FACILITATION ROLE
Appreciative Inquiry
What is it?
Appreciative Inquiry is a facilitated
approach to organizational planning and change that
asks, “what is working well around here and how do we
build on it?” It’s based on the assumption that in every
group or organization, something works well. Developed
by David Cooperrider and his colleagues at Case Western
University, it has been used by both the non-for-profit
sector and private industry. It is also called
Appreciative Planning and Action.
Why use it?
The positive, affirming nature of
Appreciative Inquiry, where people discover and then build
on the root causes of success rather than dissect
problems, can be a powerful stimulus to change. It’s
non-threatening and empowering. It taps into the knowledge
and energy of internal experts. If you are going to carry
forward parts of the past, they should be the best parts,
according to AI author and expert Sue Hammond.
How to use it?
This process is suited to both large and
small groups in face-to-face meetings. Some processes have
involved over a thousand people, even entire
organizations. Originally developed for planning,
Appreciative Inquiry is also a helpful tool for the
development of best practices. One colleague used it in an
international gathering of 400 drug enforcement officers.
A soccer association used it with junior soccer teams to
draw out norms based on each team’s most positive game
experiences.
The AI framework can be applied to a
variety of interventions such as: strategic planning,
instructional system design, diversity, organisational
redesign, mergers and evaluations.
The four stages of Appreciative Inquiry
are Discovery, Dreaming, Design and Delivery.
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Discovery - “The best of what is”
In the first stage, a question is set to
stimulate the discovery of excellence and achievement in
an organization. For example Sue Hammond suggests, “Think
back through your career in this organization. Locate a
moment that was a high point, when you felt effective and
engaged. Describe how you felt, and what made the
situation possible”. Or questions can be more focussed,
such as “Think back over the past few years to a
fundraising exercise you were part of – a life experience
or moment that stands out for you as exceptional, one that
left you enthused, excited, energized and empowered.
Reflect on what happened and what went on that made this
such a memorable event for you.”
Participants work individually to map out
their stories. Then, they share their stories in pairs and
ask probing questions such as “If you had to pick one
thing that made your experience truly memorable, what
would it be? What skills helped you? What was its key to
success?” Other questions hone in on personal strengths
and contributions. Groups then identify the common themes
behind their examples of excellence. These could be
anything from core practices, structures, assets, values,
customer service, technology, or capacities such as
leadership.
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Dreaming – “What could be”
Next, a Future Vision is developed based
on the common themes that surfaced through the examination
of past excellence. The group develops a picture of the
ideal future, grounded in the organization’s reality.
What could the world look like if our moments of
exceptional success were the norm? As American poet Carl
Sandburg said, “Nothing happens unless it is first a
dream”.
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Design – “What should be”
Through consensus, short and long-term
goals are developed to achieve the dream based on what
Cooperrider and his followers call a “provocative
proposition”. Examples of provocative propositions are
“Our association will do whatever is necessary to build a
school, and have a full primary cycle within two years ”
or “We will face HIV/AIDS in our community and do what is
called for to save our people” or “In eight months we will
have a fully functional membership database that is fully
accurate and is the key to tracking, managing and
forecasting superior customer service needs.”
Tips: This is the challenging part – be
sure the “provocative proposition” is actually provocative
and involves stretch for the organization. Think big!
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Delivery – “Action plan and execute”
This is the action planning and execution
stage. Strategies and plans are put in place to meet the
goals of the provocative proposition, and roles and
responsibilities are assigned. Although any strategic or
operational planning methodology can be used, to follow AI
principles you must maintain a positive mindset and
involve a broad spectrum of people throughout your
organization. It also involves monitoring, evaluation and
feedback.
Tips: Unless you follow through with
Design and Delivery, you will have spent your time on a
“feel good” experience, rather than building a roadmap for
positive change.
Final thoughts
On the surface, Appreciative Inquiry can
sound too “touchy feely” for hard-nosed business people.
We like to vent and to gripe. But is venting the best use
of time at an organization’s planning meeting?
Appreciative Inquiry is a highly successful tool that
contributes to team building, and discovers, expands and
sustains the best of what an organization can offer. It
allows continuity with what has worked well in the past
and respects unique cultures that are successful in their
own way. Many facilitators integrate Appreciative
Inquiry’s story telling, sharing and visioning pieces into
their designs with other facilitation processes, rather
than use it exclusively. They capitalize on its flexible
and constructive approach for a broad range of purposes
and change the focus of meetings from dissecting problems
to harnessing excellence.
Resources
Sue Annis Hammond, The Thin Book of
Appreciative Inquiry. Thin Book Press, 1996.
See
www.thinbook.com for other resources.
Charles Elliot,
Locating the Energy for Change: An Introduction to
Appreciative Inquiry, Winnipeg: International Institute
for Sustainable Development, 1999, 288 pp.
This book is
available for downloading free at
http://www.iisd.org/ai/locating.htm.
 AXI Associate
Jane Logan is a skilled bilingual facilitator, and has
extensive experience working with non-profit and
for-profit enterprises in planning, policy, and advocacy.
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