APPRECIATIVE

INQUIRY
Appreciative Inquiry is a participatory form of inquiry. It puts a different focus on how information is
collected, analysed and used, compared to traditional monitoring and evaluation methods. It deliberately
focuses on what is working well, and how things could be made even better, rather than on problems and
difficulties. It can be used to help plan, monitor and evaluate any kind of development intervention.

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) was first developed by David The Appreciative Philosophy
Cooperrider in the 1980s as an organisational change
methodology. It has since gained a lot of popularity, • What we focus on becomes our reality
perhaps peaking in the mid-2000s. Initially, it was mostly • In every society, organization, or group, something
used by commercial organisations. However, it has since works.
spread to organisations working in social development. • Reality is created in the moment; there are multiple
realities.
Appreciative Inquiry is a participatory form of inquiry that • The act of asking questions is an intervention.
puts a different focus on how information is collected, • People are more confident about journeying to the
analysed and used, compared to traditional monitoring and future when they carry forward parts of the past.
• It is important to value differences.
evaluation (M&E) methods. It can be used to help design,
• The language we use creates our reality.
plan, monitor and evaluate any kind of development
• People are more motivated to act when they have a
intervention from a small project through to the work of an choice in what they will do.
entire International NGO.
Source: Preskill (2007)
A key principle of Appreciative Inquiry is that the act of
asking a question influences the direction of change. This is
because the question (and the way in which it is asked) Over the past two decades, CSOs have used Appreciative
prompts those contributing information to anticipate a Inquiry for a range of purposes, including organisational
future state. Consequently, Appreciative Inquiry development, strategic planning, network building,
deliberately focuses attention on what is working well and situational analysis, project or programme design, research,
how things could be made even better, instead of focusing monitoring and evaluation. One of the reasons many CSOs
on what is going wrong or needs to be fixed. It is often seen like Appreciative Inquiry is that it is designed to support
as an alternative to traditional forms of inquiry, which tend learning and improving – finding out what works, and why,
to focus on problems, challenges and difficulties. in order to improve future performance.
Appreciative Inquiry is designed to bring out the best in
people and organisations, building on the successful and
positive experiences of different stakeholders. How AI works
For many of its users Appreciative Inquiry is as much a Within social development, Appreciative Inquiry is most
philosophy as a set of tools and techniques. It includes an often associated with the 4-D model. This model can be
accompanying set of principles and assumptions, along applied to any situation, and is summarised in the box
with a number of core processes and practices (Coghlan et. below. It is important to note that the 4-D model is not a
al 2003). The philosophy can be described as follows: blueprint, and is designed to be applied differently in
different circumstances.
Appreciative Inquiry “ ... is the study and exploration
of what gives life to human systems when they
function at their best. This approach to personal
change and organization change is based on the DISCOVER
assumption that questions and dialogue about
strengths, successes, values, hopes, and dreams are
themselves transformational. Appreciative Inquiry
suggests that human organising and change, at its DESTINY
DREAM
(DELIVERY)
best, is a relational process of inquiry, grounded in
affirmation and appreciation.” (Whitney and
Trosten-Bloom 2003, p1)
DESIGN
Some of the different aspects of the Appreciative Inquiry
philosophy are summarised in the box above.

© INTRAC 2017
Discover: In the discovery phase positive stories are The 4-I model has also been adapted for strategic planning,
identified and recorded, and then used to build a positive using the SOAR approach, which guides planners through a
picture around a particular topic (such as organisational process of identifying Strengths and Opportunities, and
change or a development project). This involves identifying developing Aspirations and expected Results (see Capela
and appreciating processes that work well. The discovery and Brooks Saunders, undated).
phase is designed to shift attention away from what isn’t
working to what is working, and what may possibly work in
the future. There are many methods that can be used to Appreciative Inquiry and M&E
generate positive stories, including interviews, focus group
discussions and questionnaires. Appreciative Inquiry Appreciative Inquiry is not primarily an M&E methodology,
generally means asking questions in a positive way; for and has most often been used during design and planning.
example asking stakeholders what they most value about However, it has always incorporated an element of
themselves, their work and their organisation, or what evaluation – assessing what is working well and seeking to
achievement they are most proud of. improve performance – and in recent years there has been
increased interest in integrating Appreciative Inquiry with
Dream: The dream phase encourages groups of M&E in general, and evaluation in particular (Roberts
stakeholders collaboratively to consider what they think 2012).
their organisation, project, programme or partnership is
being called upon to do. This phase is often conducted One of the reasons for this is that Appreciative Inquiry can
through a workshop or large group meeting, during which help ensure that evaluations are not just treated as
the stories collected in the previous phase are shared and accountability exercises – assessing change to report to
discussed. In Appreciative Inquiry, stakeholders are external agencies such as donors – but instead are focused
encouraged to think outside the narrow boundaries of on learning and improving. Including Appreciative Inquiry
what an organisation, project or partnership is doing, or processes within an evaluation is therefore seen as a way
plans to do, and to imagine (or dream) what could be in the to ensure that evaluation is less judgemental and less
future instead. threatening for many stakeholders.

