The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word HEURISTIC
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
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More clues leading to the result HEURISTIC
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Encouraging discovery" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case encouraging discovery = heuristic.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does HEURISTIC mean?
HEURISTIC noun- A heuristic method.
- The art of applying heuristic methods.
- A technique designed for solving a problem when classic methods are too slow or fail to find any exact solution.
- (of an approach to problem solving, learning, or discovery) That employs a practical method not guaranteed to be optimal or perfect; not following or derived from any theory.
- (of a method or algorithm) That solves a problem more quickly but is not certain to arrive at an optimal solution.
- (of an argument) That reasons from the value of a method or principle that has been shown by experimental investigation to be a useful aid in learning, discovery and problem-solving.