retninggivende

Retninggivende is a Danish adjective describing something that provides direction or guidance to decisions, actions, or strategies. It refers to elements that indicate the course to follow rather than to the outcomes themselves. The term is commonly used in management, policy, planning, and research to identify factors that steer work.

In practice, retninggivende elements include guidelines, principles, indicators, and findings that help determine priorities or methods. Common collocations are retninggivende principper (direction-setting principles), retninggivende mål (direction-setting goals), and retninggivende signaler (guidance signals). The adjective can modify a noun (for example, retninggivende dokumenter) or be used predicatively (signalerne er retninggivende).

Etymology and related terms: the word is formed from retning (direction) and givende (giving). It expresses the notion of providing a direction to follow. In broader Nordic usage, cognates exist such as Norwegian retningsgivende and Swedish riktgivande, which carry similar meanings with minor spelling differences.

See also: veiledende (guiding), retningslinjer (guidelines), principper (principles). Retninggivende is a functional descriptor in strategic and analytical contexts, signaling that certain elements guide subsequent decisions and actions rather than merely describe past states.