For More Information: Appreciative Inquiry Commons, http://ai.cwru.edu
Purpose:
To enable full-voice appreciative participation that taps the organization’s positive change core and inspires collaborative action that serves the whole system.
Outcomes:
• Fundamental shift toward cooperation, equality of voice, and high participation
• A positive revolution, inquiry, and improvisational learning as daily practices
• Focus on life-giving forces—socially, financially, and ecologically
When to Use:
• To create a positive revolution
• To enhance strategic cooperation overcoming conflict, competition
• To catalyze whole system culture change
• To facilitate high-participation planning
• To mobilize global organization design and development
• To integrate multiple initiatives into a focused whole system effort
• To support large-scale mergers and acquisitions
When Not to Use:
• If you are getting the results you desire
• When lacking commitment to a positive approach to change
Number of Participants:
• 20–2,000 involved in interviews, large-scale meetings, and collaborative actions
Types of Participants:
• Internal and external stakeholders who hold images and tell stories about the organization
Typical Duration:
• Preparation: Work begins with the first question asked
• Process: 1 day–many months in nonconference format
• Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Summit: 4–6 days
• Total Transition: 3 months–1 year
Brief Example:
Nutrimental Brazil closed the food processing plant for five days and invited 700 people to an AI Summit resulting in full-voice commitment to a renewed strategic plan and a 300 percent increase in sales within three months. The company chose to meet as a large group twice a year to ensure progress on the strategic plan.
Historical Context:
Created in 1987 by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva, colleagues at Case Western Reserve University and the Taos Institute. Theory: Social Construction, Anticipatory Imagery Theory, and Narrative Theory.
 Appreciative Inquiry
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