DESIGNING PROJECTS IN A RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD

are not intended to replace current practice, but rather
show how it can be adapted to make the most of the
core RAPTA components. For example, the component
Options and Pathways will be more robust if all
of the previous components are completed, but may
still be of use in adaptation planning even if a full resilience
assessment is not conducted.
One reason the order or application is not so important
is because of the priority placed on ongoing
learning and adaptation through iteration. For example,
at the start of the project, a small project team
can start work on the System Description component
as a desktop exercise to inform the Engagement
and Governance component. Later in the project the
System Description component can be revisited, and
a more mature description developed with the full
multi-stakeholder engagement plan in operation. In
Figure 3, the grey arrows are the suggested logical
high-level sequence of tasks, and the blue circular
arrows represent the iterative nature of components;
all components will be revisited as part of the learning
process, and this learning should feed into the
next project phase.
2.9 USING RAPTA IN DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE PROJECT CYCLE:
IDENTIFICATION, DESIGN, AND IMPLEMENTATION
No matter how thorough and detailed the knowledge
base generated through RAPTA, it can only
ever be a partial representation of the system. It
is impossible to fully understand and predict how
complex social–ecological systems will change over
time. Knowledge gaps will always be found during
the RAPTA process and many assumptions must be
made as each component is completed. Lack of full
knowledge, or over-bold assumptions, should not
become reasons to do nothing. However, implementation
must be structured to learn the most about the
system while simultaneously addressing the current
challenges identified and adapting plans where
needed. Even in the best-studied and -understood
regions, knowledge will always be incomplete and
will always need to evolve as the system changes
over time. In fact, knowledge gaps and assumptions
should be viewed as reasons to act. The RAPTA
process and the outputs from the process should be
viewed as an evolving process, where knowledge is
developed, applied, tested and reviewed in a continuous
learning framework.
The focus on learning, on testing assumptions and
improving the knowledge base sets RAPTA apart from
traditional approaches to project design and implementation.
It is this focus that will break the cycle of
business-as-usual investment that does little to fundamentally
change the dynamics of complex systems. To
achieve this requires a strong commitment to building
the knowledge systems and the learning culture which
support this shift. A deliberate approach to structured
learning should be adopted, in recognition of the
need to put learning at the centre of efforts to manage
social–ecological systems. Through this process stakeholders
systematically fill critical knowledge gaps and
test assumptions over time, while still achieving their
project objectives.
32 Overview of RAPTA process