Using Appreciative Inquiry in Rural Indian Communities

50 Pages·2001·2.47 MB·English

ThePositivePath
ThePositive
USING APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY IN RURAL INDIAN COMMUNITIES Path
USING APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY IN RURAL INDIAN COMMUNITIES
Graham Ashford and Saleela Patkar
ThePositive
Path
USING APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY IN RURAL INDIAN COMMUNITIES
Graham Ashford and Saleela Patkar
TheInternational Institute for Sustainable Developmentcontributes to sustainable development by
advancing policy recommendations on international trade and investment, economic policy, climate change and energy, measurement and
indicators, and natural resource management. By using Internet communications, IISD reports on international negotiations and brokers
knowledge gained through collaborative projects with global partners, resulting in more rigorous research, capacity building in developing
countries and better dialogue between North and South.
IISD’s vision is better living for all—sustainably; its mission is to champion innovation, enabling societies to live sustainably.
IISD receives operating grant support from the Government of Canada, provided through the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA) and Environment Canada, and from the Province of Manitoba. The institute receives project funding from the Government
of Canada, the Province of Manitoba, other national governments, United Nations agencies, foundations and the private sector.
IISD is registered as a charitable organization in Canada and has 501(c) (3) status in the United States.
MYRADAis a non-governmental organization working in the areas of micro-credit, forest and natural resource management,
micro-watershed development, poverty alleviation, empowerment of women, and community development. MYRADA works directly with
5,000 community groups representing 75,000 families in three southern Indian states. MYRADA’s activities are undertaken through
collaborations with state and national level government agencies, institutions, banks, other NGOs and international aid agencies. MYRADA
is recognized as a leader in participatory community empowerment methodologies and arid eco-zone development strategies. As a result of
their achievements in these areas, they are regularly invited to provide training and exposure visits to government and private institutions in
various parts of India and abroad. MYRADA’s approach to community development and natural resource management through capacity
building in village level institutions has been recognized and adopted by development organizations in
India, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
This publication was commissioned as part of a project titled Beyond Problem Analysis: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Design and Deliver
Environmental, Gender Equity and Private Sector Development Projects.The DFID-supported project was undertaken by MYRADAand the
International Institute for Sustainable Development. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect official DFID policies.
This document is the basis for discussion with interested parties.
Copyright © 2001 International Institute for Sustainable Development
Published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development
All rights reserved
Copies are available for purchase from IISD.
They can also be downloaded without charge at http://www.iisd.org/ai/myrada.htm
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Ashford, Graham, 1967-
The positive path
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-895536-46-4
1. Community development—India. I. Patkar, Saleela
II. International Institute for Sustainable Development. III. Title.
HN690.Z9C6 2001 307.1'412'0954 C2001-911571-7
International Institute for Sustainable Development
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MYRADA
p ii No. 2 Service Road
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Fax: [phone]
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Internet: http://www.myrada.org
Photography by Graham Ashford, Neil Ford & Jo-Ellen Parry
Designed by Darryl Hartle, 23 Below, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Printed in Canada by Kromar Printing Limited, Winnipeg
Acknowledgements
The International Institute for Sustainable Development and MYRADA gratefully acknowledge the support and assistance of
the individuals who shared their experiences with appreciative inquiry and assisted in the development of this publication. In
particular we would like to acknowledge David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva who developed the theory of appreciative
inquiry in the early 1980s and pioneered its application in organizational and community development. We would also like to
thank Mette Jacobsgaard, Charles Elliott, Jane Watkins, Bernard Mohr, Diana Whitney and David Cooperrider for providing
training to the project team. We would like to thank Neil Ford for bringing the concept of appreciative inquiry to IISD, for
helping to design the project and for leading the production of the project’s video.
Special thanks are due as well to others at IISD who gave us Moses Samuel Jesupatham, Arulalan, Shivaram and B
valuable advice and unending support to test the relevance of Basavaraju—for converting the appreciative inquiry
appreciative inquiry to sustainable development. Special “project’” into a way of life and for supporting numerous
thanks to Jo-Ellen Parry for her help in compiling the output colleagues and community members in their application of
ofour field guide workshop in India, to Art Hanson and appreciative inquiry in their work and their lives. Thanks to
Terri Willard for reviewing the material, and to Stuart Slayen Vidya Ramachandran for the countless hours she spent
for meeting impossible deadlines with exceptional editorial editing the video and to all of the other MYRADA staff who
work time and again. We also appreciate the work of László took part in the workshops, embraced appreciative inquiry
Pintér inaddressing measurement and evaluation issues. and shared their experiences with the project team. Thanks to
Anil Annaiah and his team for their work on the project’s
Our sincere thanks to MYRADA’s Executive Director video. Our heartfelt thanks to all of the community groups
Aloysius Fernandez for immediately recognizing the value of that took part in the process, especially those who gave their
appreciative inquiry and for pushing the project team time during our initial experiments.
members to think deeply about its use in community
development. We are grateful to the core appreciative inquiry And finally, our most sincere thanks to the United Kingdom’s
team in MYRADA—William D’souza, Rajachar, Vijaya Department for International Development in India for
Kumar, Raviprakash, Amarnath Jadav, Rajashekar, providing the funding that made the project possible, and to
Yenjeerappa, Rohan Mallick, Bellegowda, Ramesh Y, Janet Seeley, B. Siddarthan and Ajay Kumar in particular for
Ramegowda, Smita Ramanathan, Srinivasulu, Ambika S, their role in helping the project to evolve so successfully.
