Appreciative Inquiry

So begins a typical process of appreciative inquiry, a way of thinking and working with groups, organizations and commu-nities that assumes all human systems have at least some posi-tive features, ie something is working well. By fostering reflection on the system's ...

Appreciative inquiry is an important framework for guiding positive change. What has been missing is the critical analysis of AI to determine impacts on organizations' espoused values. The purpose of this bounded case study was to explore best practices in AI for determining impact. Positive social change occurs when practitioners and scholars include reports of impact for their AI interventions and research.

Background and context: The Royal College of Midwives is engaged in a long-term twinning partnership with the Uganda Private Midwives Association. Uganda is one of the poorest countries in the world and only 27% of women and newborns have their needs met (UNFPA, 2014). A well-skilled, competent midwifery workforce is required to meet these needs yet Ugandan student midwives often receive poor-quality clinical education. The Ugandan Nurses and Midwives Council approached the Royal College of Midwives for assistance in designing a system of mentorship for Ugandan midwifery to address this gap. The project was funded by UK-Aid through the Tropical Health and Education Trust. Aims of the project: MOMENTUM was a 20-month action research project that aimed to develop and pilot a model of mentorship for student midwives in Uganda. This article focuses on one workstream relating to practice development, a twinning project that used workbased learning and appreciative inquiry, embedded in an action research approach, to facilitate practice development. Conclusions: This project added to the body of knowledge about midwifery twinning for building capacity in mentorship, research, and cross-cultural competence. MOMENTUM created a powerful community of practice that was enabling, fulfilling and transformative. Replication of this would require funding, management capacity and sufficient lead time for participatory planning and piloting. MOMENTUM's audit tool was a bespoke design for this pilot project and so may not be transferable to other settings without further development, testing and validation. Implications for practice: • Twinning, action research, appreciative enquiry and workbased learning can be effective in enabling practice development • The impact of midwifery twinning on leadership development requires further investigation, together with greater evidence on the reciprocal impact of twinning on the sending country

Obtaining new knowledge accepted and used by practitioners remains a slow process. A dearth of knowledge translation research exists that explores how to effectively move knowledge to practice in the field of older adult mental health. The current article reports findings of a knowledge translation study that examined what factors enabled the adoption of a new clinical assessment framework, P.I.E.C.E.S.™, into practice in an older adult tertiary mental health unit. Theoretical insights of appreciative inquiry were used to guide the study. Qualitative methods were used, including focus groups with 20 staff and individual interviews with three leaders. The appreciative inquiry approach helped researchers successfully facilitate knowledge translation. Enabling factors included: (a) fostering positive energy to make continuous improvement, (b) working with team members across disciplines at all levels, and (c) using knowledge translation tools to enable and sustain the new practice. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 54 (7), 26-31.].

The relationship between Appreciative Inquiry and meditation highlights the power of silence and the ways in which deep reflection opens up spaces for creativity and learning. This blend brings more self-confidence to be in a state of not-knowing in front of a group and allows generative inquiry to emerge. The article includes questions and practices that can support our own development as well as our work in relation with others.

Appreciative inquiry approach to evaluation is a recent development in the evaluation realm. Though some evaluators have used this approach independently, it has been used partially to complement other evaluation approaches in many cases. Similar to other evaluation it measures the changes, develops programme logic model, clarifies the evaluation purpose, identifies the stakeholders, determines the evaluation key questions, develops indicators

PurposeTo identify the attitudes and traits of teachers with an at‐risk student population in a multi‐cultural urban high school.Design/methodology/approachA research team consisting of doctoral students and their faculty advisor used an appreciative inquiry model to identify attitudes and traits of teachers who supported effective teaching in an urban high school with a high at‐risk student population.FindingsThe research team's findings indicate that those perceived as effective teachers were culturally responsive, sought small successes, encouraged students, flexible, and caring. They also formed meaningful relationships with students, had caring attitudes, and viewed themselves as difference‐makers. The research team also found a number of non‐supportive teacher attitudes and traits: blaming, racial attitudes, frustration leading to inflexibility, co‐dependency leading to encouraging the neediness of students, and lack of respect for the contributions made by the surrounding...

Despite the advent of the Age of Rights in the aftermath of World War II, a large number of people still live precarious and disposable lives due to war, poverty, and discrimination. Although human rights has become the common language of humankind, the violation of those rights has also become the common experience of many people in the world. How can we transform human rights knowledge and practice to respond to current and emerging questions of co-existence, dignity and justice?
Critical Appreciative Dialogue: Pedagogy for Critical Human Rights Education critically analyses the shortcomings of human rights theory and highlights how to engage with multiple religious and philosophical traditions to transform the way we think, teach and act through human rights.
The book synthesises ideas from diverse philosophical and religious traditions, insights from working with grass roots organisations in Africa, and research and teaching in tertiary academic institutions to present a locally sensitive and globally plausible approach to human rights education. It provides guidance and insight for students and practitioners alike.

Participatory action research is often informed by strength-based approaches such as appreciative inquiry. However, when social change and collective action appear to be difficult, feelings of powerlessness and suffering can arise. There is an ongoing debate on the place and importance of these so-called negative emotions within strength-based approaches. In a participatory action research project on citizen participation in the Netherlands we encountered a social and political context that was beyond our ability to change. We came to realize that change or action is not always possible in partic-ipatory action research and that 'pushing' for action can become a disempowering experience for those involved. In this article we share the moral dilemmas that

This article presents the SOAR framework’s evolution from the fields of strategy, organization development and change, and Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to the discipline of positive organizational scholarship (POS). The ‘positive’ in POS asks scholars and practitioners to view the world through a lens where weaknesses and threats are reframed as strengths and opportunities, and ‘organizational’ refers to positive states of organizing. The premise of POS was both necessary and essential for creating the SOAR framework so that positivity could elevate and extend the capabilities of individuals to perform, change, and transform their teams and organizations....

The purpose of this research is to conduct action research within the New York State Department of Conservation Region 2 office located in New York City. The context of the research is to explore the management workforce, otherwise referred to as the “board of directors” for ways to validate their benefice, and improve their effectiveness and efficiency within the organization. The research will be conducted at the headquarters and it would include the participation of approximately 160 public sector employees, consultants or contractors that provide environmental related services to the general public. All appropriate program and section management staff will be asked to participate, and their responses analyzed utilizing Appreciative Sharing of Knowledge for feedback and insight. Research focus will be on capturing significant qualitative data on the role of the “board of directors” model of corporate governance in public sector organizations. The aim of this research is to provide empirical case study evidence that focuses on addressing the proposed research questions, while finding ways to improve the application of the board of directors model’s “best practices” identified during the research to other public sector organizations. The outcome of this research will hopefully provide better understanding for public sector leaders and managers currently utilizing this model of public sector governance, or those who are contemplating this type of management change in the future.

“We used to be a wellspring of innovation,”
said the C-suite leader as he sat at
the conference table in his glass-walled
office. “But we’ve lost the habit. I’ve got to
get that started again.”
Over the last several years, the executive
went on to explain, the team members at
his manufacturing firm had focused on
important tasks like opening new plants
and transferring major parts of their operation
from one location to a larger, better-equipped
facility. They’d made these
dramatic moves while maintaining the
exceptional quality of their product and
meeting their clients’ increasing demands.
But along the way, they’d been too busy to
invest in the ongoing research and development
needed to keep new ideas flowing.
They’d lost their spirit of innovation, and
he wanted to bring it back.

