Appreciative Inquiry in Nepal.Appreciative Inquiry is a large group change method which is collaborative, generative, responds to the need for everyone to be involved and have a say and includes the future. It was designed to put people at the heart of co-creating their future. It engages all stakeholders in a dialogue about where the energy for the needed change is and how it will be achieved in order to co-create a positive future. It encourages dialogue not just between the people in the system but also between the present and the future, both tomorrow+ and tomorrow++. This makes it easy to capture learning ‘from the future’.
Rather than focusing on problems and deficits, it collects and celebrates the ‘good news’ and successes which enhances the shared narrative and culture. It is a cyclic, iterative process which means that you continue to capture and use the learning you have as you go forward. It also enables you to identify and capture success (which changes over time) and to build upon it as you proceed.
Each time you go around the cycle, you test where you are and what works well at that moment in time. You know you will test it again and, in so doing, uncover when any particular method stops being fit for purpose. Below are two examples of how we used this method with large groups of people and what it has meant for them.