- Graham Ashford and Saleela Patkar
iii
p
Foreword
Achieving sustainable development not only requires development professionals with technical and managerial skills, but also local
peoplewith a vision of a sustainable future in which all will benefit. It requires collective thinking and effort. While much has
been debated about sustainable development at the macro-level, development practitioners have only limited and often antiquated
tools to advance it at the micro-level. Keeping a focus on global issues while addressing current priorities at the local level remains
a balancing act.
This publication is intended for development practitioners opportunities for applications and the need for refinement.
who are looking for methods by which local people can Nonetheless, the absence of material on the use of appreciative
consider long-run issues of sustainability while addressing inquiry for community development and repeated requests for
immediate deployment priorities. It will be of particular a consolidatedguide prompted us to publish our experiences.
interest for those seeking to move beyond deficit-based We hope that this guide will provide development
approaches, to project planning and implementation, to practitioners with additional tools and a more positive
methods that identify and build upon local strengths, values mindset, both of which are necessary on the bumpy road to
and visions. The guide introduces and explains the use of sustainable development.
appreciative inquiry, an approach to organizational and social
development that identifies peak moments within a STRUCTURE OF THIS GUIDE > Appreciative inquiry is
community, then discovers and reinforces the conditions that proving to be a very robust process for promoting positive
made past achievements possible. change. Its success has been confirmed with individuals,
families, small groups, large corporations and even entire
This document is not intended to be a comprehensive cities. Remarkable results can be seen in as little as a day, with
reference source for appreciative inquiry, but rather a synthesis widespread transformations occurring over years. Our
of our experiences using appreciative inquiry for community experiences in appreciative inquiry are primarily with small
development projects in rural India since 1999. Appreciative groups that participated in exercises that took between two
inquiry has been widely praised for its effectiveness in helping and five days to complete.1It is this approach that we have
corporations become more competitive by aligning their refined, documented and now present. For other applications
structures and activities with employee and client values. Yet, the reader is encouraged to look to additional resources,
since it was developed by David Cooperrider and Suresh including those outlined at the end of this publication.
Srivastva at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in
1980s, it has remained largely unknown to those working The guide is divided into three sections:
outside the corporate sector. However, as remarkable accounts
Section 1presents a summary of the project including its
of its applications in community development projects emerge,
objectives, strategy, participants and outputs.
interest in the approach is growing. Still, few references are
widely available about how the approach can be used in the
Section 2presents the rationale for an appreciative approach, a
world’s poorer areas where innumerable development
step-by-step outline of the four stages of appreciative inquiry,
challenges exist.
including the exercises that we found particularly useful, and
illustrations of their results. In addition we explore possible
iv After testing the approach over a two-and-a-half-year period
p applications and limitations of appreciative inquiry and its
with nearly 500 community groups in the most disadvantaged
relation to “participatory rural appraisal” (PRA), a set of
villages in southern India, we have been convinced of the
learning and action tools.
value of this process. The production of this guide results from
our desire to document our experiences and share material
Section 3provides a summary of the theory behind
that will enable the more rapid adoption of appreciative
appreciative inquiry and a selection of resources on
inquiry in community development.
appreciative inquiry that the reader may find useful.
A final note: we consider this book to be a work in progress.
The guide concludes with an extensive bibliography of
AsMYRADA and IISD further explore the use of
appreciative inquiry resources and references.
