Presentation used at the #2012waic Conference - Ghent, Belgium

1. Meaningful Transformation through
a Short Appreciative Inquiry Summit

2. About myself:
• Aijan Isakova
• Budget and Operations Manager at the VDC
• Joined the team in 2009
• MBA, Umass Boston
• BS in International Business, Arnhem Business
School

3. Venture Development Center
• University-based business incubator for early-stage
business, academic, and social entrepreneurs seeking
strategic growth opportunities
• Provides professional and experienced mentoring,
connections to valuable industry resources, capital
funding, and university resources
• Educates and serves the entire University Community
by providing educational programming on the subject of
innovation
• Places UMass students in paid internships with VC
funded, high tech startups
• Incubates 19 ventures and placed over 70 students

4. Appreciative Inquiry Workshop
at the VDC
Topic:
“The VDC Vision 2012: Our Future begins with Our Strengths”
workshop with the goals of understanding the center’s signature
strengths, reaching out to the VDC partners and the UMass
community to discuss the potential they see in the center, and
amplifying those strengths across the operations.

5. Appreciative Inquiry Workshop
at the VDC
The preparation - two months
Whole Group Participants: 12 people
Duration - 3.5 hours
Content - brief introduction to AI, the VDC application,
10 short discussion sessions, 2 short breaks
Logistics - the larger group of 12 was divided into 4
and later 3 discussion groups. Each discussion session
was followed by short creative presentations to the
larger group.

6. Results
• Identified signature strength from all sides
• Identified how the whole system sees the VDC future
• Developed slogans that would reflect those strengths

7. Results Application
• Revision of mission and vision statements
• The VDC growth model was developed along with
new strategic goals and initiatives
• The VDC upgraded its networks, installed new
servers, and signed a contract with Amazon to provide
Amazon Web Services, focusing on computing in the
cloud
• Web site update
• Partner Handbook
• Marketing Campaign
• Networking events
• SBIR workshop, business competition, open houses

8. New Insights and
Lessons Learned
• Pitching AI to your team
• Who is you Whole System?
• Careful consideration of the people to invite
• Develop a sound communication plan with participants
• Clear understanding of what the goals of the
workshop were before developing the workshop
concept and workbook
• Time flexibility and note keeping during the workshop
• Plan for the post-workshop actions

9. Deliverables
• Appreciative Inquiry workbook “The VDC Vision 2012:
Our Future begins with Our Strengths” and
presentation
• Full summary of the workshop
• Strategic note (not included due to confidentiality
matters)
• The workshop plan
• Appreciative Inquiry invitations, emails introducing
participants to AI , and post workshop emails that were
sent to participants