independently prepared

• IMI Certified Mediator Profile– Including a Feedback Digest

Why Become IMI Certified?

• Help establish mediation as a real profession

• Reduce reliance by Users on poor sources of information– word-of-mouth, hearsay, guesswork– expand users’ choice

• Maximize the prospects of being selected – by any User, anywhere in the world

• Establish experience-based competency/suitability – via Feedback Digest and other info in Profile

• Credible information with a huge reach– at a nominal cost

IMI Certified Mediator Profile

Required Optional

• Practice Areas• Mediation

Experience• Mediation Style• Feedback Digest• Code of Conduct• Complaint Process• Indemnity

Insurance

• Professional Affiliations

• Fee Rate• References• Mediation Education• Mediation Teaching• Mediation

Publications• Keywords

Feedback Digest

• Each Mediator appoints a “Reviewer”– Independent person/institution of their choice– Summarizes feedback from prior users– In line with IMI Guidelines

• Protects Mediators from one-off negatives• Negatives only captured if repeated +3 times

• Provides users with transparency on:• Competency• Suitability

Feedback Digest

• Appoint a Reviewer– IMI Guidelines on appointing a Reviewer

• Gather Feedback from Users– IMI Feedback Request Form–Can also use own Panel’s form

Becoming IMI Certified

Two routes:

•Experience Qualification Path January 1st – June 30th 2009

•Certification by Assessment

From July 1, 2009 via a Qualifying Assessment Program (QAP)

IMI Certification

1061 qualifying mediators registered

408 are IMI Certified (online and searchable)43% USA37% Europe10% Canada 3% Asia 3% Latin America 3% Australia and New Zealand 1% Africa

Global Search Engine

IMI Certification by Assessment

To become IMI Certified, a Mediator must:

• Prove competency via assessment– Under a program applying criteria set by the ISC

• Qualifying Assessment Programs– Will be delivered by leading institutions

• Providers, trainers, professional organizations

– Applications are being reviewed now by the ISC– Once approved, Certification will be via a QAP

31 Approved QAPsfrom 22 countries

• LEADR Australia • Association for International Arbitration

(AIA), Belgium• LEADR New Zealand• ADR Canada• Family Mediation Canada• Mediationcenter, Denmark• IFCM, France• CCI, Hong Kong• IIAM, India• Meta-Culture, India• Concilia, Italy• Mediators Institute of Ireland• Beyond Conflict Ireland• Friarylaw ADR Ireland• Mediators Federation Netherlands• International ADR Register (NL)• ACB Foundation, Netherlands (also an

ICQAP and MAQAP)

• SPIDR, Nigeria• ICFML, Portugal (also an MAQAP)• Transylvanian Institute of Mediation,

Romania• Singapore Mediation Centre• Mediation International, Spain• Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain• Africa Centre for Dispute Settlement,

South Africa• MATA, UK (also an ICQAP)• AAA, USA• Erickson Mediation Institute, USA• Maryland Council for Dispute Resolution,

USA• JAMS, USA• SOMEDIARS, Russia (also an ICQAP)• AFCR (Albania)• CPR Institute (USA)• Israel Mediation Institute

Becoming IMI CertifiedCertification by Assessment

• IMI merely sets the standards/criteria• QAPs qualify Mediators• IMI ISC approves programs QAPs

• to qualify Mediators for IMI Certification• in line with defined criteria• approval to programs given by the ISC• authorizes use of IMI Certified Mediator logo• IMI Certified Mediators are then admitted to the IMI portal• invited to pay a nominal Listing Contribution €125• profiles searchable by users online

Criteria for Qualifying Assessment Programs (QAPs)

1. Experience2. Knowledge3. Skills4. Program Transparency5. Program Integrity6. Ongoing Monitoring7. Commitment to Diversity

Criteria for Qualifying Assessment Programs

1. Mediator Experience

The 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.

Criteria for Qualifying Assessment Programs

2. Mediation Knowledge

The 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.

Criteria for Qualifying Assessment Programs

3. Mediator Skills

The 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.

.

Criteria for Qualifying Assessment Programs

4. Program Transparency

The benchmarks and criteria applied by 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.

Criteria for Qualifying Assessment Programs

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 the QAP.

Criteria for Qualifying Assessment Programs

6. Ongoing monitoring of programs

The 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.

Criteria for Qualifying Assessment Programs

7. Commitment to diversity

The 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.

Overview

• Mediation & Professional Status

• Backgrounder on IMI

• IMI Certification

• Wider Mission of IMI

• Future

Wider Mission of IMI• Promoting mediation to users• Inter-Cultural Mediator Certification• Making informative material accessible• Experimenting with innovative mediation• Support creation/progress of mediation bodies• Encouraging experience generation schemes• Scholarship programs• Young Mediators Initiative (YMI)• Impartial Guidance/information to users

Find The RightMediator

Olé! – Evaluation of Conflicts

• Helps parties regain control via a strategic, outcome-orientated decision-making process

• A collaborative process for Client and Law Firm• Short, quick and simple• Stimulates the right questions and answers• Can be completed in electronic form by email

IMI Inter-Cultural Competency Criteria

IMI Inter-Cultural Certification is available to any experienced mediator who is qualified by an Inter-Cultural Qualifying Assessment Program (ICQAP) that has been approved by the IMI Independent Standards Commission (ISC).  ISC will approve ICQAP that meet detailed criteria:

IMI Inter-Cultural Criteria

• General Requirements– Methodology, Transparency, Integrity, Diversity

• Substantive Criteria– Knowledge– Cultural Frameworks– Self-Awareness– Multi-Cultural Perspectives

• Skills– Communication, Preparation, Managing Process

IMI Mediation AdvocacyCompetency Criteria

• helps parties to make informed decisions about competent professionals experienced in advising and representing clients in the resolution of disputes.

• is available to any experienced Mediation Advocate/Advisor qualified by an Mediation Advocacy Qualifying Assessment Program (MA-QAP), that has been approved by the ISC.

IMI Mediation AdvocacyCompetency Criteria

• General Requirements– Methodology, Transparency, Integrity, Diversity

• Substantive Criteria– Experience– Knowledge– Practical Skills

Young Mediators Initiative (YMI)

A network under the umbrella of IMI to support Young Mediators on their path towards Experience

• facilitate interaction with experienced mediators

• generate opportunities for mediation experience

• connect young trained mediators worldwide – for ideas exchange and networking

Overview

• Mediation & Professional Status

• Backgrounder on IMI

• IMI Certification

• Wider Mission of IMI

• Future

The Future

• Mediation stakeholders can:– Evolve the field into a recognized Profession– Expand the Mediation pie

• Requires a concentrated, convened effort– Not difficult to achieve with collaboration– Requires strong co-operation/support of:

• Mediators, Providers, Trainers, Users, Referrers, Government bodies and NGOs

Mediation has come a long way, but still has much further to go.  The field now needs to evolve quickly into a true profession.  High minimum practice and ethical standards need to be set,

made transparent and achieved internationally; users of mediation need to see these standards operating effectively. More and better information must be made available by individual

mediators about their skills, capabilities and personalities.  Quality and Transparency together will enable mediation to grow.

Lord Woolf of Barnes, 2009

Lord Chief Justice of England & Wales, 2000-2005International Academy of Mediators’ Lifetime Achievement Award 2009

International Mediation Institute

www.IMImediation.org