Using Appreciative Inquiry in Native Communities

Success Stories

 Speakers:
Mary Emery
515-294-2878
memery@iastate.edu
North Central Regional Center for Rural Development

Barbara Radke
218-726-6476
radke008@umn.edu
University of Minnesota Extension Service
Appreciative Inquiry, first used in the corporate world, is fast becoming not only an exciting new approach to community work, but also a way to frame research and evaluation projects. Using AI in distressed communities has been particularly successful as it focuses on what it working and how people can improve on what is working. We have used this approach in conducting focus groups with Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College to learn more about what is working well in their outreach efforts and what more could be done. We have also conducted research to extract stories of successful outreach to communities by Tribal and Native-serving colleges. We will use this approach to support the adaptation of these stories in new locations. Finally, through the Rural Community College Initiative, we have introduced the technique to several Tribal schools. This session will report on what we are learning about the value of this approach across projects and locations. Based on what we have learned, we will suggest strategies for adopting this method in other Extension-related work.

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For more information about the conference, contact the conference co-chairs: Cindy Bigger, cbigger@umn.edu, (888) 241-0843, or Rick Maurer, richard.maurer@uky.edu, (859) 257-7582.

For questions, comments or concerns about the 2006 NACDEP Conference website, contact emilye@srdc.msstate.edu.