Using the menu to the left, you will find short texts about sense-making, how IA practice may be inspired by sense-making theory, and comments from IA practitioners.
Below are quotes that provokes reflection on our assumptions, aims and practice on impact assessment:
“How do I know what I think until I hear what I say?” (Weick 1995, p. 18)
"[W]henever people are said to make a decision, what really happens is that they are working retrospectively. … The decision actually has already been set in motion before people declare that it has been made. … What is crucial about this is that a decision is an act of interpretation rather than an act of choice." (Weick 1995, pp. 184-185)
"… the more general point is that organizations can be good at decision making and still falter. They falter because of deficient sensemaking. The world of decision making is about strategic rationality. It is built from clear questions and clear answers that attempt to remove ignorance […]. The world of sensemaking is different. Sensemaking is about contextual rationality. It is built out of vague questions, muddy answers, and negotiated agreements that attempt to reduce confusion." (Weick 1993, p. 636)