Design: The design phase encourages stakeholders to come The main influence of Appreciative Inquiry within
together to create a path towards achieving the dream. evaluations is twofold. Firstly, it guides evaluation design,
Stakeholders typically participate in putting together what development and implementation as an overarching
are called ‘provocative propositions’. These are ambitious philosophy. Secondly, it influences the way in which data is
objectives designed to challenge common assumptions or collected and analysed (for example through ensuring that
routines, and representing real possibilities for an questions asked in interviews are phrased in appreciative
organisation, project, programme or partnership. The language).
provocative propositions are usually accompanied by the
Appreciative Inquiry is considered as most useful within
beginnings of strategies designed to help realise the
evaluation under one or more of the following conditions
objectives.
(see Coghlan et. al. 2004, Catsambas 2015, Preskill 2007):
Destiny: This phase is sometimes known as the delivery
• when an organisation is interested in using
phase. It focuses on action planning at organisational,
participatory or collaborative evaluation
project/programme and individual levels. Small groups are
approaches;
encouraged to work on areas that require collaboration,
• where there is a desire to build evaluation capacity
and teams may be established for new initiatives.
at the same time as evaluating a project or
Commitments are made to help ensure the agreed
programme;
provocative propositions are realised. The required actions
• where the organisation, programme or project
are aligned through the process, in order to generate a set
which is the focus of the evaluation values
of action plans designed to bring about the agreed
innovation and creative thought;
objectives. The destiny phase is ultimately about putting
• where there is a clear desire to use evaluation
learning into action in order to bring about desired change.
findings to change plans and activities in the
A common alternative to the 4-D model is the 4-I model future;
developed by Encompass LLC – a small, women-owned • where different stakeholders feel threatened by
consultancy firm based in the United States. It is like the 4- an evaluation, or have had bad experiences in the
D model, but the phases are Inquire, Imagine, Innovate and past;
Implement. The fourth phase in the 4-I model (implement) • where there is a hostile or volatile environment; or
is designed to be a time of continuous learning, using • where relationships between different
appreciative M&E tools and processes to ensure regular stakeholders are poor or have deteriorated.
learning that can be translated into improved performance
(Catsambas 2015). The 4-I model helps take Appreciative
Inquiry beyond design and planning, and towards a more Strengths and weaknesses of AI as
continuous process throughout project or programme (or an M&E approach
organisational) cycles.
When applied to M&E, Appreciative inquiry has a number
of strengths. It is a participatory approach, and therefore
© INTRAC 2017
includes all the opportunities (and challenges) offered by managers claim to have had more success in getting CSO
participatory M&E. It is very focused around learning in staff to be honest, engaged and realistic when working
order to improve, and therefore ensures M&E goes beyond through Appreciative Inquiry than through traditional
simple reporting for accountability purposes. And it can be evaluation methods.
used in situations and cultures where stakeholders are
nervous about evaluations, and are therefore inclined to One limitation of Appreciative Inquiry (as an M&E
hide the truth. For example, the Civil Society Support approach) is that it does not automatically include
Programme (CSSP) in Ethiopia, supported by INTRAC, used processes to critically test claims made about change and
Appreciative Inquiry over several years to help monitor the causality. This contrasts with many other methodologies,
programme. This proved very effective in a culture where such as process tracing, outcome harvesting and most
M&E had previously been seen as both judgemental and significant change (MSC). It is therefore important when
punitive. applying Appreciative Inquiry as an M&E approach to
ensure that critical methods and processes are employed.
Some argue that Appreciative Inquiry is less useful for
looking at negative changes, or processes that didn’t work. Finally, Appreciative Inquiry is based on an assumption that
Others disagree, saying that Appreciative Inquiry is better inquiry is the first step of a future process. Therefore, it is
than other methodologies at getting stakeholders to talk not appropriate to use Appreciative Inquiry for end-of-
about errors and failures within a supportive and project evaluations where there is little or no chance of
appreciative environment. Some evaluators and CSO continued funding.

Further reading and resources

Three papers that may serve as an introduction to Appreciative Inquiry in an M&E context are those by Coghlan et. al. (2003),
Catsambas (2015) and Preskill (2007), listed in the references section below.

Links to other papers in the M&E Universe dealing with complex methodologies for collecting and analysing information can be
found below.

Outcome harvesting Most significant change

Qualitative comparative analysis Process tracing

Tracer studies Quasi-experimental approaches

Randomised control trials Contribution analysis

Organisational assessment tools Social network analysis

References
 Capela, S and Brooks-Saunders, A (undated). A Different Approach to Strategic Planning: SOAR-Building strengths-based
strategy. HearthShare Human Services. Accessed on 1/5/16 at:
[Link]
GMAU&url=http%3A%2F%[Link]%2Fconference%2Fppt%[Link]&usg=AFQjCNGCLkzwu5C1PpNQELh
WXAQAEY_eTQ
 Catsambas, T (2015). Reframing Evaluation Through Appreciative Inquiry: Workshop presented at Claremont’s evaluation
Centre, Claremont, CA. August, 2015.
 Coghlan, A; Preskill, H and Catsambas, T (2003). An Overview of Appreciative Inquiry in Evaluation, in H. Preskill & A. Coghlan
(Eds.), Appreciative inquiry and evaluation. New Directions for Program Evaluation, 100, 5-22. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
 Preskill, H (2007). Using Appreciative Inquiry in Evaluation Practice. PowerPoint presented at the AEA-CDC 2007 Summer
Evaluation Institute, June 11-12, 2007, Atlanta, GA.
 Roberts, K (2012). Appreciative Inquiry. [Link] retrieved on
August 15th, 2016 from the Better Evaluation website.
 Whitney, D and Trosten-Bloom, A (2003). The power of Appreciative Inquiry. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

© INTRAC 2017
 Author(s): INTRAC is a not-for-profit organisation that builds the skills and knowledge of civil
INTRAC society organisations to be more effective in addressing poverty and inequality. Since
1992 INTRAC has provided specialist support in monitoring and evaluation, working
Contributor(s): with people to develop their own M&E approaches and tools, based on their needs.
Nigel Simister and Alix Tiernan We encourage appropriate and practical M&E, based on understanding what works in
different contexts.

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