Appreciative Inquiry and Evaluation – Getting to What Works

Abstract

Appreciative Inquiry (Ai) is described as the cooperative search for the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them. Th is article describes how Ai has been applied to evaluation in ways that build upon strengths and generate support for improvements. An initial criticism of AI can be that it focuses only on positivity and fosters an unrealistic view of human experience. Contributing to tension with the AI process is a mistaken belief that negative phenomena must be ignored. However, evaluators using AI have found that its appreciative questions, reframing, and generative features set the stage for sound assessment of worth as well as off er potential for powerful solutions.

What is Essential in Developmental Evaluation? On Integrity, Fidelity, Adultery, Abstinence, Impotence, Long-Term Commitment, Integrity, and Sensitivity in Implementing Evaluation Models

“…What must be included in a ''theory-driven evaluation'' to justify its designation as theorydriven (Coryn, Noakes, Westine, & Schröter, 2011)? What is the core of appreciative inquiry evaluation (MacCoy, 2014;Preskill & Catsambas, 2006)? What are the essential elements of Aboriginal Program evaluations (Jacob & Desautels, 2014) or indigenous methods generally (Chilisa, 2012)?…”

How to Manage Pressure to Change Reports: Should Evaluators Be Above Criticism?

“…Highlight challenging findings and ask stakeholders to suggest how they could be presented in the report and what forms of conclusions can be drawn. This is a common technique in a number of evaluation approaches, such as appreciative inquiry (e.g., MacCoy, 2014; Preskill & Catsambas, 2006) or developmental evaluation (Patton, 2011). Such an approach can help generate understanding of the evaluation—and later support for its findings and for taking action in response.…”

“…There are a variety of evaluation approaches that support a positive thinking approach. Arguably, the best known of these is appreciative inquiry (e.g., MacCoy, 2014; Preskill & Catsambas, 2006), but Stame (2014) and Stame and Lo Presti (2015) identify and discuss a range of other evaluation strategies that support positive thinking approaches. Perrin (2014) and Bohni Nielsen, Turksema, and van der Knaap (2015) consider the rationale and benefits of a variety of such approaches and identify ways in which evaluation can help identify and support successful policies.…”

Collaboration Vouchers: A Policy to Increase Population Wellbeing

“…Innovation within an organisation often requires a collaborative culture in which groups of employees explore new ideas [6,7]. For those making meaningful contributions to an organisation's collaboration and innovation, wellbeing is increased [8].…”