The establishing of large churches in urban Metro Manila was a phenomenon that imperceptibly began in the 80s.  After more than two decades, these large churches had become a permanent, visible, and influential feature of the church scene.  It became a subject of interest to identify the leadership attributes of these pastors and to analyze the development these qualities.  Significant are the consequent implications to educational providers on leadership.
The purpose of the research is to discover the leadership qualities of pastors of large churches in urban Metro Manila, determine the development of these qualities, and define the emergent guidelines for designing a pastoral leadership development program.
The research design employed a mixed-methodology executed in three phases.  The first phase, quantitative and utilized two instruments, a Basic Demographic Survey and the Leadership Practices Inventory.  These instruments identified the leadership attributes of the pastors.  The second phase, qualitative and employed the Appreciative Inquiry interview questionnaire.  It analyzed the developmental process of the leadership attributes.  The third phase triangulated the combined data of the two previous methods.  It generated design elements for a pastoral leadership development program.
The selection criterion focused on member churches of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches that have a minimum of 800 attendees in their Sunday worship services and led by the same pastor for a minimum of ten years.  The criterion yielded a population size of 20 churches (N=20), sample size 19 pastors (n=19).  A nonrandom purposive sample circumscribed respondents that were information rich.
The leadership attributes, from highest to lowest, were enabling others to act, modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, encouraging the heart, and challenging the process.  Top 30%: the percentile ranking of these pastors.  The observer results, from the highest to the lowest, were inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, modeling the way, challenging the process, and encouraging the heart.  Grouped according to demographic variables, the ranking of the leadership attributes is rearranged.
The leadership attributes were developed through informal, non-formal, and formal education.  Six pastors have ministry-related doctorates, five have credentials from Bible colleges and other similar institutions, three have secular masters degrees, and everyone have attended some form of non-formal ministerial trainings.  Responding properly and intentionally to the developmental stages of the church further contributed to formation of leadership attributes.
The emergent guidelines on designing a pastoral leadership development program are expressed through the acronym LEAD.  Link the learners with their calling.  Enlist teachers based on recognized expertise.  Adapt relevant content and strategies.  Develop objectives in line with ministry.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a philosophy and worldview that
guides people through an intentional process of generating more
of what is good in their lives and communities. In this introductory
workshop, participants are introduced to this affirming and
life-giving approach in a ministry context.

Manley-Tannis, Richard. “Appreciative Inquiry: Exploring the Provocative.” Mandate. Toronto: The United Church of Canada. Fall 2018: 31-34. Print.

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of applying appreciative intelligence and appreciative inquiry concepts to design a possibly new model of ice-breaking, which is strengths-based and very often used in any training in general and team building training in particular. Design/methodology/approach-The design has evolved from the authors' study and practice of appreciative intelligence and appreciative inquiry in their consulting and facilitation work. Findings-A new ice-breaking design is proposed which is built on a strengths-based generative model of appreciative intelligence and appreciative inquiry. The new design infuses creativity and positive envisioning into the context of team-building intervention. The appreciatively intelligent ice-breaking design engages the team energy in an inspiring manner, channeling the team deliberations and working with a focused positive agenda founded in generative capabilities. Arguments are offered in terms of how the proposed new design is different and advantageous over the traditional ice-breaking model. Originality/value-This paper presents a value-seeking and value-adding design of an ice-breaking exercise in the context of a team building intervention. Practical implications of this new design for both OD practitioners/trainers and academic educators are discussed.

An investigation into the integration and application of the technologies of :
1. The Enneagram Project Design and Implementation Process ©1,2 (EPDIP) and
2. Permaculture Design3,
and the attitudinal approaches of :
1. Asset Based Community-led Development 4 (ABCD) and
2. Permaculture Design ethics and principles5,
towards the implementation of:
1. A replicable, resilient, socio-agro-ecological food producing demonstration facility, that is
2. WSU/community linked, and that,
3. Provides a living basis for long-term community empowerment and livelihood upliftment, combined with
4. WSU staff and student training, education and continuing research into human values based socio-agro-ecological developmental approaches and technologies.

The primary premise of this dissertation is to construct a hermeneutical approach for local theologizing in the context of globalization. In particular, it is necessary for the local contexts to move out from the shadows of theologizing based on a hermeneutic of victimization to a transforming articulation based on a hermeneutic of affirmation. This process includes dealing with the presence of colonial mentality in the collective consciousness of people in a given society.
The dissertation outlines the current context where all hermeneutics are constructed. This is the inter-related network between the global and local contexts. In this study, the priority is to view the realities of the global context based on the lens of the local contexts. In this process, the study re-discovers that the primal instincts in local Asian cultures are precursors to postmodern conditions. Specifically, the study focuses on three common themes/conditions: the “otherness” or alterity, decentredness or distortion and diversity or plurality.
The study uses local narratives as case studies to give light to the subject at hand. This includes descriptions of local socio-economic-cultural practices, local religio-cultural
discourses, individual stories. In addition, this study presents a collective articulation for a theological construction to describe the core constitution of “insider movement” by believers who are engaged in the movement.
In the end, this dissertation provides eight recommendations. These are topics by which this dissertation can be extended and where new theological formulations, both from the global and local contexts, can be constructed. More than anything, these recommendations signify an admission that this dissertation is viewed as a starting point for further constructing the framework towards a hermeneutic of affirmation.

