The 5-step Appreciative Inquiry process

The Appreciative Inquiry process works by:

  1. focusing on what is working well in your organization
  2. building on those successful aspects in other parts of your organization. 

The goal is to repeat and expand on positive processes in other parts of your organization to meet goals that have been agreed upon through collaboration.

The Partnerships in Dementia Care (PiDC) Alliance has modified the traditional 4-step Culture Change process created by Cooperider and others and uses a 5-phase process.

What is the Appreciative Inquiry Process?

ai process

It is important to recognize that organizations don’t generally move through the 5 steps in an orderly sequence. Sometimes earlier stages need to be revisited as new people become involved in the process or new learning takes place that challenges earlier understandings. And often one stage will overlap another.

Some organizations have experimented with accelerating the process by involving diverse groups of stakeholders in focused, bursts of activity. For instance, after engaging people in the Dawn and Discovery steps, an organization might choose to hold one or more workshops that will allow stakeholders to work through the Dream and Design phases in a shorter period of time than they might if they held shorter meetings spread over many months.

However the Appreciative Inquiry process is used, it is important to stick to the principles of Authentic Partnerships throughout.

References

Dupuis, S.L., McAiney, C.A., Fortune, D. B., Ploeg, J., & de Witt, L. (2014). Theoretical foundations guiding culture change: The work of the Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance. Dementia Online First, January 13, 2014. Available from Sage Journals Online