Asking Strategic Questions : Reflections on the Temporal Nature of Projects and Programmes

Is it time to revisit our definitions of projects and programmes? Definitions and assumptions play a key part in delimiting both knowledge and practice. Language is closely entwined with human life: Words and constructions and the way a language is used can shape what is seen and understood, defining what is acceptable and even possible. "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean- neither more nor less." — Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass (1871) The Humpty Dumpty theory of semantics holds sway in most societies and many organisations and cultures. Words, symbols and concepts are endowed with additional meaning or associations, often derived from highly contextual, regional or vernacular sources, which can make a word mean precisely what the user wants it to mean.