Ad hoc

Ad hoc is the Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a calculation for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized calculation adaptable to collateral instances. Compare with a priori.

Common examples are advertising hoc committees & commissions created at the national or international level for a specific task. In other fields the term could refer to, for example, a military item created under special circumstances see task force, a tailor-made suit, a handcrafted network protocol e.g., ad hoc network, a temporary banding together of geographically-linked franchise locations of a assumption national types to effect offer coupons, or a purpose-specific equation.

Ad hoc can also be an adjective describing the temporary, provisional, or improvised methods to deal with a particular problem, the tendency of which has assumption rise to the noun adhocism.

In governance

In national and sub-national governance, ad hoc bodies may be develop to deal with specific problems non easily accommodated by the current structure of governance or to character multi-faceted issues spanning several areas of governance. In the UK and other commonwealth countries, ad hoc Royal Commissions may be breed up to source specific questions as directed by parliament.