Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry & the Constructionist Principle

The Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry defines Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as “a positive, strength-based, participatory methodology that seeks to discover the best in people and their organizations.” It explains, “It is a system of principles, practices, and procedures with strong theoretical underpinnings applied to the field of human and organization development. Appreciative Inquiry is just as much a way of being in the world as a way of doing in the world – a philosophy and a practice. The foundational belief is that every living system has something that works well already, where people have experienced some success, some satisfaction, something positive in their lives.”

One of the core principles of Appreciative Inquiry is the Constructionist Principle. Rooted in social constructionist theory, this principle proposes that reality, as we know it, is relationally achieved. It is neither subjective nor objective but worked out in unfolding and ongoing interactions.

The theoretical framework of social construction and the methodology of Appreciative Inquiry share in their focus on generative, relational processes, with attention given to language use.

David Cooperrider, Ph.D., Taos Institute Founder and co-creator of AI

One of the Taos Institute founders, David Cooperrider, is best known as the co-creator and creative thought leader of Appreciative Inquiry (AI). His founding work with AI is creating a positive revolution in the leadership of change; it is helping institutions all over the world discover the power of the strength-based approaches to multi-stakeholder innovation and collaborative design. David Cooperrider’s work is especially unique because of its ability to enable positive change, innovation, and sustainable design in systems of large and complex scale. With implications for every aspect of business, AI has experienced exponential growth as a change initiative methodology. This growth is testimony to the profound impact AI is having in business, education, healthcare, communities, non-profit and government institutions.

David Cooperrider speaks at large corporate and association conferences and has served as advisor to a wide variety of organizations including the Boeing Corporation, Fairmount Minerals, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, McKinsey, Parker Hannifin, Sherwin Williams, Wal-Mart, American Red Cross, American Hospital Association, Cleveland Clinic, World Vision, the Navy, and the United Nations. For a complete bio, visit David Cooperrider’s profile page.

RESOURCES

Taos Institute Publications

Taos Institute Publications offers many books, including some WorldShare books free for downloading, on Appreciative Inquiry. These include:

Videos

The Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry

The David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry opened in 2014 in the Robert P. Stiller School of Business at Champlain College in Burlington, VT, USA with a mission “to be the global hub for connecting people to learn, apply, and amplify Appreciative Inquiry.” The center offers workshops and a certification program in Appreciative Inquiry, access to a network of practitioners and facilitators of organizational-change initiatives, a rich resource library, a Facebook group, the Inspiring Impacts podcast, and events to connect practitioners and organizations with each other and with research and practice. For more information, contact Taos Associate Lindsey Godwin, Ph.D., Academic Director of the CCAI.

The AI Practitioner: International Journal of Appreciative Inquiry

The AI Practitioner is an online journal that features the best of the best in Appreciative Inquiry work around the world.

ISSUU digital publishing platform

Articles about Appreciative Inquiry on ISSUU

The Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit

Founded in 2009 by Taos Institute co-founder David Cooperrider, Ph.D., The Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit (BAWB) exists to create a world in which business can prosper, human beings can flourish and nature can thrive. The Center helps propel business success and flourishing enterprise through the belief that business is one of the most powerful and positive forces for advancing a better world. At the heart of the Center is the AIM2Flourish program, wherein students around the world use appreciative inquiry to showcase breakthrough innovations that honor and scale for-profit businesses contributing to the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.