Written by NCDD director Sandy Heierbacher to expand upon the text on our “What Are Dialogue & Deliberation?” page. This resource provides enough details to enable you to decide which of these leading dialogue and deliberation methods you should learn more about. In addition to looking at which methods fit your intentions, you will need to consider which methods are aligned with your resources, timeline, and the people you feel need to be involved. The text below is drawn from NCDD’s Engagement Streams Framework. AmericaSpeaks […] (continue)

Possibilities for Transformational Conferences is an 8-page primer on how to plan events for 50 or more people that are interactive, engaging, and generally fabulous. Author Tree Bressen (with Debby Sugarman and Sunrise Facilitation) briefly introduces techniques for making events more participatory and engaging, including Open Space Technology, World Cafe, Appreciative Inquiry, fishbowls, “speed dating,” storytelling, and more. Download at http://treegroup.info/topics/Transformational_Conferences.pdf. About Tree Bressen… From her home in Eugene, Oregon, Tree Bressen consults with a wide variety of organizations on how to have meetings that […] (continue)

Imagine Chicago is a Chicago-based nonprofit that facilitates and trains people in community visioning practices. Founded by Bliss Browne in 1992, the organization utilizes a three-step process of understanding what is, imagining what could be through collaboration, and creating what will be through action. Its community visioning and planning model incorporates Appreciative Inquiry (with an emphasis on intergenerational collaboration), Open Space Technology, the World Café, and asset based community development. This approach has inspired the creation of Imagine and other community planning projects spanning six […] (continue)

The AI Commons is a worldwide portal devoted to the fullest sharing of academic resources and practical tools on Appreciative Inquiry and the rapidly growing discipline of positive change. This site is a resource for leaders of change, scholars, students, and business managers--and it is hosted by Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management. appreciativeinquiry.case.edu (continue)

A comprehensive practitioner's guide to the AI Summit methodology - a new way of managing change that combines large-group processes with Appreciative Inquiry. Written by four leading pioneers in the field of Appreciative Inquiry, the guide includes numerous examples from organizations around the world, including McDonald's, John Deere, Verizon, British Airways, the US Navy, United Religions Initiative, American Red Cross, and many others. The AI Summit has been called "the preferred method when applying whole-scale change to large groups." (continue)

Convened by the Institute for Advanced Appreciative Inquiry, The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization and the Visions of a Better World Foundation, Images and Voices of Hope is an international conversation about the impact of images and stories on people, families, communities, cultures and the world. The purpose of IV of Hope is to strengthen the role of media as agents of world benefit, expanding awareness of the choices those in media make that raise public trust, generate constructive meaning, and amplify human hope, thus enhancing humanity's capacity for life-promoting action. (continue)

AI Annotations is a place to create a conversation - an exchange of ideas and practices - among the co-owners of Appreciative Inquiry Consulting and with others who are on the journey of exploration and collective understanding of Appreciative Inquiry. Loretta Donovan, Roberta Peirick, Loretta Randolph, Tony Silbert and Sandy Wells make up the AI Annotations blog team as of 5/07. (continue)

The Taos Institute is a community of scholars and practitioners concerned with the social processes essential for the construction of reason, knowledge, and human value. The Taos Institute's workshops and publications focus in large part on the Appreciative Inquiry method. (continue)

This 116-page guide was developed for public bodies such as local authorities, government departments or other statutory agencies who commission or deliver participatory processes; those with similar roles in the voluntary and private sectors; and people who want to know what to expect when they get involved in decision-making processes. This document is the first publication from UK-based Involve. It is based on research funded by the Home Office Civil Renewal Unit during 2004/5. Involve aims to create new systems that enable people to influence decisions and get involved in actions that affect their lives. (continue)

The Valeo Initiative was a coalition of people and organizations who aspired to create an 'epidemic of health.' To stimulate that epidemic, Valeo launched the Living Dialogue on Health and Care, a national demonstration project intended to inspire people to think constructively about their own health and to influence the care they receive. The Living Dialogue was based on Appreciative Inquiry and included two components: a formal workshop for 12-30 participants; and an informal use of the Living Dialogues questions in any setting. The Facilitator's Guide is a step-by-step guidebook for conducting a four-hour Living Dialogue Workshop which could be included as part of the national demonstration project. (continue)