Where am I?     Home / Resources / Meeting Reports / Spring Membership Meeting 2002 / Appreciative Inquiry

CORE Strategic Planning and Appreciative Inquiry Skills Building

Jay Edison (independent consultant); assisted by Karen LeBan (CORE); Eric Swedberg (SC).

All who work in child health and development (child survival) are now confronted with fundamental strategic decisions that may lead to new paradigms for child health programs. This is an opportune time for reflection upon the path we at CORE have taken, the juncture we are at, and our vision for the future.

It is widely recognized that the strength of CORE is in its Working Groups. The session will use the Appreciative Inquiry methodology to develop strategic and structural recommendations to enhance and strengthen the Working Groups, using pre-session analysis to critically think through how CORE can build upon the strength of the Working Groups, using the following questions as guidance:

1. In your entire experience with the CORE Group (or in your child health and development experience), when have you felt most alive or fulfilled? Please be ready to share the story.
2. What do you value most about the CORE Group or the child health and development culture?
3. What CORE Working Group are you a member of (or most interested in joining or creating)? Why?
4. Tell the story of a success of that Working Group.
5. What do you feel are the best QUALITIES OF that Working Group (values, practices, leadership, ability to respond to opportunities, etc.)?
6. What would make the CORE secretariat and the CORE Working Groups even better to maximize your participation and learning, and meet your and your agencies' needs?

Note: If you have Power Point installed on your computer, click the Download tab to view the presentation using your software. If you do not have Power Point you may View the slides using Adobe (pdf).

Meeting Welcome: Karen LeBan (CORE)

View

Download

Dr. Edison is recently retired from the position of Director for Health of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA). He graduated from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 1962, and received the MPH degree from Loma Linda’s School of Public Health in 1984. He retired from the position of Facility Health Services Director at a New York state prison, and from family practice of medicine, in early 1995, and went to Kyrgyzstan as ADRA Country Director. Jay was a member of CORE’s Monitoring and Evaluation Working Group and chairman of the KPC Survey Review Task Force. He has used Appreciative Inquiry in partnership building with community partners and Detailed Implementation Planning workshops in Guinea, Haiti, Madagascar, and Zambia.

Karen LeBan, M.S., MHRD, newly appointed Executive Director of CORE, has over 20 years’ of experience in international development. Before joining CORE, Karen worked with the BASICS Project as a PVO Liaison focused on community-based child health and development issues. She has worked with Save the Children for 15 years in several field and headquarters positions following earlier work as an International Development Intern with USAID and as a Peace Corps volunteer.