The idea of the Introductory Section is to put together enough of the background papers on Appreciative Inquiry (AI) to give visitors to this site the basic 'big picture'.The categories within (or sub-headings) of this Introductory Section give an indication of the scope of this introductory Section.
Chapter 2 Positive Image, Positive Action: The Affirmative Basis of Organising David L. Cooperrider Case Western Reserve University Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help you create the fact.…
The call for positive, life-centered approaches to organisation, group, and global change has been sounded by many, and it will take many more to fully explore the vast potential just starting to appear on the horizon. But even now, in the first steps, what is being sensed is an exciting direction in our language and theories of change – an invitation, as some have declared, to “a positive revolution in change.”
In the years since “Appreciative Inquiry into Organisational Life” was first published by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva at Case Western Reserve University in 1987, thousands of people have been engaged in co-creating new practices for doing AI and for bringing the spirit and methodology of AI into organisations all over the world. The velocity of the largely informal spread of the ideas associated with Appreciative Inquiry suggests a growing disenchantment with exhausted theories of change, especially those wedded to vocabularies of human deficit, and a corresponding urge to work with people, groups, and organisations in a more constructive, life affirming, strength-based and spirited way.
Welcome to the Appreciative Inquiry Network – an Australian portal devoted to all matters relating to this growing methodology. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) has been used in many contexts including the revitalising of organisations (Organisational Development) and facilitating generative responses to change (Change Management).
Speaking generally the material on this site contains material that reflects the positive approach inherent in AI. I have selected and (with permission) reproduced material from the AI Commons which I thought would be of particular interest to visitors of this site.
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) has proven itself to be a wonderful way to get people really interested in each other and their future together within the context or organisation that the AI is conducted in.
A relatively new development or application of Appreciative Inquiry to Strategic Planning is the whole system framework or process called SOAR.
You will find some resources (and audio/visual presentation) concerning SOAR here (SOARing or Swotting?)
As mentioned below The AI Commons is a worldwide portal devoted to the fullest sharing of academic resources and practical tools on Appreciative Inquiry and the rapidly growing discipline of positive change.
"The deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated." William James Psychologist & Philosopher "We all crave to be appreciated" Dale Carnegie