Many gatherings begin with a plan already in place. Priorities have been set. The agenda is full. People arrive as guests in a conversation that belongs to someone else.

Even when the topic is inspiring, the process can leave most of us on the sidelines. Our best ideas stay unspoken. Energy slips away as the day goes on.

An Appreciative Inquiry Summit begins in a different place. It starts with the belief that the wisdom to shape the future is already in the room. The fastest way to act on it is to bring the whole system together.

Over a few days, people explore what is best in their shared story, imagine what the future could be, and design ways to make it real. Everyone has a voice. Every perspective matters. The work that emerges already has the trust and momentum it needs to move forward.

If most meetings are about presenting a plan, an AI Summit is about creating one together. By the time it ends, the first steps have already been taken.

What is an Appreciative Inquiry Summit

An Appreciative Inquiry Summit is a way for a whole system to imagine and create its future together. It begins with a simple belief: the insight, experience, and imagination needed for change are already here, in the people who live and work in that system. The fastest way to act on it is to bring them into the same room.

Instead of a handful of decision-makers setting the course, the summit invites a true cross-section — leaders and front-line staff, customers and partners, community members and even critics. Everyone has an equal role in shaping what comes next.

The process starts with strengths, not problems. People share real stories of times when the system was at its best, uncovering the values, relationships, and ways of working that made those moments possible. This “positive core” becomes the foundation for everything that follows.

A classic summit runs for two or three days. On day one, the room comes alive with conversation and storytelling. Themes begin to emerge, and then attention shifts to the future: what would it look like if our best moments became our everyday reality? The energy is palpable as these visions take shape in words, drawings, and symbols.

Day two turns vision into design. Mixed groups ask, “What would need to be true for this to happen?” They sketch initiatives, structures, and partnerships. Ideas move around the room, are refined, and grow stronger with each conversation.

Day three is about commitment. People decide what they will take responsibility for, who else needs to be involved, and the first steps they will take. Commitments are made publicly so ownership is shared and visible. The summit ends not with a wrap-up, but with work already underway.

While the sequence — Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny — is consistent, virtual or hybrid summits adapt the timing to fit the medium. The essence is the same: the whole system in one conversation, building the future together.

An Appreciative Inquiry Summit is more than a meeting. It is a living example of what happens when we trust the people in the room, focus on what gives life, and start acting on what we care about most.

Why an Appreciative Inquiry summit works

The Appreciative Inquiry Summit is effective because it activates a series of conditions that ignite creativity, foster alignment, and promote action throughout an entire system. It is not merely a gathering with more participants; it is an intentionally crafted experience that guides participants through a sequence of discovery, imagination, design, and commitment within a short timeframe.

One of the underlying reasons it works is the principle of “positive image, positive action.” When people spend time vividly imagining a future built on their best experiences, it changes the way they think and behave in the present. Research in social construction and behavioural science shows that the images we hold of the future guide the choices we make now. The AI Summit harnesses this by encouraging participants to co-create compelling and detailed visions together, so those images are shared and reinforced across the group.

It also works because it shifts the conversation from abstract talk to tangible design. The progression through the four phases: Discover, Dream, Design, and Destiny, ensures that insights are quickly translated into structures, processes, and next steps. This blend of creativity and concreteness prevents the summit from becoming a “feel-good” event with no follow-through. By the time the summit concludes, ideas are already linked to names, timelines, and resources.

The format creates a pace and momentum that traditional planning rarely achieves. Instead of dispersing energy over months of fragmented meetings, the summit concentrates attention into two or three days, during which relationships deepen, ideas cross-pollinate, and decisions are made in real time. This compression makes it more difficult for priorities to fade and easier for people to stay aligned once they leave the room.

Another reason it works is the quality of the questions. The summit relies on generative questions that invite people to explore possibilities, not just problems. Well-crafted questions shift participants out of defensive postures and into curiosity. They open space for stories, fresh perspectives, and novel connections. The role of the facilitators and design team is to keep these questions alive throughout the event, ensuring that the conversation remains forward-moving and inclusive.

Finally, the AI Summit works because it creates a lived experience of collaboration that people can carry back into their daily work. When a cross-section of stakeholders has imagined and committed to a shared future together, the result is not only a plan but also a model of how to work across boundaries. That experience becomes part of the organisation’s memory, making future change efforts more likely to succeed.

Why Appreciative Inquiry Summits matter

The Appreciative Inquiry Summit matters because it restores the conviction that the people who make up a system are not just capable of shaping its future, they are the only ones who truly can. It challenges the quiet assumption that strategy belongs to the few while the many are there to implement. In its place, it offers the experience of building the future together, in the same room, as peers.

In many organisations and communities, those most affected by decisions rarely have the chance to influence them. Even when consultation is offered, it is often fragmented, a survey here, a focus group there, with the results filtered before reaching those in power. The AI Summit turns that model inside out. Instead of gathering fragments, it gathers the whole, creating a space where every voice can be heard without translation.

It matters because ownership changes everything. When people contribute to the vision, shape the priorities, and commit to specific actions, they leave with a sense of responsibility that no memo or rollout plan can create. They are not carrying someone else’s agenda; they are holding their own. This shared authorship makes it more likely that change will stick, because it belongs to those who will live with it.

The AI Summit also matters because of the connections it forges. It invites conversations that rarely happen in the normal flow of work, between those on the front line and those shaping strategy, between long-time insiders and newcomers, between people whose roles or interests seldom intersect. Ideas that once travelled slowly through layers of approval now move at the speed of conversation. These new relationships become the channels through which collaboration and innovation flow long after the summit ends.

Perhaps most importantly, the summit offers a glimpse of a different way of working, one built on trust, curiosity, and shared purpose. For a few days, people experience what it feels like when the system is aligned around possibility instead of fear, and when initiative is rewarded rather than controlled. Once experienced, it is difficult to forget. Participants begin to expect more from their daily interactions, asking why every meeting and planning process cannot feel this alive.

In this way, the AI Summit is both a tool for immediate change and a rehearsal for the culture we want to create. It leaves behind more than a plan; it leaves behind a community that has practised the future together and is ready to act on it.

Examples of Appreciative Inquiry Summits in action

Manufacturing sector: In a bold experiment, about 250 participants from across the organisation, including production staff, management, suppliers, corporate team members, and union leaders, were convened for a five-day AI Summit. Together, they followed the 4-D cycle to identify the organisation’s “positive core,” envision a better future, and co-design new ways of working. The outcome included ten cross-functional strategic initiatives aimed at lowering costs, improving quality, and speeding up product development. The results were immediate: a reduction in cycle time, millions in savings, and a shift from adversarial to collaborative labour–management relations. One veteran employee described it as the first time in over twenty years that he had hope for the future.

Municipal Planning: Facing a complex, multi-million-dollar community and economic development initiative, a local council used an AI Summit to build consensus for a multi-year strategic plan. By inviting a broad mix of stakeholders to co-create solutions, the process avoided polarised debates. It generated alignment across diverse neighbourhoods and interests, creating a genuinely shared vision for action.

Interfaith and Cultural Networks: When launching a new global network, leaders utilised the AI Summit methodology to design the organisation from the ground up. They established core principles and a charter by engaging a diverse range of stakeholders in co-design processes, creating a foundation of inclusion and shared purpose that continues to guide their collective work years later.

Education Sector: AI Summits have been utilised in multiple school districts to reimagine how education systems can better serve students and communities. Planners report that the process fostered greater innovation, deeper collaboration, and increased ownership of creative solutions among teachers, students, parents, and administrators.

Public Service and Defence: In a highly structured and hierarchical system, AI Summits were utilised to promote cultural transformation. By emphasising what works, sharing peak experiences, envisioning future needs, and co-creating leadership ideals, the process fostered increased engagement, a more positive internal dialogue, and greater alignment across all levels.

How to set up an Appreciative Inquiry Summit

An Appreciative Inquiry Summit is not an event you simply schedule and deliver. It is an act of bringing the whole system into the same conversation, and that act begins long before the first person steps into the room. The quality of the summit will be shaped by the care taken in its preparation and by the depth of the questions we ask at the start.

Begin with purpose, not logistics: It is tempting to start with dates, venues, and catering. But the first step is to clarify why this gathering matters. Convene a small design group representing different parts of the system. This is not a committee to approve details, but a group to hold the central question that will guide the summit. That question needs to be large enough to matter and open enough that no one arrives with the answer already in hand.

Invite the whole, not just the usual: The “whole system” means more than the familiar decision-makers. It includes those who deliver the work, those who benefit from it, partners, suppliers, and others whose voices might not usually be heard. The aim is to create a living microcosm of the wider community. In that diversity lies the possibility of something new

Choose a space that speaks welcome: The room is not neutral. It sends a message before the first word is spoken. Look for a venue with natural light, space to move, and walls that can display the record of the conversation as it unfolds. You will need space for everyone to gather as one, and space for small groups to speak easily and listen without strain. The setting should feel like an invitation, not an instruction.

Design the flow, not the script: The summit will move through the four classic phases: Discover, Dream, Design, and Destiny. Shape the conditions for each phase, but let the content emerge from the people in the room. Plan for both plenary and small-group sessions, and leave enough time for conversations to deepen without being hurried. The goal is to design a flow that holds the work, not a script that controls it.

Prepare those who will host: Facilitators are not there to lead from the front but to host from the centre. Their role is to keep the process moving, to create a space where every voice can be heard, and to help participants listen to one another with fresh attention. Choose people who can be present without controlling, and brief them well in both the structure and the spirit of the work.

Briefing facilitators: structure and spirit:

Structure is the visible shape of the summit. It covers the agenda flow, the four phases, the mix of plenary and small-group sessions, the timing, the materials, and the room layouts. It is what allows facilitators to know when and how each part of the process will unfold. Without structure, the summit risks drifting or collapsing under its complexity.

Spirit is the invisible stance the facilitators carry. It is the belief that the wisdom needed is already in the room, that every voice has value, and that the summit’s role is to make that wisdom visible and actionable. Spirit shows in tone of voice, in how questions are asked, in the patience to let silence do its work, and in the refusal to rush to answers. Facilitators in AI are hosts, not heroes; they make space for emergence rather than managing people toward a pre-set outcome.

Preparing someone in structure without spirit produces a technically correct but lifeless summit. Preparing them in spirit without structure creates warmth without direction. In Appreciative Inquiry, both are essential.

Set the tone before the day begins: The invitation is part of the summit. Use it to explain the purpose of the gathering and the role each person will play. Share the central question or theme so participants arrive curious and ready to contribute. Avoid overloading them with pre-reading; curiosity is a better starting point than pre-formed answers.

Think beyond the closing session: From the outset, plan how the ideas, designs, and commitments from the summit will be captured and acted on. Build in follow-up moments where progress can be shared and connections maintained. The summit is not the end of the work; it is the moment the work begins in earnest.

If this is done well, the summit becomes more than a well-run event. It becomes a promise to bring the right people into the right space, to trust them with the right questions, and to carry forward what they create together.

How to Run an Appreciative Inquiry Summit

Before the summit begins

The summit starts the moment someone steps into the space. That first impression tells them whether this will be another meeting or something different. The room should welcome them before you speak, open light, round tables that signal equality, space on the walls for the work to become visible. Music, images, or objects from the organisation’s story can help people feel they are entering something already alive. The welcome is personal. Greet people by name if you can, and let your presence signal that they are here as partners, not spectators.

Day One: Discover and Dream

The first day is for understanding the best of who we are and imagining who we might become. The convenor opens with the purpose and the core question. It must be a question worth everyone’s time, one that has no ready-made answer. The principles of Appreciative Inquiry are shared, not as rules, but as an invitation to see the system through the lens of strengths and possibility.

In the Discover phase, people begin in pairs or trios, telling stories of times when this community, team, or organisation was at its best. These stories are personal and concrete: a successful project, a moment of unexpected collaboration, a time when a shared value was lived fully. The role of the listener is not to evaluate but to ask with genuine interest, What made that possible? Who was involved? What were we doing differently then? In small groups, the stories are shared again, and the themes that give life to the system start to emerge, patterns of behaviour, ways of working, conditions that help people thrive. The room becomes filled with evidence that we have already done great things together.

The Dream phase moves from the past to the imagined future. Groups are reshuffled so that new combinations of voices can meet. They are asked to imagine a future in which the strengths and values they have just named are the norm. To help them see it clearly, you might guide them through a visualisation: It is five years from now, and the organisation is thriving. What do you see? What is different? What does it feel like to work here? People often find images, metaphors, or sketches more liberating than words alone. The dreams are made visible on large sheets, posted around the room, and shared in plenary so the group can walk among them and see what they hold in common.

Day Two, Design

The second day asks the group to shape the future they have imagined into something tangible. The morning begins with a walk through the dreams from Day One, not to choose one over another but to let them all inform the work ahead.

The Design phase asks, What would have to be true for this dream to happen? Groups begin to craft “provocative propositions”, statements of the desired future written in the present tense, as if it already exists. These are more than aspirations; they are invitations to act. For example: Our decision-making is fast, inclusive, and rooted in shared values. From here, the work turns practical. What structures, relationships, and processes would make that proposition real? What initiatives could begin now with the resources we have?

Groups may create early prototypes of these initiatives; sketches, models, or first-draft plans. Facilitators help them test these designs in conversation with others, encouraging refinement rather than perfection. The energy of this day is one of movement between vision and reality, possibility and practicality. The aim is not a single master plan, but a set of designs that people feel ownership of and energy for.

Day Three, Destiny

The final day emphasises commitment and momentum. It begins with each group reviewing its design and identifying immediate next steps. The question here is simple but powerful: What can we start now, without waiting for permission or additional resources?

The Destiny phase is not a handoff to some other group. The people in the room take responsibility for moving their ideas forward. A “commitment marketplace” can help groups post their proposals, and others join, offer resources, or connect similar efforts. Links are made across teams to avoid duplication and build alliances.

The summit concludes with a circle. Each group shares what it plans to do and the support it requires. Participants are encouraged to speak about what they are taking away, not just tasks, but relationships, insights, and renewed hope. The convenor thanks them, reminds them of the journey they have just undertaken, and emphasises that the summit is not the end but the beginning of a chapter they have chosen to write together.

Holding the spirit throughout

Across all three days, the role of the host is to keep the central question alive and trust the group to do the work. This means allowing conversations that matter to unfold naturally, leaving space for silence, and noticing when energy is building rather than rushing to the next agenda item. It also involves safeguarding the principles of Appreciative Inquiry, staying with strengths without ignoring challenges, and focusing on what gives life without losing sight of what needs to change.

The sequence: Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny,  is steady, but the life of the summit comes from the way people experience themselves in it. When done well, participants leave not only with a plan, but with the memory of having lived the future they want, even if only for three days. That experience changes what they believe is possible.

Designing Questions for an Appreciative Inquiry Summit

In an Appreciative Inquiry Summit, the question is not a warm-up to the work; it is the work. The way a question is framed determines not only what people talk about, but how they feel as they talk, and whether the conversation brings them closer to action or further into abstraction. The summit is a large, complex space, yet it moves forward on the simplicity and clarity of a few well-crafted questions.

Generative questions, those that open possibility and spark fresh thinking, are the lifeblood of Appreciative Inquiry. They are different from diagnostic questions, which focus on problems and causes. A diagnostic question asks, “Why are we failing to retain staff?”; a generative question asks “When have we been at our best as a place to work, and how can we build more of that?”. The first puts people on the defensive; the second draws them into shared curiosity and a sense of agency.

The most powerful summit questions share a few characteristics:

  •  They invite storytelling rather than opinions. Stories carry lived experience and allow participants to see patterns they might not articulate in abstract terms.
  •  They point toward the future while grounded in the past. Asking about peak moments connects people to what has already worked, then turns that energy toward what could be.
  •  They are open enough to allow diverse interpretations but focused enough to keep conversations converging toward the summit’s purpose.

Questions through the four phases

Discover: Finding strengths and successes

Here, the questions highlight the best of what has been. They encourage participants to recall specific moments when the system was at its peak.

  •  “Tell a story about a time here when you felt most alive, engaged, and proud of what we were achieving together.”
  •  “What strengths in our people, processes, or relationships made that possible?”
  •  “When have you seen us overcome a challenge in a way that strengthened us?”
  •  “What are the qualities in our culture that you most value and would never want to lose?”
  •  “Think of a moment when collaboration here felt effortless. What made it so?”

Dream: Envisioning the preferred future

These questions lift the conversation from memory into possibility. They should be vivid enough that participants can picture themselves in the future they describe.

  • “Imagine it is five years from now and everything we most hoped for has come to pass. What does it look like, feel like, sound like?”
  • “What is happening that makes you most proud to be part of this organisation or community?”
  • “If we could do anything, without constraint, what bold achievement would we aim for?”
  • “What does success look like for the next generation who will inherit this work?”
  • “If our organisation were featured in a magazine for its excellence, what would the headline say?”

Design: Creating the structures and processes

The questions here turn aspiration into architecture. They should invite practical creativity without losing the spirit of the dream.

  •  “What bold steps would bring our dream into being?”
  •  “If we were to design this from scratch, what would we include to ensure our success?”
  •  “What partnerships or alliances could amplify our strengths?”
  •  “What systems or habits need to be in place for this vision to thrive?”
  •  “If we had to start tomorrow, what would be the first three actions to take?”

Destiny: Committing to action

In this final phase, questions shift to ownership and next steps. They should be specific enough to ensure clarity but open enough to invite comments, enabling multiple possible routes forward.

  •  “What is one action you are ready to take, starting now, that will move us toward our shared vision?”
  •  “Who will you connect with to make this happen, and how will you keep the momentum?”
  •  “What will you do in the next 30 days to make progress?”
  •  “What resources or allies will you draw on to succeed?”
  •  “What promise are you willing to make to this group today?”

Crafting and testing AI summit questions

Designing summit questions is not a solo task. The convenor, core planning team, and sometimes even a small sample of intended participants should help shape them. Test each question by asking it aloud:

• Does it evoke curiosity?

• Does it lead to a story or an image, not just an opinion?

• Does it fit with the appreciative stance, focusing on strengths, aspirations, and shared responsibility?

Resist the urge to overcomplicate. One strong question per phase is better than a dozen half-focused prompts. Clarity and emotional resonance matter more than cleverness.

The discipline of the question

Peter Block has written in his book “The Answer to How Is Yes”, a reminder that the framing of a question can itself be an invitation to take responsibility. In an AI Summit, a well-crafted question does not just gather information; it changes the relationship between the people in the room. It shifts them from consumers of a plan to co-authors of a future. When participants leave with their own words in their heads, words they spoke in answer to a compelling question, they leave with the ownership that makes change possible.

Harvesting in an Appreciative Inquiry Summit

In an Appreciative Inquiry Summit, the work does not reside in the facilitators’ notes or the convenor’s memory; it exists in the room, in the conversations, in the images, and in the commitments that take shape. Harvesting is the practice of making that work visible as it unfolds, so the group can recognise its own progress and carry it forward without losing its energy or meaning.

Good harvesting is both a mirror and an anchor. It reflects the group’s contributions back to them in real time, showing them what they have created, and it anchors that work in forms that can be used beyond the summit. The best harvests are clear enough to be shared immediately after the event, while still holding the richness and spirit of the conversation.

Harvesting the Discover phase

What to capture: The Discover phase produces personal stories and the themes they reveal, the raw strengths of the system.

How to do it:

• Ask each small group to write the themes from their stories in large, clear print on sticky notes or cards.

• Harvesters move among groups, collecting these and posting them on a large “strengths wall” or sticky wall organised into clusters.

• As clusters form, write short, clear theme titles in the group’s own words.

Plenary integration: At the end of Discover, invite each table to share one story highlight and one theme. Keep these brief (30–60 seconds each) so energy stays high. As they speak, harvesters post or adjust the clustering, so the whole room can watch the picture of its strengths emerge.

Timing cue: Allow 10–15 minutes for groups to finalise their themes and post them, plus 20–30 minutes for plenary sharing and clustering.

Harvesting the Dream phase

What to capture: The Dream phase outputs are visual and aspirational: images, metaphors, and bold statements about the desired future.

How to do it:

• Provide flip charts, large sheets, markers, and creative materials (coloured paper, magazines for collage, clay, etc.).

• Harvesters photograph each dream artefact and label it with the group’s name and table number.

• Write a short one-sentence summary of each dream in the group’s own words, to accompany the image.

Plenary integration: Invite each group to present its dream in a creative form (2–3 minutes max). As they present, they display their artefact on a wall or stand. When all are up, host a “gallery walk” where participants wander, read, and discuss.

Timing cue: Presentations 2–3 minutes each, gallery walk 20–30 minutes.

Harvesting the Design phase

What to capture: Design phase outputs are provocative propositions and the enabling structures or initiatives that could make them real.

How to do it:

• Each group writes its proposition in large print on a flip chart, followed by bullet points of enabling actions.

• Harvesters post these on a “design wall” and photograph them for records.

• During cross-pollination rounds, harvesters circulate to note any changes or added ideas from feedback.

Plenary integration: Groups present their proposition and top 2–3 enabling actions (3–5 minutes each). Harvesters post them side by side so patterns can be seen: similarities, complementary ideas, and unique approaches.

Timing cue: Plan for 30–45 minutes total, depending on the number of groups, with time for questions and cross-connections.

Harvesting the Destiny phase

What to capture: The Destiny phase outputs are commitments: who will do what, by when, and with what support.

How to do it:

• Give each group a large commitment sheet with columns: Initiative, First Steps, Leads, Others Involved, Resources Needed, Target Date.

• Post these on a “commitment wall” visible to all.

• Harvesters ensure each sheet is legible, photographed, and stored in a central file for follow-up.

Plenary integration: Hold a public commitment circle. Each group states its key action, who is leading it, and the first step. The rest of the room is invited to offer immediate resources or connections.

Timing cue: Allow 2–3 minutes per group for declarations, plus 10–15 minutes for spontaneous offers of support.

Digital harvesting options

Many summits now blend physical and digital harvesting.

• Use tools like Miro, MURAL, Jamboard, or Google Docs to mirror the physical harvest wall in real time.

• This allows remote participants to contribute and ensures immediate backup of all outputs.

• A digital “summit space” can also serve as the post-event hub for continuing collaboration.

For hybrid summits, assign one harvester specifically to digital contributions to capture and integrate them with in-room outputs.

Data stewardship and consent

From the outset, tell participants how photographs, quotes, and names will be used. Some organisations keep harvest images internal; others publish them in public reports.

• Use consent forms if the harvest will be widely shared.

• Avoid posting sensitive material without explicit agreement from those involved.

• In your post-summit report, attribute quotes where permission is given, and anonymise where it is not.

Theme consolidation at the end of each day

As the day closes, the facilitation and harvest teams should meet briefly to review the walls.

• Remove duplicates, group related themes, and ensure titles are readable.

• This is not about editing participants’ work, but about keeping the harvest accessible for the next day’s conversations.

• A well-curated wall invites people to revisit and build on ideas, rather than starting from scratch.

Linking directly to follow-up structures

One of the most common failures in summit follow-up is leaving commitments unlinked to ongoing structures.

• During Destiny, identify where each commitment “lives” after the summit,  in a project team, a steering group, or an existing governance body.

• Note these links directly on the commitment sheets and in the final report.

• Where no structure exists, create a small coordination team from within the summit to hold the work until one is formed.

Coordinating the harvest team

For a summit of 100–300 people, aim for:

• 2–3 dedicated harvesters at all times.

• Additional helpers during high-output phases (Design and Destiny).

• One person is responsible for collating outputs into a live master record during the event.

Facilitators signal when to pause for posting or clustering; logistics ensure walls are ready, materials replenished, and outputs displayed clearly.

After the summit

The harvest should be turned into a shareable record within days. This can be a PDF with photographs of outputs, summaries of themes and propositions, and a clear list of commitments and next steps. Some groups create an online “summit space” where artefacts are stored, updated, and referenced as projects move forward.

Whatever the format, the record must feel like the group’s work, not an external consultant’s rewrite. Keep their words, their handwriting, their images. This maintains ownership and the emotional connection to what was created.

Harvesting is more than just recording. It is a way of telling every participant: Your contribution matters enough to be recognised, remembered, and built upon. When harvesting is carried out with care, the result is not merely a record; it becomes a living reminder of what the entire system envisioned and started to create together.

Follow-up and Integration in an Appreciative Inquiry Summit

A summit’s real measure is not in the applause at the closing circle but in what lives on afterwards. The energy, vision, and commitments created over three days are fragile at first, still alive in memory, but easily lost in the routines and urgencies that wait outside the room. Follow-up is the bridge between the summit as a decisive moment and the summit as a turning point in the life of the organisation or community.

Integration begins the moment the summit ends, not weeks later. The people who have made commitments need to see those commitments respected, recorded, and connected into the structures that will carry them forward. Without this, the summit becomes another inspiring event that leaves little trace.

Immediate actions after the summit

In the first 48–72 hours:

• Release the harvest in a usable form: a concise PDF or online hub with the summit’s outputs: strengths, visions, propositions, and commitments. Keep the group’s own words, handwriting, and images. This is not just a record; it’s a signal that their work matters and is already in motion.

• Send a message from the convenor thanking participants, restating the purpose, and outlining the next steps. This is a moment to reinforce ownership and invite ongoing stewardship.

Embedding commitments in existing structures

The summit’s commitments do not live in isolation. They either need to take root in existing governance or project teams, or they need a home to be built around them.

• Where possible, match each commitment to an existing team, department, or community group that can carry it forward. Make these matches explicit in the follow-up communication.

• If a commitment has no natural home, form a small coordination group of volunteers from the summit to act as stewards until a structure exists.

Maintaining momentum in the first 90 days

Momentum fades without deliberate renewal. In the first three months:

• Hold a short check-in gathering (in person or online) for all who made commitments. Use it to share progress, exchange resources, and renew the shared purpose.

• Celebrate visible progress, even partial wins or early prototypes. Public recognition affirms that change is happening.

• Keep the harvest visible, on physical walls in workplaces, on intranets, in community newsletters,  so the vision is not tucked away in a file.

Continuing the appreciative stance

Follow-up is not just project management; it’s the continuation of the appreciative approach. This means:

• Asking regularly: What’s working well so far? What are we learning as we act?

• Encouraging stories of early wins, however small, and making them visible to others.

• Keeping the conversation open to adaptation, the summit’s designs are starting points, not fixed blueprints.

The role of the convenor after the summit

The convenor remains the guardian of the purpose. Their role is not to manage every initiative but to keep the wider community connected to the commitments made. This might mean convening occasional whole-system gatherings, sending updates, or simply showing up at project meetings to affirm their importance. The convenor’s continued presence signals that the summit was the beginning of something real, not a passing event.

Closing the loop

The best integration plans include a way to revisit the original purpose and ask: What has shifted since the summit? How is the system different because we gathered? These moments of reflection not only measure progress but invite fresh action.

In this way, follow-up is not the conclusion of the summit; it is the beginning of the work that the summit has made possible. When commitments are honoured, structures are aligned, and the appreciative spirit persists, the gathering becomes more than just a memory. It transforms into the foundation for a new culture of shared ownership and ongoing collaboration.

Frequently Asked Questions and Common Myths for the Appreciative Inquiry Summit

1. Is an AI Summit just another strategic planning meeting? No. Strategic planning often starts with problems and gaps; an AI Summit starts with what is already working and builds from there. The agenda is not a fixed document; rather, it is a living framework shaped by the people in the room. Planning is part of the outcome, but the process is as much about relationships and shared purpose as it is about strategy.

2. Do we avoid all talk about problems? Not exactly. Issues are not ignored, but they are reframed. Instead of asking “What’s wrong and how do we fix it?” participants ask “When have we been at our best, and how can we create more of that?” The focus shifts from deficit to possibility, which often addresses problems indirectly and more constructively.

3. Is the summit only for senior leaders or experts? No. The strength of an AI Summit comes from having the whole system in the room—leaders, staff, customers, partners, and community members. Excluding key voices undermines the purpose, which is to create ownership across boundaries.

4. Will it produce concrete results, or just good feelings? Done well, an AI Summit produces both. The energy and connection in the room are not an end in themselves; they are the fuel for commitments and initiatives that emerge during the summit and continue afterwards. Many organisations leave with action plans, cross-functional teams, and timelines, but also with a renewed sense of trust.

5. Can you get meaningful change in just two or three days? Yes, because the process compresses months of conversations into a shared, immersive experience. The summit gathers the right people, aligns them around a shared vision, and accelerates decision-making. The follow-up work is still essential, but the starting momentum is much greater.

6. Isn’t this just positive thinking? It’s not about ignoring reality or forcing optimism. Appreciative Inquiry is disciplined in its approach: it collects evidence of past successes, analyses them, and uses those patterns to inform the future. It’s rigorous as well as uplifting.

7. Won’t people just say nice things to keep the tone positive? Not if it’s hosted well. Good facilitation invites honesty and depth. People share challenges and disappointments, but through the lens of “What did we learn?” and “How can that learning shape what comes next?”

8. Does everyone have to be trained in Appreciative Inquiry before attending? No, but it helps if participants understand the basic principles. A short orientation or pre-summit briefing can prepare people to contribute meaningfully. The real “training” happens in the room, through shared experience.

9. Is it suitable for virtual or hybrid formats? Yes, but it requires careful adaptation. Virtual summits need thoughtful design to maintain connection,;smaller breakout groups, frequent harvesting, clear visuals, and hosts who can draw people out. The principles are the same; the tools change.

10. What if people don’t follow through afterwards? The summit is a beginning, not an end. Follow-up structure: steering groups, regular check-ins, and visible tracking of commitments are critical. The more profound truth is that follow-through depends on the ownership built during the summit itself. When people feel they created the vision, they are far more likely to act on it.

Resources to deepen your understanding of the Appreciative Inquiry Summit

The Power of Appreciative Inquiry by Diana Whitney and Amanda Trosten-Bloom: A practical and comprehensive guide to AI, including detailed chapters on running summits. It blends theory, case studies, and step-by-step processes, making it useful for both new and experienced hosts.

The Appreciative Inquiry Summit: A Practitioner’s Guide for Leading Large-Scale Change by James Ludema, Diana Whitney, Bernard Mohr, and Tom Griffin: Written by some of the method’s most experienced practitioners, this is the definitive text on designing and facilitating summits. It includes design templates, facilitation tips, and examples from business, non-profit, and community contexts.

AI Commons (https://appreciativeinquiry.champlain.edu/): A global hub curated by the David L. Cooperrider Center at Champlain College. Offers articles, case studies, summit workbooks, facilitation materials, and a rich archive of research papers.

In summary

An Appreciative Inquiry Summit is not merely a meeting format; it is an approach and organising principle that presumes the people within the system already possess the wisdom and energy necessary for change. By framing the conversation around strengths, aspirations, and collaborative design, it transforms the way we perceive large gatherings into spaces of alignment and commitment.

The process is both disciplined and liberating. Each phase: Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny, builds on what came before, progressing from individual stories to shared visions, from visions to tangible designs, and from designs to commitments that participants choose and own.

Because the entire system is present in the room, decisions are informed by diverse perspectives, and action can commence immediately. The structure maintains the momentum, while the harvesting process makes the work visible and prepared for integration into everyday frameworks.

The outcome is not a plan delivered by a few for others to implement. It is a co-created future that begins in the summit and continues through the people who made it. The summit offers no guarantee of control or certainty,  but it does offer something more powerful: a shared experience of what is possible when we build from our best and act as if we already have what we need.