Full course description
Develop your capacity to identify and leverage strengths, talents, and possibilities with Appreciative Inquiry (AI).
Grounded in evidence-based practices, and the latest science of strength-based change, Appreciative Inquiry turns the old idea of organizational change on its head. Rather than starting with a focus on what is wrong in your organization, AI invites you to ask what is working and how you can scale up successes. For over 30 years, AI has been used around the world to:
- Increase profits, while at the same time improving the world.
- Show businesses the bigger picture, including their place in the world from a sustainability point of view.
- Allow employees to be more creative and to have more buy-in with the company's strategic plans.
- Improve efficiency and output due to the revitalized commitment and enthusiasm from both employees and management for the company's mission.
- Engage entire communities in creating improvements in their region.
- Work across all types of organizational sectors, from for-profit to the social sector.
In our world of continual disruption, AI provides a framework and practical tools to navigate change in a way that brings out the best in everyone. Step into your capacity to be a positive change leader today!
Learning Outcomes:
Through this certification program, you learn the foundations of Appreciative Inquiry and define and design your own AI application with the help of expert coaches. You will learn the tools and techniques that will help you and your organization:
- Leverage Core Strengths
- Engage the Whole System
- Accelerate Positive Growth
You will also build competency in these five core AI leadership skills increasingly in demand in today’s ever-changing world:
- Intentional Inquiring
- Future Focusing
- Solutions Seeking
- Asset Appreciating
- Inclusively Involving
What you need to know:
- The course is designed for individuals across organizations who are working to lead change formally or informally at the individual, team, or systems level.
- The program is entirely virtual - participate from anywhere you are in the world!
- The program is 15 Weeks in total, designed in a series of three 4-week sessions (outlined below), with a 1-week break in between sessions.
- Upon successful completion of the program, you will be awarded a professional certification as an Appreciative Inquiry Practitioner from the Cooperrider Center at Champlain College.
- There will be one 1-hour zoom meeting per week. Students are requried to attend at least 9 out of the 12 zoom meetings.
- On some of these zoom calls, you will be connecting with not only instructors and each other, but also leading industry experts who will share lessons and wisdom learned from years working in the field.
- Expect to spend 8-10 hours a week on learning materials and applications.
- In addition to pre-recorded, on demand lectures from Drs. Lindsey Godwin and David Cooperrider, you will also be provided with weekly learning materials and hands-on application opportunities to bring AI to life in your world.
- All required resources (articles, videos, books, chapters, etc.) are provided as part of your tuition.
- As part of the program, you will receive a 1-year subscription to the AI Practitioner Journal.
- This course qualifies for 10 CEUs.
Session Dates and Topics:
- Oct 7 - Nov 1, 2024: Session 1 - Foundations in Appreciative inquiry & Strengths-Based Change
- One week break (Nov 4-8, 2024)
- Nov 11-Dec 13, 2024: Session 2 - Appreciative Inquiry Applications for Change Leaders (one week break between Nov 25-29, 2024)
- Five week break over winter holidays (Dec 16, 2024 - Jan 17, 2025)
- Jan 20 - Feb 14, 2025: Session 3 - Designing & Delivering Positive Impact with Appreciative Inquiry
About the Cooperrider Center at Champlain College
The David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry is the global hub for connecting people to learn about, apply, and amplify Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry is a framework for discovering and accelerating individual and organizational strengths to generate value.
Refund Policy
- Withdrawal up to two weeks before the start of the course: 100% refund
- Withdrawal between two weeks before and 3 days before the start of the course: 50% refund or transfer registration in full to another person.
- Withdrawal within 3 days of the start of the course: No refund.
Instructors
Sue James
An Appreciative Inquiry practitioner for almost 20 years, Sue James works with a wide range of individuals and organisations across community, non-profit and business sectors. All her work is based on the foundational principles of Appreciative Inquiry and incorporates the components and qualities of Appreciative Intelligence®.
Shelly Masson
Shelly was first introduced to Appreciative Inquiry in 2011 when she worked at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and her concept of how organizations and people could thrive was forever changed. Since that time, she has worked with various individuals and companies helping to create a better way of living and working. Shelly currently serves as Adjunct Faculty at Champlain College teaching in the Positive Organizational Development certificate program. Shelly is also a graduate of the David Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry.
Guest Experts
David L. Cooperrider, PhD
Dr. David Cooperrider's founding theoretical work in "Appreciative Inquiry" is creating a positive revolution in the leadership of change. He is the Fairmount Minerals Professor of Social Entrepreneurship at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. Professor Cooperrider is past President of the National Academy of Management’s OD Division and has lectured and taught at Harvard, Stanford, University of Chicago, Katholieke University in Belgium, MIT, University of Michigan, Cambridge and others.
Dr. Cooperrider will provide a number of pre-recorded lectures as well as attend the first and last live meeting.
Lindsey Godwin, PhD
Dr. Lindsey Godwin is the Robert P. Stiller Endowed Chair of Management at the Robert P. Stiller School of Business. She holds an MS in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, where she studied with David Cooperrider and Ron Fry, the thought leaders in Appreciative Inquiry.
With a passion for helping organizations leverage their potential through strengths-based change, Dr. Godwin has consulted with organizations including Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, the Vermont Federal Executive Association (VTFEA), World Vision, the Houston Independent School District, the California Teachers Association, Imagine Nepal, the United Nations, the American Society of Association Executives, and the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain.