  We investigate the use of an operatorial basis in a self-consistent theory of
large amplitude collective motion. For the example of the
pairing-plus-quadrupole model, which has been studied previously at
equilibrium, we show that a small set of carefully chosen state-dependent basis
operators is sufficient to approximate the exact solution of the problem
accuratly. This approximation is used to study the interplay of quadrupole and
pairing degrees of freedom along the collective path for realistic examples of
nuclei. We show how this leads to a viable calculational scheme for studying
nuclear structure, and discuss the surprising role of pairing collapse.
