Cooper Point Appreciative Inquiry Project
Project Development
History
March 16, 2006
Who we are:
Kim Crisler * Lorna Larsen * Rita Marsh * Rachel Williams
We are four undergraduate students enrolled in the program Public Works:
Democracy and Design at The Evergreen State College. Chuck McKinney,
President of the Cooper Point Association, was looking for a group of
students to help him start a process called Appreciative Inquiry in his
community. Our program had received a brief introduction to the Appreciative
Inquiry process during Fall Quarter 2005, and we were each interested in
learning how this process can be implemented within a community. We
completed this project with the support of our faculty, Cheryl Simrell King.
Goal of the Appreciative Inquiry Project:
Our goal for the Appreciative Inquiry Project was to design a process
that the Cooper Point Association could use to promote civic capacity within
the community. That is, to increase the community’s ability to work
together, using the best of their past and present experiences on Cooper
Point, to shape a common future. This project will engage the community in a
dialog about what makes Cooper Point unique and valuable, and help the
community work together to carry those values into the future.
A History of Our Work Laying the Foundation:
During the first week of the quarter, we met with our sponsor, Chuck
McKinney. He explained his vision for the project and we had a question and
answer session so that we could get the “big picture” with at least some of
the details. Our initial job was simply to learn as much about Appreciative
Inquiry as time permitted. Chuck recommended The Thin Book of Appreciative
Inquiry by Sue Annis Hammond, which we all read. We also did further
extensive online research.
Designing the Question Set:
Based on our readings, we came to the next scheduled meeting with four
questions each. We narrowed and refined the questions until we collectively
agreed on the question set (four basic questions) that would be the basis of
our interviews. The process for selecting the question set included tacking
all of the questions on the wall, grouping them into four categories each
based on a common theme, then finally synthesizing one question from each
category.
Presentation to the Board:
Our team presented our questions and a brief explanation of the
Appreciative Inquiry process to the Cooper Point Association Board on
February 2, 2006. We asked the Board for names of Cooper Point residents who
we could contact as possible interviewees. The Board granted permission for
our project to go forward.
Human Subjects Review:
The Evergreen State College requires a Human Subjects Review (HSR)
for any school project that includes research on people. The HSR was
completed, submitted, and approved (as required) before the first scheduled
interview. We designed a tentative interview protocol and checklist to be
used as a guideline for conducting the interviews.
Arranging Interviews:
Once we had a list of Cooper Point residents’ names, one team member
volunteered to make all of the initial phone calls, for ease and
non-duplication. Initially she scheduled five interviews, with additional
ones scheduled later. Two members of the team attended the Cooper Point
Association Board meeting on March 2, 2006, and briefed the Board on the
current status of the project.
The Results:
We successfully completed six interviews; three interviews
included couples. Each member of the Appreciative Inquiry group conducted
one or two interviews, and then wrote the stories from these interviews.
There is a variety of formats used for the stories. We emailed the stories
to the respective interviewees for editing, clarification and approval. Once
approved, the final (stories) were collected and will be delivered to the
CPA’s web master. The team revised the protocol based on our individual
experiences during the interviews. We felt that the questions were effective
so we did not alter them
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