Projects | Southern India - MYRADA
Trip Report 1: Sept. 28-Oct. 15, 1999
Kamasamudram, India

Goals of the project and purpose of the trip

The goal of this project is to advance progress toward sustainable development and to facilitate sustainable livelihoods by providing governmental and non-governmental organizations in India with a better method of designing and delivering programs—one that identifies and reinforces a community's strengths, achievements and vision, rather than focusing on its problems, deficiencies and needs.

The purpose of this project is to build capacity within a network of 11 non-governmental development organizations (NGOs) in the use of appreciative inquiry. This is a new community development method that moves beyond participatory problem and needs analysis by instead identifying and building on past achievements and existing strengths within a community, establishing consensus around a shared vision of the future, and constructing strategies and partnerships to achieve this vision.

The purpose of the first trip to Kamasamudram was for IISD to train a group of 22 senior MYRADA project staff in the use of appreciative inquiry, and then support them as they applied the approach with self-help groups, families and village development committees in their projects. The outcome of the training and work with MYRADA was successful and fulfilled the expectations of the participants as stated on the first day of the workshop. In a written evaluation, all MYRADA staff scored the workshop as either good or excellent.

Through the training the participants attained a clear understanding of the appreciative approach, allowing them to apply it successfully and innovatively in the field. They also attained enough skills to further integrate appreciative inquiry into the wider range of activities and relationships in which they are involved. This experimentation and search for best methods will be supported by a core group of appreciative inquiry trainers at MYRADA, regional appreciative inquiry workshops every three months, and limited advanced outside training.

Team members

• Jo-Ellen Parry, IISD (project manager and community development specialist)
• Neil Ford, IISD (participation specialist and video production liaison)
• Mette Jacobsgaard, IISD (appreciative inquiry specialist)
• Laszlo Pinter, IISD (measurement and indicators specialist)
• Saleela Patkar, MYRADA (local project co-ordinator and community development specialist)

Trip 1 project location

Kamasamudram, located in southeastern Karnataka, was one of three project sites chosen in which to conduct training and fieldwork. The three sites, Kamasamudram, Kadiri and Molakalmuru (near Holalkere on the map below), each represent a different geographic area with unique cultural characteristics, histories and strengths. The intent of conducting the training and fieldwork in these locations was to test appreciative inquiry under a variety of circumstances with a range of different local-level institutions. This approach also makes the most effective use of existing staff, funding and local goodwill. MYRADA is currently engaged in projects in each of these areas and has established (or is establishing) close ties with all of the local stakeholders.

The people around Kamasamudram make their living from a variety of activities including agriculture, sericulture, micro-enterprise, transportation and industry. In addition, for the last 110 years the Kolar Gold Fields have also been a major source of employment. The mines have nearly exhausted their gold supplies and are currently winding down. They continue to operate with subsidies from the government, allowing them to begin a phased shutdown that gradually displaces the remaining 5,000 workers. Like many resource-dependent communities around the world, families in Kamasamudram must now try to find new sources of employment—often forcing them to migrate in search of better opportunities.

MYRADA has worked in the Kolar District for some time and has good relations with the local self-help groups, village development committees, watershed development committees and other village-level institutions. MYRADA's Kamasamudram project is currently undertaking activities focused on micro-watershed management, and cottage industries in 130 villages. Several models of linkages have been established between credit groups and other financial and marketing institutions to support socio-economic development components.

Schedule of activities

Sept. 28th, 29th   IISD team travelled to Delhi
Sept. 30th Workshop planning meeting in Delhi
Oct. 1st Workshop planning meeting in Bangalore
Oct. 2nd Rest day - Indian Holiday (Gandhi's birthday)
Oct. 3rd Travel to Kamasamudram and orientation
Oct. 4th Training in Kamasamudram village
Oct. 5th Training in Kamasamudram village
Oct. 6th Training in Kamasamudram village
Oct. 7th Fieldwork with SHGs,* VDCs** and families
Oct. 8th Fieldwork with SHGs, VDCs and families
Oct. 9th Fieldwork with SHGs, VDCs and families
Oct. 10th Wrap-up and travel to Bangalore
Oct. 11th Video-editing and project planning
Oct. 12th Video-editing and project planning
Oct. 13th Video-editing and project planning
Oct. 14th IISD team departed

* self-help groups
** village development communities

Workshop training activities

Mette Jacobsgaard led the training workshop and fieldwork review with support from three IISD staff: Jo-Ellen Parry, Neil Ford and Laszlo Pinter. A total of 22 senior training staff from MYRADA were involved for the full seven-day period. The project team was pleased with the level of interest and commitment from all of those who took part.

The first three days of the workshop were spent presenting the four stages of appreciative inquiry to the participants and completing small-group and full-group exercises to reinforce the ideas. The four stages of appreciative inquiry are discovery, dreaming, designing and delivering. A fourth day of training had originally been scheduled but proved not to be necessary since all of the MYRADA staff preferred working longer hours rather than having the training last the planned eight days.

The training started with practical applications. Participants paid particular emphasis to using story-telling to recount periods of excellence. In the first exercise, for example, participants broke into pairs and recounted stories of times when they felt really excited about working for MYRADA, examining in detail who was there and what happened. They then spent time analyzing the stories to understand the factors that contributed to peak periods. This process allowed them to become more aware of the characteristics of MYRADA at its best.

The rationale for designing the training in this way was to let the participants experience the process itself before discussing the underlying theory of appreciative inquiry. The method is an experiential process rather than a technique that can be taught from a book. Generally, people find it difficult to immediately embrace the concept that through recognizing and reinforcing that which gives life to a group of people (achievements, strengths, vision and plan), problems can be overcome. The fieldwork nonetheless clearly showed a transformation of the MYRADA staff during which the connection to and full relevance of the classroom training was made.

For the workshop, the title of the fourth stage was changed from "delivering" to "doing" at the request of the MYRADA staff because they felt that the former term connoted a sense of dependency on MYRADA.

Fieldwork

Participants tested the approach with three self-help groups, two village development committees and one family. All groups were informed that the activity was not part of their regular training program, but was being undertaken so that MYRADA could explore better methods of interacting with community members. All of the groups were willing to put aside time to participate in the three fieldwork days of the inquiry. This participation testifies to the respect and gratitude that villagers feel for MYRADA.

The fieldwork component of the training was designed to give the MYRADA staff an opportunity to undertake an appreciative inquiry in several local villages with the support of the training team. During the fieldwork, MYRADA staff led the various groups through the four stages of appreciative inquiry with questions and exercises specific to each group's particular context. The interview questions and protocols were planned in advance based on the experience that the participants had gained during their training. The fieldwork took place on three successive mornings, with the first day devoted to discovery, the second to dreaming and the third to designing and doing. During the afternoons and evenings, the MYRADA staff discussed the morning's results and shared insights into how the exercises or interview questions could be improved for future fieldwork.

The staff found appreciative inquiry to be structured in a way to move beyond problem analysis. Most people commented on the optimism and enthusiasm that appreciative inquiry generates, both among the villagers and among the MYRADA staff. There was a general feeling that the action plans that were developed did not raise expectations of outside assistance from MYRADA, but rather led villagers to the conclusion that they could do most things themselves. In several instances, local people discovered that their vision could be fulfilled through better information and initiative rather than with technical support or money.

Many of the participants made an important realization toward the end of the workshop: appreciative inquiry can be applied equally effectively to their lives. To use the method effectively with others they must make an "appreciative leap" themselves, internalizing the process and using it to realize their own full potential.

Most found appreciative inquiry easy to understand, but at times challenging to use. Some of the participants found that the atmosphere of the fieldwork was a bit formal or artificial because it was the first application of appreciative inquiry and the participants were all getting used to the approach. Although the need for more practice was expressed, participants felt that the exercises had benefited the groups and that with follow-up the approach would work well.

