Action Research, Action Learning, and Appreciative Inquiry

Abstract

This chapter introduces Action Research (AR), Action Learning (AL), and Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as three evidence-based intervention approaches to support learning and change for individuals, groups, and larger systems. The authors show that, despite differences, all three approaches share intellectual roots and participatory learning strategies. Each approach privileges relevance for local knowledge; hence, knowledge is defined in local terms. What is particularly powerful about these approaches is that they have embedded processes, tested over time, that facilitate transformation and that reliably support local knowledge generation along with insight into conditions and system dynamics that improve results. From the perspective of organization development (OD), the authors rely on these approaches as particularly effective because they operate at multiple levels: they change individuals, groups, and systems. These multi-faceted, systemic evidence-based approaches are very powerful OD strategies that simultaneously deepen individual and organizational learning and growth.