Today’s Agenda

1:00 Welcome to Thea Bowman Center

1:15 If I had a hammer…
1:30 Capacity Building Part 1: Discovery
3:30 Email Etiquette, et al
4:00 Budgeting on an AmeriCorps Living
Stipend
Sing along! If I had a hammer…
If I had a hammer
I would hammer in the morning
I would hammer in the evening
all over this land
I’d hammer out danger
I’d hammer out a warning
I’d hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters
all over this land

If I had a bell, I’d ring out…

If I had a song, I’d sing it…
If I Had a Hammer…
Create your own lyrics:
1. If I had a _______(object)
2. I would ______ (verb) in the morning
I would (verb) in the evening all over this land.
3. If I had a (object) I would (verb) out
______(quality),
4. I would verb out ______(quality)
I’d (verb) out love between my brothers and
my sisters all over this land.
NEO Literacy Corps:
Capacity Building Projects
Presented by Meagen Howe of Farrell Ink
Thea Bowman Center
October 22, 2010
Capacity Building
Increasing the
QUALITY
DEPTH
(interconnectedness)
OUTCOMES

of the services offered

by your host site.

Photo: “Hammer” by flickr user thefixer

Why Capacity Building?
Capacity building aligns with one of the
Literacy Cooperative’s three priorities:
“Enabling and Supporting High quality,
Interconnected and Outcomes Oriented
Service Delivery”
In other words…
Your project should increase your host
site’s ability to provide services that:
Provide a great experience for clients
Are connected to each other & other
services in the community
Deliver the promised results
Remember that marshmallow?
Test assumptions early & often!
WHEN will you do it?
Prototype
OCTOBER  DISCOVER: Select topic
NOVEMBE  DISCOVER: Interviews
R  DREAM & DESIGN
DECEMBER  DELIVER: Implement
JANUARY
Refine  DISCOVER: Interviews
MAY  DREAM & DESIGN
JUNE  DELIVER: Sustainability
JULY
HOW will you do it?
WITH SKILLS: you will become an
expert on your topic as well as your
organization
IN TEAMS: of four organized by topic
SPEND TIME: at least 1-3 hours per
week on average
SUSTAINABLY: created to continue after
you have left
What is Appreciative Inquiry?
“Ap-pre’-ci-ate, v.” “In-quire’, v.”

“…to value or admire “…to searchj into,

highly; to judge with investigate; to seek for
heightened information by
understanding; to questioning.”
recognize with
gratitude.”
The Story of AI

David Cooperrider from Case Western

Reserve University & the Cleveland
Clinic
Appreciative Inquiry (AI)…
Produces longer lasting change because AI:
Focuses organizations on their most positive
qualities
Builds on past successes
Involves all those affected by the change
Nurtures an appreciative dialogue

Appreciative Inquiry is
the study of what works well
LEADERSHIP
= AFFIRMATION
POSITIVE
IMAGES LEAD TO
POSITIVE
ACTIONS
The glass is always half empty
Functional
organizations need a
2:1 ratio of positive to
negative discourse.

Dysfunctional
organizations have a
1:1 ratio of positive to
negative
“People cannot live with change if there is
not a changeless core inside them. The key
to the ability to change is a changeless
sense of who you are, what you are about,
and what you value.”
Stephen Covey
The 4D Cycle

Affirmative
Topic
Choice
Success Story: the Hotel
“While AI was still evolving (in 1988), Frank Barrett and David
Cooperrider teamed up to work with a hotel that was experiencing low
occupancy, with the staff and management locked in a setting of
distrust and backbiting. Both sides were extremely negative toward
each other, and neither was able to move past this to see a more
positive option. In order to turn this hotel around, the AI team knew
the first step was to shift the focus from a negative mindset to one of
openness. The AI team took the group to experience a four-star hotel.
They focused on what worked well. From this inquiry, they learned
they could work in similar ways to transform their hotel to a four-star
hotel. Negative conversations turned into discussions of how they
could be more than what they were. The transformation began, and
the hotel became a top-rated four-star hotel.”
Interview Rules
1. Focus on what works best & successes.
2. Really listen to the other person.
3. Don’t squash negatives, but look deeper
to find the positive ideal image or small
successes from negative experiences.
4. Work from specific experiences to the
general “life-giving” values.
5. Respect the time limit.
6. Be yourself and have fun!
Interview Process
Pair with someone you either have not
talked to or do not know well yet. Each
person will have 15 minutes to share their
thoughts.
While you talk, write down the high
points or summary of each answer as
notes or bullets. Make sure to capture
“quotable quotes.”
Small Group
Each pair find one other pair to form a
small group of four (six if necessary).
Introduce your interview partner, their
best story or quote, and their topic.
Discuss ways to make your topics even
more overwhelmingly positive.
Decide who from your organization
should be part of the interview process.
What next?
Please complete & turn in the interview
summary sheet.
Based on your topics, we will group you
into teams of 3-4 people.
This month’s assignment:
◦ Create a draft of your interview guide to use at
your site.
◦ Decide who should be involved in interviews.
Can we build it? YES, WE
CAN!
The final chorus
Well I’ve got a bell
And I’ve got a hammer
And I’ve got a song to sing all over this
land

It’s the hammer of justice

It’s the bell of freedom
It’s the song of love between my brothers
and my sisters all over this land
Many thanks to…
Thea Bowman Center for hosting today
Appreciative Inquiry Handbook: For Leaders
of Change, 2nd ed., by David Cooperrider, et al.
Our generous funders:
◦ Ohio Community Service Council
◦ Corporation for National & Community Service
◦ The Literacy Cooperative of Greater Cleveland
◦ The Cleveland Foundation
◦ KeyBank Foundation
◦ Underwritten by Charter One Foundation