Here’s a new article on appreciative dialogue by Belinda Dewar and Cathy Sharp.
We discuss the role of appreciative dialogue in facilitation of practice development and action research. There’s not much guidance about the ‘how’ of facilitation – here we highlight one really valuable approach – the 7Cs of Caring Conversations. We’re finding that this is a great way to:
- Get feedback about what is working well as a basis for forward development and motivation.
- Provide a framework for questioning and co-analysis that helps to share the role of facilitation and supports the development of inquiry skills.
- Promotes active engagement in service design and delivery of staff and clients, service users or patients. It’s co-production in action.
Our current work uses this approach with a wide range of practitioners including those who work in Care Homes, mental health practitioners, health visitors and those working with homeless people and in the wider voluntary sector. The scope is wide and there are forthcoming fuller reports on how this approach is being used, so watch this space.
The journal is free but you will need to register to access it.
International Practice Development Journal
Appreciative dialogue for co-facilitation in action research and practice development