Assuring Quality in ADR Practice & Programs

Approaches to Credentialing Mediators

Credentialing is one method for attempting to assure competence. However, credentialing may work better in some contexts than in others. Most certification approaches involve some combination of requirements for training and experience-occasionally with some academic degree or apprenticeship or mentoring. A number of professional groups have developed standards for "credentialing" mediators or other neutrals —i.e., vouching for the individual's competency to perform.

The primary options for credentialing are:

Certification - a designation granted by a private or public entity to indicate that a person has attained a certain level of competence in accordance with experience, training, and other standards established by the certifying entity.
Rosters and directories - a listing of neutrals, who have met certain entry criteria in order to be included in the list, that is developed by a program as a resource for interested parties to use in identifying a service provider.
Licensing - A government process by which a person is designated as minimally qualified to engage in the defined practice.

Certification - Recognition through certification, usually by professional organizations, courts or other bodies, indicates that an individual has met certain specified qualifications standards. While some programs have adopted approaches that rely less on entry standards than on targeting needed improvements in mediator skills or developing "informed consumers," many courts, legislatures, and agencies now employ some method of "certifying" mediators. A useful resource that includes information on certification and credentialing is Legislation and Court Rules re Mediator Qualifications, developed by Maria Mone, Director of the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management. The document offers an extensive summary of state rules regarding standards, liability, ethics, and other rules relating to mediators.

Rosters and directories - There are now hundreds of rolls (or directories) of neutrals who are listed because they meet criteria established by a program or agency. These criteria may be highly restrictive, or may require very little to be listed. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation made an early effort at creating a roster and developed selection criteria for mediators.

The U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, now maintains The National Roster of Environmental Dispute Resolution and Consensus Building Professionals. Deborah Laufer's Recommended ADR Links list has a section of links to other selected rosters of neutrals.

Charles Pou's Issues in Establishing an EPA-Sponsored Roster for Neutrals' Services in Environmental Cases explores creating and running an effective roster of neutrals, including qualifications for listing neutrals, assessing their performance, making panel assignments, and handling complaints.

Licensing - While many professions are licensed by the state, no state has used this method to certify ADR professionals. This may be because current knowledge about the qualifications needed to ensure effective DR practice are still being developed. The second (1995) SPIDR Commission on Qualifications thought licensure inappropriate because it risks establishing arbitrary standards in a field that is rapidly changing. Licenses typically confer certain due process protections. They also are accompanied by the power to impose sanctions for malpractice.

Criteria for Credentialing

The criteria and means of assessing performance that are used for credentialing and rosters typically incorporate some or all of the following methods:

Training requirements
Mentoring or supervision
Continuing education or training
Amount of experience, i.e., number of cases
Performance tests or live or taped demonstrations
User evaluations
Complaint procedures
References
Interviews

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