Preparation
01 · Define the "affirmative topic"
- The affirmative topic is the central question of the process, framed in positive terms.
- Instead of "How do we reduce dropout rates?", the affirmative topic would be "What makes students choose to stay and grow here?"
- This reframing is not cosmetic: it redirects the group's entire energy.
02 · Prepare the appreciative interview questions
- Design 3-5 questions for the Discover phase that invite participants to narrate real positive experiences.
- Examples: "Tell me about a moment when this organization/community was at its best. What happened? Who was involved?"
03 · Design the process
- Decide whether to run it in one long session or across several. For community processes or deep transformations, 2-4 sessions is more sustainable.
Step-by-step instructions
1
D1: Discover (the best of what is)
- In pairs, participants interview each other using the prepared appreciative questions.
- The interviewer listens actively and takes notes on the stories, values, and factors that emerge as keys to success.
- Then share in small groups: What success stories did you find? What factors appear repeatedly?
- In plenary, the facilitator collects the emerging themes and records them visibly.
2
D2: Dream (what could be)
- From the best moments discovered, the group projects toward the future: if those success factors were always present, how would this community/organization/school look at its best possible version?
- Creative techniques: guided visualizations, sketches, metaphors, future maps.
- The result is a shared vision of the desired future, expressed positively and concretely.
3
D3: Design (what should be)
- The group builds "provocative propositions": statements written in the present tense that describe how the system would look if the vision were already realized.
- Example: "In our school, every student has at least one adult who knows their story and believes in their potential."
- These propositions are creative challenges: they do not describe the current state but the state the group aspires to.
- The structures, practices, and relationships that make this vision possible are identified.
4
D4: Deploy (what will be)
- The group designs concrete actions, commitments, and next steps to make the propositions real.
- Who does what? By when? With what resources?
- Forms of follow-up and collective accountability are agreed upon.
Materials
Whiteboard or large paper for recording findings
Sticky notes and markers
Printed or projected appreciative interview questions
Space for simultaneous pair and small group work
Optional: creative materials for the Dream phase (colored paper, images, paints)
Practical recommendations
AI does not deny that problems exist: it approaches them from a different entry point. If the group insists on talking about problems, ask: "When was this not a problem? What was happening then?"
The quality of the process depends greatly on the quality of the Discover questions. Invest time in designing them well before the session.
In the Dream phase, authorize creativity and "wildness": the most ambitious visions are usually the ones that mobilize the most energy.
Document everything: the stories, the themes, the visions, and the propositions are the heritage of the process and the foundation for future sessions.
AI works best when people from different roles and levels participate: those who clean and those who lead have equally valuable perspectives on the system's best moments.
It is a process, not a one-time technique: its deepest effects emerge when it becomes a habitual way of asking questions in the organization or community.
Inspiration
Examples of affirmative topics by context:
- School: "Learning that transforms" / "A school community that sustains"
- Community organization: "Participation that empowers" / "Leadership born from the people"
- Work team: "Collaboration that amplifies" / "A culture that makes people want to stay"
- Youth process: "Young people who lead change" / "Youth voice that transforms"
- Think of the best moment you experienced in this school/classroom. What was happening? Who was there? What made it so special?
- When did you feel most proud to be part of this team/community?
- What do you value most about this organization/school/project? What do you never want to change?
- Who is the person who has inspired you most in this context, and what quality of theirs do you see in yourself?
- AI Express (45 min): Only the Discover and Dream phases in a brief session.
- AI Summit: Large-scale version (hundreds of people) for deep organizational transformations, lasting 3-4 days.
- AI in the classroom: Applied to classroom community to identify the group's best moments and build shared agreements from there.
Consulted sources
- Cooperrider, D. L. & Srivastva, S. (1987). Appreciative inquiry in organizational life. Research in Organizational Change and Development, 1, 129-169.
- Cooperrider, D. L. & Whitney, D. (2005). Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Revolution in Change. Berrett-Koehler.
- Whitney, D. & Trosten-Bloom, A. (2010). The Power of Appreciative Inquiry: A Practical Guide to Positive Change (2nd ed.). Berrett-Koehler.
