ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the initial design and some aspects of the subsequent implementation process before explaining how the book relates to the research. The complexity of the topic – the dayizhi policy – and the complexity of the research project, however, mean people first needed to provide the overall context and contents of the dayizhi policy. A huge enterprise of data gathering, collecting plans, getting information about State Administration of Cultural Heritage funding for individual projects, and endless interaction with field activity for data integration was undertaken. Important epistemological choices are also involved, and the overall narrative of the research, taking into account the issue of "bounded rationality" in organizational decision making, in Simon's words, even in a context of empowered policy making like China's. The original research design clearly underscored the multidisciplinary nature of the project; the data to be used; the methodology; and the major contents.
