Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator Training (AIFT)
Houston, Texas / Oct. 30 - Nov. 2, 2012

WHAT IS APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY?

Appreciative Inquiry is a collaborative, strengths-based approach to both personal and organizational development that is proving to be highly effective in thousands of organizations and communities in hundred of countries around the world. It is a way of bringing about change that shares leadership and learning, fully engaging everyone in the organization.

WHAT IS APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY FACILITATOR TRAINING© (AIFT)?

Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator Training© (AIFT) engages participants to learn about the foundations of Appreciative Inquiry as well as the skills to co-facilitate inquiry sessions. At the end of this intensive Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator Training (AIFT), participants will understand how to guide organizations, groups, and communities to consciously and deliberately shift their collective way of being and seeing to an appreciative approach, that will help them focus on what's right in their organization, group or community, rather than on what's wrong.

This Appreciative Inquiry foundations course includes mini-lectures, and experiential learning (individual, pairs, trios, small group, and large group) as well as auditory and visual materials to enhance the learning experience. Each day has a morning and afternoon session; a morning and afternoon break; and one hour for lunch.

Leaders in businesses and corporations, community development, educational organizations governmental organizations, and nonprofit organizations--in short, anyone who wants to learn how to facilitate Appreciative Inquiry. We encourage a team of at least two people from each organization, group, or community to attend so they can return home ready to co-facilitate AI sessions.

By focusing on the organizations strengths, you can evolve into a true “center of excellence” while avoiding the risks and pitfalls associated with “reinventing” operational service, delivery and support. The refocus may include everything from reducing risk and long-term capital cost—by understanding what is and is not critical to the overall success of the organization—to refining and optimizing service levels through effective and efficient business solutions.

To enhance the outcomes and planning processes currently in place by using a strengths-based approach (Appreciative Inquiry). Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a highly adaptable philosophy and process for engaging people in building the organization and world that they want to work and live in. By encouraging a broad range of stakeholders, both within and outside the system to ask positive questions about peak experiences or successes, create shared meaning of the answers, and act on the responses. AI serves as a wellspring for transformational change.

Our approach revolves around a simple idea: building upon the organization’s strengths – by providing skills and confidence to the Stakeholders to develop a framework for planning and implementing change and developing energy for that change. One of the fundamentals of our success is utilizing the existing talents and resources of the organization to enhance customer satisfaction, business goals, and stakeholder engagement.

We are committed to providing the expertise necessary to help organizations achieve their success and retention goals while reducing their training and operational costs. We have a series of recommendations that organizations may choose from based on time and financial opportunities that drive the organization through to its vision.

The Center for Appreciative Inquiry and Company of Experts have developed their training and coaching programs for immediate and long-term impact, focusing on changing workplace practices rather than trying to change people.

TRAINING SCHEDULE AND HOURS

This Appreciative Inquiry foundations course includes mini-lectures, and experiential learning (individual, pairs, trios, small group, and large group) as well as auditory and visual materials to enhance the learning experience. Each day has a morning and afternoon session; a morning and afternoon break; and one hour for lunch.**

Day One - Experiencing Appreciative Inquiry
Learn basic process and experience AI by participating in a facilitated Appreciative Inquiry led by the Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator Training Trainers

Day Two - Understanding the power of Appreciative Inquiry
Actively learn about the concepts, principles, theories and research.

Day Three - Planning
Plan and practice how you will begin helping your organization, group, or community build upon their strengths.

Day Four - Practicing

• Practice two exercises you can take home to use Appreciative Inquiry in your personal and professional life.
• Practice choosing the best language, words for facilitating Appreciative Inquiry within a particular culture.
• Begin developing your plan to become a certified Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator by completing a Practicum/Supervised Experience.

We start each day on time and work diligently to maintain the schedule, honoring the commitment to the learning experience. We have found full participation to be the most productive for the participants and the trainers.  To obtain a letter of completion (and to be eligible for consideration for certification) each participant must complete 24 training hours. Days one through four begin at 8:30 a.m. for continental breakfast and networking. The training sessions will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. each day.

