The project that this slideshow is based on originally sought to build the capacity of a network of 12 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in southern India to use Appreciative Inquiry.

Appreciative Inquiry was selected for trial as a new community development tool in order to move practitioners beyond traditional problem-centered methods - like participatory problem and needs analysis - to identify and build on past achievements and existing strengths within a community, establish consensus around a shared vision of the future, and construct strategies and partnerships to achieve that vision.

This project was undertaken between July 1999 and December 2001. Through fieldwork in two Southern Indian states, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the project tested the effectiveness of appreciative inquiry as a method for helping community groups design and carry out projects that contribute to sustainable development and secure livelihoods.

As the lead agency, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) worked in partnership with MYRADA, an NGO headquartered in Bangalore engaged in micro-credit, watershed development and poverty-alleviation activities in three states of Southern India.

IISD worked with MYRADA and a network of NGOs and community groups, using appreciative inquiry to plan and carry out village-level projects that emphasised the promotion of gender equity, the diversification of income-generating opportunities, and the improvement of local environmental conditions. By working with community groups from three regions, each facing distinct challenges, the project was able to identify and document the most effective methods of applying appreciative inquiry in different circumstances.

Copies of the publication associated with the project can be downloaded here.

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