appreciative inquiry, we will undoubtedly discover new
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................................................................................................iii
FOREWORD..........................................................................................................................................................................................................iv
SECTION 1 –ABOUT THE IISD/MYRADA PROJECT...............................................................................................................................2
Summary of the Project...............................................................................................................................................................................2
SECTION 2 –USING APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY.........................................................................................................................................4
An Overview of Appreciative Inquiry.......................................................................................................................................................4
Setting the Stage – Initial Considerations.................................................................................................................................................6
Discovery Stage............................................................................................................................................................................................11
Dream Stage.................................................................................................................................................................................................19
Design Stage.................................................................................................................................................................................................27
Delivery Stage..............................................................................................................................................................................................34
Follow-up: Keeping the Cycle Going......................................................................................................................................................35
SECTION 3 –THEORY BEHIND APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY..................................................................................................................41
Selected References and Resources on Appreciative Inquiry...............................................................................................................44
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SectionOne
A B O U T T H E I I S D / M Y R A D A P R O J E C T
This book is one of the outcomes of a two-and-
a-half-year partnership between Canada’s
SUMMARY OF International Institute for Sustainable NETWORK PARTNERS>The project
THE PROJECT Development (IISD) and MYRADA, a south worked directly with numerous non-
Indian development organization. Funding was governmental organizations that are
provided by the United Kingdom’s Department involved in community development
for International Development. The purpose of the project was to provide activities including the promotion of
governmental and non-governmental organizations in India with a method of women’s and children’s rights, micro-
designing and delivering programs that build on a local strengths, achievements and enterprise, environmental rehabilitation,
vision to advance sustainable development and facilitate sustainable livelihoods. health, education, etc. While the project
originally intended to involve only a
THE PROJECT’S OBJECTIVES>The goal of the IISD/ network of 11 NGOs directly involved in two of MYRADA’s
MYRADA appreciative inquiry project was to advance projects, many other organizations from around the country and
sustainable development and facilitate sustainable livelihoods indeed around the world took part as the project progressed.
Se by providing governmental and non-governmental
cti organizations in India with a better method of designing and COMMUNITY GROUPS>During the project, IISD,
on delivering programs—one that identified and reinforced a MYRADA and the network partners had an opportunity to

On community’s strengths, achievements and vision, rather than apply appreciative inquiry with hundreds of community
e – focusing on its problems, deficiencies and needs. groups. These included self-help affinity groups (SAGs),2
A self-help group federations,3teachers associations, watershed
b
o Project activities were designed to build capacity in the use of development associations,4watershed implementation
u
t appreciative inquiry within a network of non-governmental committees, village forest committees, village health
t
he organizations (NGOs) in southern India. Through fieldwork committees, children’s clubs, farmers associations, community

II in three southern Indian states (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu health groups and others. We also had an opportunity to use
S
D and Karnataka) with hundreds of individuals, families, appreciative inquiry with numerous individuals and families.
/
M community groups and other organizations, IISD and
Y
R MYRADA tested appreciative inquiry as a methodology for EVOLUTION OF THE PROJECT>The project originally
A
D assisting local people design and implement projects. intended to provide training only in three of MYRADA’s 18
A
project sites. After field-testing the usefulness of appreciative
P
r PROJECT STRATEGY>The project team consisted of a core inquiry for two years, a decision was to be made about
o
j
e team of project managers and training staff from IISD and whether it would be incorporated into the remainder of
c
t MYRADA as well as outside appreciative inquiry experts. Its MYRADA’s work. However, after only the second training
strategy was to conduct training programs for NGO staff and program, the project team and the community groups were
fieldwork with community groups. By working in three convinced of the value of appreciative inquiry. Consequently,
diverse regions, the project was able to identify and document the project work plan was revised to enable a more rapid
the most effective methods of applying appreciative inquiry scaling up of the training program to include every
under different circumstances. MYRADA staff member regardless of their position. As the
2
p
project progressed, it became difficult to separate project
activities from other programs that MYRADA was
implementing. Appreciative inquiry quickly became a core
training component in all MYRADA projects.
2 Self-help groups or self-help affinity groups are small groups of up to 20 poor men or women who undertake thrift and credit activities. The groups are a major
component of MYRADA’s strategy for empowering poor women and men in India.
3 Close network of self-help affinity groups who mainly look at issues that individual SAGs are unable to achieve, i.e., lobbying, common services for SAGs, etc.
4 Associations of farmers and other people who live on or own lands in a small, geographically contiguous area. The association is usually involved in planning
for soil and water conservation/natural resources management activities, agriculture development and non-farm-based livelihoods.
ThePositivePath
A
ppreciative inquiry modules were included in other MYRADA training manuals and the staff began using the
approach not just with community groups, but with their own families and friends, too. MYRADA itself
undertook a full organizational review using the approach. Indeed, it seemed that MYRADA staff were willing
to try appreciative inquiry in a full range of applications from budgeting, to staff evaluations to the development
of job descriptions. Widespread success was reported which led to ongoing experiments with the approach.
In total, 28 training workshops were conducted in which about 500 staff from at least 70 organizations took part. The fieldwork
within MYRADA’s projects alone involved almost 500 groups for a total reach of over 10,000 people. This does not include
applications by partner organizations or with the staff’s families and friends. Numerous other presentations on appreciative inquiry
were made to organizations and individuals that were interested in the approach. Copies of the project video were widely
distributed and the web site received considerable attention. MYRADA intends to continue to extend the use of the approach to
the rest of the 5,000 community groups with which they work directly.
