Using Appreciative Inquiry in Developing Intellectual Capital in Mihail Kogalniceanu University

The paper aims to present a strategy for the development of intellectual capital based on Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry is a particular way of questioning subjects of social development, and at the same time, of prefiguring the future, based on fundamental positivity inherent to the person, community or situation, increasing system capacity for cooperation and change. We consider Appreciative Inquiry as a semiotic of positive side in human condition. The origins of this technique may be identified in an approach called “Appreciative Inquiry”, provided by Cooperrider in the area of organizational development. The Appreciative Inquiry is now used in fields such as psychology, social theology, social work, political sciences, adult training, organizational development, programme evaluation, coaching, planning, analysis of minorities, supervision, etc. The Appreciative Inquiry has a four-sided structure, called “4-D cycle” in literature: phase I (DISCOVERY): the stage of discovering positive “stories” in the intellectual capital of the University; phase II (DREAM) - a vision on the development of the intellectual capital of the University; phase III (DESIGN) - strategic planning in intellectual capital development in research and human resources: phase IV (DESTINY) - operational management in intellectual capital development in research and human resources. The paper will present a case study about the Law School and Comunication and Public Relations School of Mihail Kogalniceanu University from Iasi, Romania