The participants also discovered that appreciative inquiry could be used across a wide range of groups and activities. They noted that the information it generated was often new, more detailed, or more reliable than other methods currently in use. In one story that came out during their fieldwork, a woman described how with the support and cunning of the other self-help group members, she had been able to expose her husband's covert gambling and drinking activities and convince him to lead a better family life. The story completely engrossed both the MYRADA staff and the self-help group members as it was recounted in detail. It demonstrated a level of solidarity and ingenuity within the self-help group that the MYRADA staff marveled at. The self-help group later developed a vision and action plan around ending drinking and gambling in the village. This type of outcome does not often occur when participatory rural appraisal (PRA) exercises are used alone.

Although the participants recognized the usefulness of appreciative inquiry in generating new information and enthusiasm, they did not see it as a complete substitute for other techniques such as PRA. They did, however, see the need to move away from using other techniques to identify and focus on problems. In the fieldwork, for example, drawings and PRA-style exercises were used to reinforce or alternatively depict stories, dreams and provocative propositions. This was useful refinement in cases where people were illiterate or where language was a barrier to accurate translations.

The MYRADA staff felt that appreciative inquiry was very effective in developing a provocative yet achievable group vision, something that they are currently working to emphasize. Appreciative inquiry seeks to generate the themes, feelings and emotions behind stories, not simply a list of activities or events. These discoveries are crucial in ensuring that the provocative propositions are grounded and represent more than a list of utopian dreams. They should be related to the strengths and peak achievements that have occurred previously in the group.

MYRADA needs to find words in local languages that best describe the essence of a provocative proposition. Translating the terms and questions in the approach from English into local languages was occasionally a challenge for MYRADA. It remains an essential piece of work for the future.

Some of the provocative propositions arising from the fieldwork were sharp, realistic and yet provocative. One example given is, "All poor families in the village are members of a self-help group." This proposition is not a list of activities or needs but a vision arising from the experienced success of the members of one self-help group. The proposition further inspired a realistic and achievable action plan, which required no outside assistance. In fact, the members of the self-help group made individual commitments to begin immediately implementing the plan.

Measurement and evaluation challenges

When designing the project, several issues arose on measurement and evaluation. To begin to assess these issues, Laszlo Pinter, a measurement and indicator specialist at IISD, joined the project team's first trip to India. The two key measurement and evaluation questions and IISD's initial conclusions are summarized below.

What is the best method of evaluating the effectiveness of the project as a whole? How can participants determine if appreciative inquiry is more effective than other planning and participation methods currently used by MYRADA?

Since this is a pilot project, an objective evaluation that considers both the successes and failures of the project will be useful to DFID, MYRADA and IISD. Although such an evaluation may not appear to be entirely consistent with the intent of appreciative inquiry, which is to focus only on the successful aspects of a situation, IISD hopes that a balanced approach will better inform future applications of appreciative inquiry in development projects. Therefore, to determine the effectiveness of the project, some combination of the following approaches is being considered:

• consulting community members who participated in the appreciative inquiry, particularly those who have a previous history of interacting with MYRADA staff using methods other than appreciative inquiry;
• consulting MYRADA staff on the effectiveness of appreciative inquiry compared with their current methods;
• comparing the effects of an interaction with appreciative inquiry in one village with the effects in a 'control village' where a standard method such as ZOPP or PRA is used (many workshop participants felt that this approach raised ethical questions—if appreciative inquiry was in fact a superior method, is it acceptable to continue to use another technique that had a potentially disempowering effect?); and
• contracting an outside evaluator to conduct an independent evaluation.

Should a standard monitoring and evaluation system be changed to be consistent with the intent of appreciative inquiry?

At issue here is whether a monitoring and evaluation method that has been purposefully designed to be neutral can be combined with an approach that intends to emphasize only positive achievements and actions. If an evaluation brings to light a group's failure to meet its objectives as set out in its action plans and provocative propositions, the energy and enthusiasm created in the discovery, dream and design stages of appreciative inquiry might be dissipated. As this energy for change is one of the very immediate and unique benefits of appreciative inquiry, steps should be taken to preserve and nurture it wherever possible. Nonetheless, a question remains on the perceived legitimacy of an evaluation that does not give equal weight to success and failure.