OUTPUTS> To document the project’s results and to assist Field Guide: This field guide was produced to share the
inthe progressive transfer of appreciative inquiry skills to results of the project and assist other organizations
theparticipating NGOs, the project team produced the experiment with the use of appreciative inquiry.
following outputs:
Web Site:The project also established a multi-media web
Progress Reports:Six-month reports detailing project siteat http://www.iisd.org/ai/myrada.htm which allows
activities were produced and made available through the usersto access progress reports, clips from the video, and a
project’s web site at http://www.iisd.org/ai/myrada.htm. downloadable version of this guide.
Training Video:The first training
program in Kamasamudram was
filmed and a 35-minute video
on appreciative inquiry was
produced. Titled Appreciative
Inquiry – A Beginning, the video
captures the first training session,
which was led by Mette
Jacobsgaard, an appreciative
inquiry specialist. By filming the
training, IISD and MYRADA
hoped to maintain the integrity of
the approach while the progressive
transfer of skills and associated
experimentation occurred. p 3
A woman creates a symbolic pattern or Rangoliby
spreading chalk on the floor. Such skills give
illiterate members the confidence that they can
draw their dreams even if they cannot write them.
SectionTwo
U S I N G A P P R E C I AT I V E I N Q U I RY
Appreciative inquiry is a strategy for
purposeful change that identifies the best of
By using questions to discover the
“what is” to pursue dreams and possibilities
AN OVERVIEW OF
strengths and successes that exist in every
of “what could be.” It is a cooperative search
A P P R E C I AT I V E individual and community, a sense of
for the strengths, passions and life-giving
I N Q U I R Y hope is generated through which people
forces that are found within every system—
begin to anticipate a better future.
those factors that hold the potential for
Further, they have a better understanding
inspired, positive change.
of the relevance of new initiatives to their
There are four stages to appreciative inquiry that form a long-term goals. Buoyed by the confidence of their past
continuous cycle. The first stage, Discovery, involves story- successes, and inspired by a vision of a better future, people
telling about peak experiences within a group and the are better able to take up the many challenges that they face
community in which it exists. Through an analysis of their in their day-to-day lives.
S
e stories, people identify their strengths and the conditions that
c
ti existed when past achievements occurred. They then enter the
o
n DreamStage in which they challenge themselves to imagine a
T
w future in which their group functions at its absolute peak,
o
– achieving their goals and contributing to the development of

U their larger community. They form specific action plans to
s
i
n reinforce their strengths and achieve their dreams in the
g
A DesignStage. With a better understanding of their
p
p strengths and core values, a clear vision of the future they
r
ec desire and specific strategies about how they will get there,
i
at they move on to the final stage, Delivery, in which they
i
ve implement their action plans. Since it is a cycle rather

In than a linear process, a new round of discovery, dreaming,
q
u designing and delivering can happen at any point in the cycle.
i
r
y
4
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The path to the future is rarely straight or free of obstacles.
ThePositivePath
DISCOVERY
“What gives life?”
(The best of what is)
APPRECIATING
DE E R Y
LI O V
DELIVERY VE S C DREAM
“HleSoiaUmwrSn ptT or&oA e vIaimNsdepIjuN?os”wGt/er, I RG YN DDIR “WENhaVItMI mSPIAiOgChNtT IbNeG?” The 4-D Appreciative Inquiry Cycle
S E Adapted from D. L. Cooperrider, D. L. Whitney, Appreciative Inquiry
E A
D M Handbook: A constructive approach to organization development and change.
(Cleveland, OH: Lakeshore Publishing, 2001).
DESIGN
“What should
be the ideal?”
CO-
CONSTRUCTING
R
ATIONALE FOR AN APPRECIATIVE APPROACH>Like many development organizations, MYRADA had in
the past designed and delivered their projects using participatory techniques intended to uncover local problems,
resource constraints, deficiencies and unmet basic needs. While these approaches encourage participation,
emphasize the importance of local knowledge and address real problems, MYRADA found that such approaches
often failed to sustain community participation. MYRADA concluded that deficit-based approaches left people
with the impression that their community
was full of problems and needs, most of
A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRAINING | After spending five hours conducting appreciative
which require the help of outsiders to
overcome. The focus on needs entrenched inquiry exercises with the members of the Mahalakshmi self-help group of Kadiri in the
a sense of dependence that reduced sweltering heat, we asked them how they felt.
people’s motivation to initiate their own
development activities. These unintended
“We are a 13-year-old group, and we have been through many training programs. But this is
consequences prompted MYRADA to
shift away from deficit-oriented methods different. We want to know what took you so long to conduct this kind of a program? We had no
toward processes that build on local idea of our strengths. If you had done this a few years ago, imagine where we might have been
strengths and achievements and generate a
today. You must promise us that you will do similar programs for other groups in our village.”
sense of hope in the community.
5
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