Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative inquiry is a method and approach to inquiry that seeks to understand what is best about a program, organization, or system, to create a better future. The underlying assumptions of appreciative inquiry suggest that what we focus on becomes our reality, that there are multiple realities and values that need to be acknowledged and included, that the very act of asking questions influences our thinking and behavior, and that people will have more enthusiasm and motivation to change if they see possibilities and opportunities for the future. Appreciative inquiry is based on five principles:

• 1.
  Knowledge about an organization and the destiny of that organization are interwoven.
• 2.
  Inquiry and change are not separate but are simultaneous. Inquiry is intervention.
• 3.
  The most important resources we have for generating constructive organizational change or improvement are our collective imagination and our discourse about the future.
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• 4.
  Human organizations are unfinished books. An organization's story is continually being written by the people within the organization, as well as by those outside who interact with it.
• 5.
  Momentum for change requires large amounts of both positive affect and social bonding—things such as hope, inspiration, and sheer joy in creating with one another.

Appreciative inquiry is often implemented as a “summit” that lasts from 2 to 5 days and includes 20 to 2500people. During their time together, participants engage in a four-stage process of discovery, dream, design, and destiny, during which they respond to a series of questions that seek to uncover what is working well, what they want more of, and how the ideal might become reality. Appreciative inquiry questions might include, “As you reflect on your experience with the program, what was a high point?” “When did you feel most successful in terms of your contributions to the project?” “What are the most outstanding moments or stories from this organization's past that make you most proud to be a member of this organization?” “What are the things that give life to the organization when it is most alive, most effective, most in tune with the overarching vision?”

Appreciative inquiry and participatory, collaborative, and learning-oriented approaches to evaluation share several similarities. For the most part, they are catalysts for change; emphasize the importance of dialogue and, through questioning, seek to identify values, beliefs, and assumptions throughout the process;are based on the social construction of reality; stress the importance of stakeholder involvement; embrace a systems orientation; and reflect an action orientation and the use of results.

Appreciative inquiry is being used to evaluate a wide variety of programs and services around the world. While some evaluators use appreciative inquiry as an overarching framework (as with utilization-focused or empowerment frameworks), others are adopting appreciative inquiry principles to construct interview protocols and procedures. Using appreciative inquiry for evaluation may be particularly useful (a) for framing and implementing developmental and formative evaluations, (b) as a method to focus an evaluation study, (c) as an interviewing technique, and (d) as a means to increase an organization's commitment to engaging in evaluation work.