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IMI Qualifying Assessment Program

CPR has been approved by the International Mediation Institute (IMI) to provide a Qualifying Assessment Program (QAP) for mediators seeking IMI certification. This means CPR’s program has met the IMI Criteria and been approved by the IMIs Independent Standards Commission. The QAP serves to judge whether a mediator has the requisite knowledge, experience, and skills to receive IMI certification. To find out more about IMI, visit their website. In order to apply for IMI certification, please follow the following instructions.

1. Download application from "Resources" (for more information see below)

2. Fill out and return to cprneutrals@cpradr.org.

3. Send IMI Assessment Fee of $360.00 made out to the “CPR Institute” to:

CPR Institute
c/o IMI QAP 30 East 33rd Street. 6th Floor
New York, NY 10016

4. Once your application has been approved, CPR will contact you to arrange for your skills assessment. (for more information see below). There will be an additional fee paid to the assessor based on their current rates at the time of assessment.

5. If you pass your skills assessment, CPR will certify to IMI that you have met the threshold for certification and you will be sent a link to register and create your profile as an IMI Certified Mediator. You can then use this same link to update your IMI profile in the future.

Application: Candidates seeking IMI Mediator Certification will be required to fill out an application in which they demonstrate that they meet the requirements for approval. CPR staff will determine whether the candidate satisfies these requirements by reviewing the candidate’s answers. These requirements are designed to ensure that candidates meet CPR and IMI’s high standards for mediation experience and knowledge.

Requirements include:

◾200 hours of mediation experience

◾Completion of at least 26 cases.

◾Two references of parties or counsel who have been involved in the same mediation conducted by the applicant and can provide feedback on the mediator’s performance.

◾No fewer than fifteen completed feedback forms. The Feedback form is available at Feedback request form.

◾Mediation training presented by CPR or one of its approved programs (e.g., Center for Dispute Settlement (CDS) or Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) or any IMI Certified Mediator Training Program. See : https://imimediation.org/orgs/find-program/), which addressed the theory and practice of mediation in a minimum of twenty hours of basic training, and include multiple active role plays with feedback.

◾Candidates who have completed any other training, including any non-CPR sponsored CDS or CEDR training, will be required to submit a syllabus and documentation demonstrating successful completion.

◾A one-page self-statement that describes the candidate’s understanding of, and his or her particular approach to, mediation.

◾The QAP fee of $360.00

For applicants who are members of CPR’s panel, any available case evaluations will form part of the IMI certification application.

Skills Assessment: Once CPR staff has reviewed the application and verified that the candidate meets all the requirements, CPR will schedule an evaluation of the applicant’s conduct of a real mediation or a role play of at least one hour to assess mediation skills, performance, and general competence. An experienced mediation trainer and/or an experienced mediator from the CPR Panel of Distinguished Neutrals who has demonstrated evaluation and assessment experience, will assess the candidate using a mediator skills evaluation checklist. This check list will focus inter alia on preparation, information gathering, empathy, impartiality, generating options and agreement, and process management. This will be followed by an interview with the assessor. The role play may be videotaped in order to provide feedback to the applicant and assist in training and monitoring assessors. The assessor will then make a determination of the level of the candidate’s skill and whether he or she is eligible for IMI certification. There will be an additional fee paid to the assessor based on their current rates at the time of assessment.  CPR will consider requests to submit a videotape of a mediation and a remote video interview by the assessor.

The CPR QAP for IMI Mediator Certification is open and accessible on an equal basis to qualified mediators regardless of their professional affiliation, gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation, disability, national origin or other personal characterization.