Appreciative Reframing of Shadow Experience (Pages 25-28)
This article presents a case for reframing and transforming ‘shadow experience’ through an intentional Appreciative Inquiry (AI) intervention called Marg (Hindi word for ‘path’) , a 4-step process created by the author that applies AI principles to purposefully engage with the shadow experience, uncover its gift and transform its energy. Field experiences illustrate the application and practical usefulness of MARG.

This research, conducted by the author when a Senior Researcher at Newcastle University, UK, was funded by a UK governance organisation to help them assess, integrate and improve their understanding of the governed population.

ABSTRACT: Governance organisations have been urged to develop more holistic evidence-based approaches with partners to better deal with issues affecting the governed population. This presupposes an understanding of the population, yet there has been little research work addressing how governance organisations come to understand their governed population, nor how this understanding can be improved upon within such organisations.

This case study examined in-depth how understanding of a governed population was developed within one UK local governance organisation and it explored how such understanding might be developed and improved through more holistic and evidence-based organisational learning within the organisation and its governance partnerships.

The research methodology involved placement within the governance organisation, participant observations on several projects and innovative initiatives, observations within, across, and outside the organisation, and also interviews with varied key stakeholders.

The study examined:

- stakeholder engagement and networks
- current and varied understandings of the population
- mechanisms actually used for developing understandings
- the influence of context on organisational learning

and analysed these to arrive at a recommendations to improve organisational understanding of the governed population.

In the case studied, significant strengths were found: including innovative past learning trials for development, extensive ongoing networking activities, and many varied and accumulating quantitative datasets available across partnerships.

However, entrenched organisational approaches and practices constrained the development of holistic evidence-based understanding, for instance: the absence of systematic maintained collective learning processes; weak recording and forgetting of understandings; methodological exclusion of stakeholders from the development of understanding; the relative neglect of qualitative data, explanations, investigations, interpretations, and reflexivity; and also implicit organisational acceptance of such limitations and low aspirations.

Nonetheless, untapped opportunities existed to enable change including: latent practitioner knowledge and innovative management champions, the desire for improvement and raised aspirations within learning networks, and the development potential of alterative learning approaches.

It was concluded that more holistic evidence-based understanding was possible, but required new learning approaches beyond those then in use in both local government or academia.   

Recommendations are made to utilise and develop improved organisational learning approaches trialed and reported in the case study.

It is argued that the case study findings, conclusions, and recommendations may be applicable to other similar local governance organisations and partnerships that seek to better understand local populations, services and interventions.

The work was also submitted for, and awarded, an MPhil (at Newcastle University, supervised by Prof. Patsy Healy)

Because of the apparent benefits of blended learning, an increasing number of classrooms are providing access to online collaboration tools through some form of learning platform.
The challenge for schools today is to create learning opportunities that prepare students for living in the 21st Century. Students live in an information-laden world where memorisation of facts is not as important as the ability to question, search, analyse and evaluate in order to form one’s own opinion
This critical analysis will consider the use of Google Classroom as a tool in order to support the development of learning opportunities for yound adolescent students.

This chapter discusses the potential applications of Appreciative Inquiry in complex peacebuilding and development settings and also in facilitating theory building and practice at the nexus of these two fields. The authors highlight common assumptions and approaches found in peacebuilding, development, and Appreciative Inquiry, which point to a potentially fruitful integration. They also address some of the epistemological and methodological critiques of Appreciative Inquiry, particularly as they pertain to contexts of structural and direct violence and poverty. An example from the Africa Community Publishing and Development Trust, a Zimbabwean nongovernmental organization, illustrates how appreciative approaches can be combined with problem-solving approaches to tackle such con- ditions in ways that empower people and communities to generate social and structural change, and to overcome some of the limits of appreciative approaches when used exclusively in such contexts. The chapter concludes by suggesting additional ways in which Appreciative Inquiry might be adapted to create positive peace and positive social change.