The notion of delegation refers to the moment when one entity comes into contact with another in such a way as to detour that entity from its path of relation to the world (refer to Latour 1999, 185-190). Acts of delegation change the directions of our research, understandings, practices, etc. in relation to the environment. They are the key shifts of history born out of a collective encompassing human beings, materials, and the environment. Delegation “allows us to mobilize in an interaction movements which have been executed earlier, farther away, and by other actants, as though they are still present and available to us now” (Latour 1994, 792).

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