Combining research and design: a methodological view of the path to sustainable development

This essay sketches a conceptual framework of a method for investigations into sustainable development issues by combining a method for scientific research with a method for designing. These kinds of investigation should not only focus on the development of a new theory explaining what sustainable development is, it also needs to focus on how sustainable development can be realized. Firstly, the two methods are described separately. After a comparison of the methods, the conceptual framework is sketched as a phase model and finally a translation of this conceptual framework into a more practical guideline is given. In practice, the practitioner does not follow a given phase model. The practitioner needs building blocks to build his own pattern. To guide the practitioner in building his own structure, some ‘rules’ or guidelines are needed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.