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Session Title: Organizational Learning and Evaluation Capacity Building TIG Business Meeting and Presentations: Appreciative Inquiry, Organizational Learning, and Evaluative Excitement
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Business Meeting and Multipaper Session 263 to be held in Sebastian Section L3 on Thursday, Nov 12, 10:55 AM to 12:25 PM
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Sponsored by the Organizational Learning and Evaluation Capacity Building TIG
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| TIG Leader(s):
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Rebecca Gajda, University of Massachusetts, rebecca.gajda@educ.umass.edu
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Jean A King, University of Minnesota, kingx004@umn.edu
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Evangeline Danseco, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, edanseco@cheo.on.ca
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Stephen J Ruffini, WestEd, sruffin@wested.org
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| Chair(s): |
| Gail V Barrington,
Barrington Research Group Inc, gbarrington@barringtonresearchgrp.com
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| Discussant(s): |
| Mary Gutmann,
EnCompass LLC, mgutmann@encompassworld.com
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A Synergistic Process for Building Readiness and Excitement for Evaluation Among Program Staff at Youth Farm and Market Project: Combining Appreciative Inquiry and Outcomes Evaluation
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| Presenter(s):
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| Nancy Leland, University of Minnesota, nancylee@umn.edu
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| Andrea Jasken Baker, AJB Consulting, andrea@ajb-consulting.com
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| Gunnar Liden, Youth Farm and Market Project, gunnar@youthfarm.net
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| Barb McMorris, University of Minnesota, mcmo0023@umn.edu
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| Nancy Pellowski, University of Minnesota, pell0097@umn.edu
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| Abstract:
An important challenge in program evaluation is garnering buy-in and enthusiasm among program staff to participate in evaluation. We faced this challenge in our outcomes evaluation work with Youth Farm and Market Project (YFMP). We discovered that another process, the process of appreciative inquiry, occurring concurrently within the organization, worked synergistically to produce readiness and excitement for evaluation among staff. The appreciative inquiry's goal was to determine YFMP's primary focus for the future and build a framework to ensure that this focus remain clearly evident throughout all aspects of the organization's work (i.e., from programming, to determining appropriate evaluation outcomes, marketing, and fundraising). As a result of these two processes YFMP staff are planning their next outcomes evaluation with more clarity and enthusiasm. YFMP works to facilitate healthy youth development in children age 8-18 through hands-on urban farming in the Twin Cities, Minnesota.
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Using Appreciative Inquiry to Become a Learning Organization
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| Presenter(s):
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| Anna Dor, Claremont Graduate University, annador@hotmail.com
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| Abstract:
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a phenomenon that looks at what is working right in organizations. It is an approach that engages people to look at their best of their past experiences in order to imagine the future they want - and find the capacity to move into that future. In AI, language that describes deficiencies and problems is replaced by positive questions structured around the theme of what works best in the organization. This paper examines the four phases of AI and presents a case example where AI was utilized in a Department of Homeland Security Component. The case follows the AI process and provides specific practical examples and lessons learned from this approach. The paper concludes with a connection of AI to evaluation and how it can be used in the field of evaluation.
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