Full course description
Appreciative Inquiry Certification
Turn your AI Foundations into real-world practice—and become a Certified Appreciative Inquiry Practitioner.
This program is designed for graduates of the Appreciative Inquiry Foundations course who are ready to move from understanding to application.
The Certification experience is where your skills come to life. Through a guided, cohort-based process, you’ll design and lead an appreciative project that matters to you—supported by expert faculty, coaching, and a global community of practitioners.
If you’re ready to confidently apply Appreciative Inquiry in your work, this is your next step.
Appreciative Inquiry Certification
Over six weeks, you’ll meet online each week with Dr. Lindsey Godwin, a cohort of peers, and guest experts. Together, you’ll deepen your practice and apply AI to a real initiative—building the confidence, credibility, and mastery to lead strengths-based change.
What Makes AI Certification So Valuable?
The Appreciative Inquiry Certification is more than a credential. It’s a signal that you can lead with strengths, elevate engagement, and guide real transformation. In a world defined by complexity, rapid change, and burnout, AI practitioners bring something rare: the ability to help people and systems thrive.
1. You become a strengths-based change leader.
You learn how to shift conversations, teams, and strategy toward possibility — helping people tap into their best selves and co-create meaningful futures.
2. You gain credibility that opens doors.
AI Certification from the Cooperrider Center — the global home of Appreciative Inquiry — is recognized worldwide and rooted in decades of field leadership.
3. You learn by doing.
You apply AI to a real initiative and graduate with a Deliverables Portfolio that demonstrates applied competence.
4. You transform the way you lead, coach, teach, or facilitate.
AI gives you tools to elevate performance, build psychological safety, and spark innovation — through the art of better questions.
5. You join a global movement of positive-change leaders.
Certification connects you with practitioners across sectors: business, education, nonprofits, healthcare, and government.
What's Included
- Weekly 90-minute live cohort sessions with Dr. Lindsey Godwin and guest expert.
- Two 60-minute one-on-one coaching sessions scheduled at your convenience
- Hands-on project work supported by tools, templates, and faculty feedback
- Guided development of your professional AI portfolio, including:
- Appreciative Topic
- Stakeholder Map
- Generative Questions
- Conversation Designs
- Idea + Insight Capture
- Opportunity Areas
- Outcomes + Learning Reflections
- Stakeholder Feedback
- Appreciative Topic
Timing
Most participants spend:
- 90 minutes per week in a live Zoom session
- 8–10 hours per week on project work (varies by scope)
- Two 60-minute coaching calls, scheduled when convenient
- Weekly meeting times are scheduled after enrollment to accommodate time zones across regions and countries.
- All sessions are recorded. While live participation is encouraged, flexibility is built in.
Certification Outcome
Upon successful completion, you’ll earn your Certified Appreciative Inquiry Practitioner credential from the David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry and an official Certificate signed by both David Cooperrider and Lindsey Godwin.
Important Pre-Requisite
This program is open to participants who have already completed the Appreciative Inquiry Foundations course.
If you have not yet completed Foundations, you’ll need to do so before joining Certification.
If you know you are ready to commit to Certification, you can enroll for the bundled Foundations + Certification course, which saves you $195 for committing early.
Who This Pathway Is Perfect For
- Leaders and aspiring leaders
- HR, OD, and talent development professionals
- Coaches and consultants
- Educators and nonprofit leaders
- Anyone responsible for shaping culture, strategy, or transformation
If you want mastery, credibility, and real-world impact, this Certification is for you.
Take the Next Step
You’ve built the foundation. Now it’s time to apply it.
Become the kind of leader the future needs: strengths-based, collaborative, hopeful, and possibility-oriented.
About the Cooperrider Center
The David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry at Champlain College is the global hub for helping people learn about, apply, and amplify Appreciative Inquiry. Our goal is to enable and expand strengths-based organizational growth by providing coursework and certification in Appreciative Inquiry, and by connecting people and organizations with each other and with research and practice. Visit us at appreciativeinquiry.champlain.edu for more information.
Meet Our Experts
Dr. Lindsey Godwin is the Robert P. Stiller Endowed Chair of Management at Champlain College and a globally recognized scholar-practitioner in Appreciative Inquiry. Trained at Case Western Reserve University under David Cooperrider and Ron Fry, she has published widely, edited multiple special issues and books on strengths-based change, and presented at conferences around the world. With deep experience consulting for organizations such as the United Nations, World Vision, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and major school districts and associations, she brings both academic insight and real-world leadership to her teaching.
Dr. David Cooperrider, Honorary Chair of Champlain College’s David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry, is a pioneer of Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a strengths-based approach to transformative change used across business, public service, education, philanthropy, and social science. He has advised five Presidents, Nobel Laureates, major corporations, and global organizations including the UN, facilitating historic multi-stakeholder initiatives and advancing the concept of Business as an Agent of World Benefit. David has authored 25 books and over 100 articles, received numerous awards—including the OD Network Lifetime Achievement Award and the Peter F. Drucker Distinguished Fellow award—and founded the Global Forum for Business as an Agent of World Benefit. Recognized globally for his scholarship and impact, he continues to shape positive institutions and inspire leaders to create a world where people, businesses, and nature can flourish.
Refund Policy
Refunds are not available. If you need to defer your participation in the Certification to the next offering, please email the Center.
Questions?
We're here to help! Please see how to Enroll in a Cooperrider Center course for step-by-step instructions. If you need additional assistance, contact appreciativeinquiry@champlain.edu.