The potential of Appreciative Inquiry for South-North multiactor collaboration

Cycloop – keeping an eye on multiple perspectives Network for action research in mutli-actor collaboration

World Appreciative Inquiry Conference, 25-28 April 2012, Ghent, Belgium

Working hypothesis “According to the degree we can involve all relevant stakeholders in joint development initiatives by making use of Appreciative Inquiry, possibilities for success will increase.” n  How does AI contribute to mobilize and

motivate all stakeholders to become part of a collaborative initiative?

n  How does AI contribute to keep stakeholders involved, the maintain the energy?

n  Part 1: panel q  Provocative statements q  inspiring examples

n  Part 2: dialogue with public q  What are the best experiences of participants with

connecting different stakeholders in sustainable development initiatives through AI?

q  What can we learn from these experiences?

René Bouwen Setting up a catchment council in a river basin in the Andes (Ecuador) n  Diversity of actors: water experts, social scientists, power

plant, sand extraction, farming community, land owners, ministry of agriculture, local community …

n  With diversity of interests, competencies, roles/identities, issue perspectives.

n  Complexity, multiplicity and fuzziness of issue definition: erosion, sediment, water quality, irrigation,

n  Action research practices: interviews, round tables, working groups

n  Developing shared meaning around a common ‘issue definition’

n  Establishing platform: catchment council – rules – roles.

Co-creating shared relational knowledge in comm. of practice n  Appreciating (approach/vision) diverse perspectives

versus setting ‘the problem’. n  Designing ‘high quality relational practices’: concrete,

reciprocal, testable, co-owned, joint learning. n  All significant stakeholders involved: the whole system

represented. n  Bridging ‘communities of knowledge’ (science, farmer,

policy): no dominant knowledge regime. n  Building on ‘possibilities’/ strengths of actors. n  Issue definition and relational definition (memberships)

are strongly intertwined. n  A preference for early joint intensive field experiences.

Deo Baribwegure Foresting the borders of the Lake Tanganyika (Tanzania, Zambia, DRC and Burundi) •  Diversity of actors: fishermen, Municipal Council, Ministry

of agriculture, Lawyers, owners of the land, medias, Environmentalists, …

•  Ministry of agriculture of the four countries, •  International community •  Diversity of competencies, roles, issue perspectives. •  Defining the common objectives and ways to reach them •  Establishing platform: catchment committee – strategies-

methodologies, •  How to put all the energies together and move forward in

the same direction and for a common destiny?

Co-walking the path towards one destiny of a safe Environment

•  Using diverse knowledge (loops) for reaching a common understanding of the same fact.

•  Connecting the diverse knowledge for a common objective to make a safe Environment for everybody: Looking in the same direction keeps the flame burning (maintaining energy in the system)

Alexis Oviedo n  Des -naturalization of living conditions n  Result of a process to re-valorize people n  Improvement as a result of collective

processes. n  Diverse actors involved in meetings n  The inclusion of methodologies with holistic

focus and community vision of the future.

Cycloop – keeping an eye on multiple perspectives Network for action research in mutli-actor collaboration