Impact Trust • Working glossary

Sensemaking

Making sense of the world in order to act in it, especially under uncertainty.

Details

Our Take
Increasingly common; risks becoming a buzzword. Strong when linked to action ('sense-and-respond'), weak when used as a synonym for 'thinking about stuff.' The distinction from analysis matters: sensemaking is a social, interpretive process; analysis is a technical, deductive one. Both are needed.
Examples of Use
Cynefin Centre, complexity practice
Synonyms/Variants
Collective interpretation; Situational understanding; Sense-and-respond
Typical everyday wording
Making sense of a confusing situation well enough to act