40 IDUs Maximum

You can earn up to 40 IDUs by completing different continuing education activities. You earn one (1) IDU credit hour for each hour of continuing education. This may not include activities such as registration, meals, breaks, exhibit hall time, “pre-work,” and so forth.

The number of IDUs that can be earned from webinars, webcasts, podcasts, videoconferences, and audiotapes is limited to 15 IDUs during each three year certification cycle.

Continuing Education activities include:

• College and University Courses
• Conferences and Seminars
• Workshops
• E-Learning Courses
• Webinar/Webcasts, Video-conferences (15 IDUs limit)

The number of IDUs that can be earned from webinars, webcasts, podcasts, videoconferences, and audiotapes is limited to 15 IDUs during each three year certification cycle.

30 IDUs Maximum

You can earn up to 30 IDUs by delivering instruction or training on an innovation-related subject. You earn one (1) IDU credit hour for each hour of presentation time.

Instruction / teaching activities include:

• Delivering a formal presentation within your organization relating to Innovation.
• Teaching a course or workshop, or presenting a public seminar or conference session relating to innovation.

You may earn reaccreditation IDUs for each time you present a presentation or teach a course, workshop, seminar, conference session, etc., so long as it is being delivered to a different audience each time.

The number of IDUs that can be earned from the same presentation, course, workshop, seminar, conference session, etc. is limited to 15 IDUs during each three year certification cycle.

30 IDUs Maximum

You can earn up to 30 IDUs for first-time on the job experience projects that have added to your innovation knowledge.

Examples of projects that earn credit include:

• Developing an Innovation Framework.
• Researching and designing an Innovation Strategy.
• Researching, designing, and implementing an innovation tool or system.
• Participating in an Innovation Senior Committee and implementing a procedure within the organization.
• Designing and Implementing an Innovation Lab, a Business Incubator, or an Accelerator Program.

You earn 1 IDU for each hour invested in the project. For most first-time work experiences, you will likely spend more time working on the project than the maximum number of 30 IDUs allowable in this category.

Recording Your On The Job Projects & Claiming Their IDU Credits

For each first-time on the job project being reporting, you will complete the following steps:

1. State the name and nature / topic of the project.
2. State the amount of time invested in the project (in hours).
3. Describe how the project has added to your Innovation knowledge.

You earn 1 IDU for each hour invested in the project. For most first-time work experiences, you will likely spend more time working on the project than the maximum number of 30 IDUs allowable in this category.

20 IDUs Maximum

You can earn IDUs by conducting primary research on an innovation-related topic and then writing and publishing the results of that research in a scholarly journal or publication. This research must be independent of your normal job duties.

Examples of such research and publishing can include:

• Writing, as the primary or sole author, an article that is published in a recurring journal or periodical – 10 IDUs.
• Making a significant contribution to a published text, such as a textbook or similar work – 10 IDUs.
• Co-writing or editing an article or a chapter in a textbook – 5 IDUs.
• Developing an Innovation video – 5 IDUs.
• Writing and publishing a fact-based blog post covering subjects relating to Innovation – 1 IDU per post.

The number of IDUs that can be earned from writing and publishing fact-based blog posts is limited to 15 IDUs during each three year certification cycle. Each such post must be approved by GInI and also may be published on GInI’s website.

20 IDUs Maximum

You can earn IDUs by submitting questions for potential use on a GInI examination. GInI awards one 1 IDU for every two 2 exam questions accepted.

GInI welcomes all certified practitioners to submit high quality questions to be considered as potential exam questions. This involves writing a series of questions and their associated answer choices aligned to a specific GInI certification. Submitted items go through a thorough review process by a panel of GInI master trainers.

After your submitted exam questions have been accepted, GInI will send you a formal notice of acceptance and issue your IDUs.

Terms & Conditions for Question Writers / Submitters

To be eligible to write and submit exam questions for a given GInI certification, the individual must be actively certified in that particular certification.

Questions are submitted through GInI’s professional membership portal under IDU submission.

Questions submitted for prospective use on a GInI examination must apply to GInI’s blueprint for that particular certification exam.

Questions submitted to GInI become the sole legal property of GInI.

Questions submitted must be the submitter’s original work and cannot be copied from materials which are copyrighted, owned, or created by another individual or organization. Those submitting questions found to not be their own original work may incur severe administrative and legal penalties.

For the purposes of confidentiality and security, those submitting questions to GInI must agree in advance that they will not disclose the content of any submitted question, submit them to other organizations, or use them for any other purpose. Similarly, they must also agree in advance to dispose of all physical and electronic copies of submitted questions and scenarios, as well as any physical or electronic materials relating to them.

By submitting a question or scenario to GInI, the submitter is agreeing to these terms and conditions.

Question-writing Guidelines

Questions must be formatted as multiple-choice questions having the following attributes:

1. The question (the “stem”)
2. The one correct answer (the “key”)
3. Three additional incorrect answers (the “detractors”)

State the problem clearly. Examinees should understand exactly what is being asked of them. Use a question format rather than an incomplete statement format.

To determine whether or not a given topic can produce good exam questions, first ensure that the topic is covered in the corresponding certification examination blueprint.

Questions should reflect methods and practices which are currently in use in the field of innovation.

Use simple, precise, and unambiguous wording, and ensure that the wording is grammatically correct.

Present questions with positive phrasing and avoid using negative phrasing.

Use complete terms and spell out acronyms and abbreviations. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms that are not commonly used unless the question is explicitly intended to test that specific item of knowledge.

Each multiple-choice question must have only one correct answer. Ensure that the intended correct answer is clearly the best option from among the options presented.

Avoid making the correct answer appear materially different from the detractors, such as by being noticeably shorter or longer than the detractors. Maintain all answer options with relatively consistent appearance, complexity, and length.

Do not write questions that are based on textbook, verbatim phrasing, or that are based on the opinions of a single author or text. Examinees should not have to memorize a particular textbook in order to answer a question correctly. Though questions can cite a textbook as a reference, the application of knowledge tested by the question should be universal in practice.

Emphasize higher-level thinking skills:

• Use memory-plus application questions. These questions require examinees to recall principles, rules, and/or facts from a real-life context.
• Place the concept in a life situation or context that requires the examinee to first recall those facts and then apply or transfer the application of the facts into a specific situation.

GInI’s Question Review Process

GInI’s Master Trainer Committee reviews all question submissions. Questions that meet GInI’s criteria are then further reviewed by a working group of subject matter experts for possible inclusion on future certification exams.

Each question goes through several technical / editing reviews in order to verify its technical content, and to ensure that it:

• is current and valid.
• reads well without providing any clues as to the correct answer.
• is capable of performing well on an examination.

Questions meeting GInI’s high quality standards may be used on a corresponding GInI certification exam.

Whenever an edition of a certification exam is either created or updated, GInI will select questions that meet that examination’s specifications, and achieve good distribution amongst the relevant domains, topics, knowledge, skills, and tasks involved.