Further fieldwork will be necessary to determine if the two approaches are mutually exclusive and if any attempt to combine them will inevitably compromise one or the other. In this respect, IISD is particularly interested using future fieldwork to explore whether iterative applications of appreciative inquiry can in some circumstances replace the need for continuing monitoring and evaluation. Project monitoring and evaluation usually occurs against a static target that is established early in the planning process. Yet, it is almost inevitable that as the action plan is being implemented, the group will be considering new initiatives to pursue. As such, the former target may not remain relevant to the current group goals. Iterative applications of appreciative inquiry might avoid this problem by allowing the group to rediscover what it is doing well (an evaluation emphasizing strengths), continue dreaming and designing its future (revisiting the provocative propositions and resetting the priorities of the groups' goals), and update its action plan to reflect its current goals. Should such a strategy be pursued, further questions are raised regarding who would conduct the subsequent inquiries—the MYRADA staff or the group members. If it is to be the latter, then capacity building in the use of appreciative inquiry needs to occur within the groups.

Production of a training video on appreciative inquiry

During the training workshop and field exercises, the project team worked with a local filmmaker and technical crew, to produce a training video on appreciative inquiry. This aspect of the mission proved to be very successful.

The film maker, Anil Annaiah, met with the project team before production began, to discuss the participatory nature of the project, and to develop an approach to production that did not intrude on the training exercises. This approach proved effective: during the workshop and field exercises, MYRADA staff said that they soon forgot about the camera and microphones. Even though they kept to the background, Mr. Annaiah and his team were able to record creative visual sequences for the discovery, dream and design phases of the appreciative process, both with MYRADA staff in the workshop, and with local people in the villages. The training video that will be produced from these sequences will introduce appreciative inquiry to new practitioners in a direct, visually compelling manner.

The project team reviewed the videotape that was shot during the training sessions when they returned to Bangalore, then developed the following structure for the final production in a "paper edit":

Opening sequence: Introduction to MYRADA and its work at the village level. Explanation of why MYRADA is interested in the appreciative approach. Interview with Mr. Fernandez, the executive director, about the limitations of a needs-based approach to community development, and the appeal of an approach based on local strengths and achievements.

Discovery sequence: Explanation of the discovery phase of an appreciative inquiry by Mette Jacobsgaard, the workshop facilitator. Shots of MYRADA staff participating in "discovery" exercises and group work in the classroom. Shots of MYRADA staff introducing "discovery" exercises to self-help groups, village development committees and families in villages. Interviews with staff and villagers about the discovery process.

Dream sequence: Explanation of the Dream phase of an appreciative inquiry by Mette Jacobsgaard. Shots of MYRADA staff participating in "dream" exercises and group work in the classroom. Shots of MYRADA staff introducing "dream" exercises to self-help groups, village development committees and families in villages. Interviews with staff and villagers about the dream process.

Psychology sequence: Explanation of the energy for change created by appreciative inquiry. Interview with Mette Jacobsgaard about the effectiveness of positive images as a force for change. Interview with a MYRADA staff member about the value of dreams and creating a vision in the development process.

Design sequence: Explanation of the design phase of an appreciative inquiry by Mette Jacobsgaard. Shots of MYRADA staff participating in "design" exercises and group work in the classroom. Shots of MYRADA staff introducing "design" exercises to self-help groups, village development committees and families in villages. Interviews with staff and villagers about the design process.

Concluding sequence: Interview with Saleela Patkar, MYRADA's training co-ordinator, about the potential uses of the appreciative approach within MYRADA. Closing montage of remarks from participants.

Mr. Annaiah is using the "paper edit" as a guide in the post-production process. The training video should be finished by December, so that the project team can use it to introduce the next round of training.

The project's work plan calls for further video production during the second training workshop. The project team no longer considers this work necessary, however, because a complete training video was produced during the first training session. It should be noted that further video production may be necessary near the end of the project, if MYRADA develops an approach to appreciative inquiry that is significantly different from the version that was delivered in the first training session, or if a follow-up with the original workshop participants is desired.

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For more information on this project please contact:

Jo-Ellen Parry
Project Manager
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
E-mail: jparry@iisd.ca

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