Planning for Disaster

Abstract

This and the next two chapters illustrate the creative design of methods. Let me briefly remind the reader of what I said in Chapter 10 about this subject. The creative design of methods involves the development of a dynamic set of interrelated questions, expressing the purposes of the agent(s) concerned. Each of these questions/purposes might need to be addressed using a different method, or part of a method. A synergy is generated that allows each purpose to be addressed as part of a whole system of purposes. It is important to note that, in generating the purposes, the need for critical thinking and debate about boundary judgements is crucial (see also Chapters 7 and 14). To know which method(s) from the wide variety available it might be appropriate to use in any particular situation, the agent(s) involved in an intervention may consider the purposes expressed in the system of questions, and then inquire into the purposes, principles, associated theories, ideological assumptions and examples of past practice of various methods in order to design an appropriate path for action. Of course, some purposes might not be expressed explicitly: an action can be intuitive, but in such a situation conscious reflection can reveal that a question could have been asked, and a purpose expressed, leading to that action.¹⁸²