**If you have special dietary needs, please email Sara Aguilar.

WHAT MAKES OUR TRAININGS UNIQUE?

• We are relationship-focused. We believe the success of any human endeavor is dependent upon the relationships between those involved. We value each person and strive to develop a rapport, trust, and understanding with all of our clients by investing time and energy into understanding each client, their business, and their aspirations.
• Trainings are small and intimate. The size of each of our training training varies based on the location of the event, but rarely exceed 24 participants. Our intimate training sessions allow for extensive interaction between our trainer(s) and participants – allowing each participant to receive more assistance with individual needs.
• Intensive and experiential. “We remember best what we experience. We understand best what we identify with. We learn best by doing.” We are aware of the importance of personal experience in the retention of learning. This is the underlying principle used in all of our workshops.
• Support. Our intimate training sessions create the perfect environment for networking, motivation, and support with other workshop participants. We encourage participants to continue to share their challenges and experiences with one another even after our trainings have concluded. Support from others can provide the strength needed to continue on the path of positive, sustainable change.
• Infused with Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a collaborative, strengths-based approach to both personal and organizational development that is proving to be highly effective in thousands of organizations and communities around the world. It is a way of bringing about change that shares leadership and learning, fully engaging everyone in the process. AI empowers our participants to create the processes they wish to use in order to put belief into practice and acquire their goals.
• Mentoring included. To ensure the successful implementation of the skill sets taught during our trainings, our trainer(s) make themselves readily available to answer questions, share knowledge, and provide on-going support and encouragement long after the training has concluded.
• Certification. Many of our workshops include certification – at no additional cost to you. Certification demonstrates to your customers, competitors, suppliers, staff and investors that you use industry-respected best practices.
• Low cost. Evolving positively in today’s changing environment requires that we constantly improve and build upon our skill sets. By providing our workshops at a low cost, we hope to attract more individuals, groups, and organizations who are expected “to do more with less”. We now offer group rates that provide additional savings on top of our already reduced workshop prices.
• Expertise. Each of our trainers have a strong commitment to the theory and practice of their subject area — bringing a balance of education, consulting, and on-the-job experience to all of our trainings.

ADDITIONAL TRAINING INFORMATION

Outcomes - Certification
At the end of the four-day training and completion of a supervised practicum, participants will be eligible for certification to facilitate or co-facilitate Appreciative Inquiry sessions in a program, department, division, organization, group, or community on any topic that focuses on human systems change, i.e., "the way we do things." Learn more about our AIFTs outcomes and certification requirements.

Airport
George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Lone Star College System is approximately 9 miles north of George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Please note that travel, accommodations and hotel/airport transportation are not included.

Nearby Lodging
Homewood Suites by Hilton Houston. The Hilton Homewood Suites is directly across the freeway from the Lone Star campus. This Hilton has a shuttle to/from the airport and to/from the campus. Their shuttle accommodates 8 people and runs from 6am to 10pm every day. They serve a hot breakfast every day and dinner with complimentary wine/beer Monday through Thursday. Distance to the campus will be less than 10 minutes. Please note that travel, accommodations and hotel/airport transportation are not included.

Candle Wood Suites. The Candle Wood  Suites offers complimentary shuttle services to and from Lone Star College. Attendees  are asked to give the hotel a minimum of 1 hour notification prior drop/off and/or pick up time needed each day.  Also, if shuttle is needed for pickup at IAH/Bush Intercontinental Airport, please call the hotel and they will instruct the attendee to hail a taxi and they will pay for the tax charge upon attendee’s arrival to the hotel. Attendees may provide their flight information, i.e. carrier, flight # and time of departure and the Candle Wood we will provide complimentary shuttle for them to IAH/Bush Intercontinental Airport.

All fees are due upon registration.  Your full participation is very important to us and we know that from time to time, your plans to attend one of our workshops or programs may change.  Our refund policy reflects our interest in your continued growth and learning journey as well as our planning needs and expenses incurred based on your enrollment. For more information about our Refund Policy, please click here.

THIS APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY FACILITATOR TRAINING (AIFT) IS SPONSORED BY: