Government agency committees find common ground through strengths-based approach
Clients see tangible benefit thanks to dialogue between committees
Friday August 22, 2008 -- Jennifer Higgs
Two committees at the Maricopa Association of Governments are moving towards the goal of working more closely together due to successful dialogue that used an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) approach.

Amy St. Peter, human services manager at the regional agency in Phoenix, Arizona, says many benefits have been sparked from an Appreciative Inquiry exercise she led at the start of a meeting between the domestic violence and homeless committees.

These committees are often competing for the same funding sources, she notes.

To reframe the meeting St. Peter asked committee members to sit with someone from the other committee who they did not know and talk about their peak experience on the committee, what gave life to them as a committee member and what gave life to the committee as a whole.

“It generated incredible discussion,” says St. Peter.

As the 70 people in the room started to talk about what they were proud of they found a lot of parallels between the committees and the realization that both are working towards the same goal of keeping people safe and off the street.

“I didn’t think we would get them to stop talking, it was fantastic,” she says. “The energy that it generated was wonderful because that carried through the whole meeting.”

She says similar to a first date the discussions were able to establish an introduction to one another that has helped the two committees work more closely together.

“People were coming up to us (at the end of the meeting) just glowing, and saying ‘oh I made this great contact I’m really excited about it,’” she says.

Later in the year for the first time there were vacancies in shelters in the domestic violence community, and due to the connections made at the meeting they were able to move homeless people into the shelter.

“We were really excited because we saw a tangible benefit for people on the street that wasn’t just a theoretical discussion or exercise, it was something that actually had an impact for people who were living in crisis at the time,” St. Peter says.

There is continuing cross-training between people who work in different shelters and joint projects between the two committees.

“AI has really helped to bring people together not just on common ground but on higher ground.”