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Researching Complex Governance Arrangements 6 Researching Complex Governance Arrangements Elinor Ostrom’s Legacy for Research Methods and the Analysis of Institutional Design Derek Kauneckis Researching Complex Governance Arrangements 6 Elinor Ostrom’s Legacy for Research Methods and the Analysis of Institutional Design Derek Kauneckis1 Abstract Many of our most threatened natural resources involve complex interactions with human and technological systems, each with their own rule structures that govern interactions within and across systems. The complexity of governing systems characterized as networked commons, multi-level nested institutional arrangements, socio-technological commons, and ecological knowledge production systems challenge our existing analytic toolbox. The study of these complex systems face multiple methodological and theoretical challenges, such as how to examine the multi-scale nature of institutional arrangements, dealing with the influence of endogenous and exogenous change on systemic-level properties, accounting for the variety of incentives and behavior of diverse social agents, understanding the impact of different nested structures of decision-making, and determining the influence of the configuration of networked interactions. Researchers and practitioners who seeks to understand the structure and function of complex governance systems often begin with Elinor Ostrom’s seminal work on the commons, and more recent research on socio-ecological systems. This article traces how Ostrom’s substantial body of research informs continued efforts to develop research tools for understanding the governance of complex systems. It begins with early work on the co-production of public goods in urban systems, traces her evolving thought on the critical role of institutions, and continues with recent research into developing a framework for the analysis of socio-ecological systems. The article highlights the centrality of Ostrom’s research for understanding increasingly complex natural resource systems and the co-evolution of management arrangements. It concludes by proposing that Ostrom’s work should not be seen as limited to the study of the commons per se, but rather represents the beginning of a new science of governance. Keywords: Complex Systems, Governance, Institutional Analysis and Development, Methodological Approaches, Natural Resource Management 1 Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Nevada, Reno. Email: [email protected] POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM 70 Understanding Governance IN COMPLEX Systems in Economics, the institutional analysis and development (IAD) framework had already emerged as a major Governing theoretical the Commons: approach The in Many of our greatest natural resource Evolutionpublic policy of Collective analysis. ActionThe seminal work of management and conservation challenges Elinor Ostrom, involve highly complex systems that include (1990) has been combinations of ecological systems, resource cited over 16,000 times (Google Scholar) in utilization and management, and increasing almost a thousand different journals that technological infrastructure and interventions vary in subject matter from engineering to in natural processes. One of the hurdles facing eco-criticism, mathematics to music, and those involved in researching effective policy information sciences to cellular biology is the need to develop methodologies to study (Web of Science). Citations (Figure 1) have resource systems that involve multi-scale increased steadily year on year since its interactions, dynamic change and threshold initial publication, pointing to the increasing effects, heterogeneous social agents, and relevance of Ostrom’s work. Policy multi-level governance arrangements. While Matters different disciplinary approaches offer insight This contribution to the special issue of into various aspects of these systems, the examines the intellectual development research community at large has yet to adopt of a theoretical approach known as the a broad enough theoretical lens that is able to “Bloomington School of Institutional Analysis capture the system as a whole. Yet, progress and Development” (Aligica and Boettke 2009), is being made in untangling linkages and along with recent work on the socio-ecological causality in these complex systems, and at the system (SES) framework (Ostrom 2009). It forefront of this has been the work of Elinor outlines how this body of work has garnered Ostrom and colleagues at The Vincent and theoretical relevance for so many divergent Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory fields of inquiry, and ends with discussion of and Policy Analysis. its role in the future of research on resource governance systems. The article traces early The work of Elinor Ostrom has had a profound work on the management of large-scale water influence on the study of environmental systems and the co-production of public goods resources and, more broadly, on public in urban local governance systems, the role of policy and public goods dilemmas. Long institutions and collective action, and Ostrom’s before being awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize later endeavors developing a framework for Figure 1: Citations by Year (Web of Science) POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM 71 the comparative analysis of socio-ecological district as a ground water basin systems (SES). Governing the Commons management enterprise and (6) the development of a management plan In the spirit of , I involving the coordinated action attempt to discern “common principals” and of several public water agencies… the qualities that have allowed Ostrom’s work (Ostrom, 1965: xvii). to resonate across so many fields, and better understand how her legacy, as well as that of The work begins with the nature of the her husband, Vincent Ostrom, has helped set problem, both in terms of the physical TtheHE foundations Development for new OFareas THE of inquiry. Ostrom resource under study as well as the market/ governance failures associated with the Framework current system. Considerable effort is expended toward laying out the multitude of different private and public organizational Those aware of Elinor Ostrom’s contribution actors involved in water management. to rational choice theory might be surprised Public Collective action organizations are prominent. Entrepreneurship:to know her dissertation a case studyat UCLA in ground was water The focus on public entrepreneurship marks basinfocused management on public entrepreneurship. the beginning of an implicit model of how individuals are able to create new institutions is primarily a qualitative in order to prevent damage from overuse of case study analysis based on documentary the resource in certain situations. Based on material. As in later work, her dissertation work by Vincent Ostrom (Ostrom, Tiebout includes chapters on such non-political and Warren, 1961), the important distinction topics as “Topography” and “Seasonal and between production and provisioning Cyclic Variation in Precipitation”, which she arrangements is made, allowing for a subtle used in order to develop an explanation yet important differentiation of the role of public entrepreneurship around water of formal government organizations and management. A vision of what would evolve that of inter-organizational relationships. 25 years later into the Institutional Analysis Constitutional arrangements become an and Development framework is found in the explanatory variable in understanding summary of that dissertation: the outcome of the particular case her dissertation considered. The work is rich in …strategies of those who functioned discussions on property rights to land and as public entrepreneurs are examined water, legal structures and litigation, voting in a case study which involves (1) the rules and sanctions, forums for negotiating organization of a water producers’ water sharing arrangements and resolving and users’ associations to function conflict, and attempts to understand how as a forum for the consideration of these endogenous systems are able to adapt common problems, (2) the creation as the economic uses of water and changing of a municipal water district to technologies shift over time. provide a supplemental surface supply, (3) the use of litigation The dissertation foreshadows a long career to achieve a limited pro-rata investigating collection action problems rationing of the local ground water by concluding with the statement, “Every resources, (4) the development of society faces the task of finding appropriate institutional arrangements to test institutional means for providing the goods the effectiveness of a fresh-water or beneficial consequences desired by barrier against the sea and to place members of that society and avoiding the a prototype barrier into operation harms or adverse consequences resulting from along a one-mile section of the competition among individuals for the limited exposed coastline, (5) the design and quantities... This task may be accomplished creation of a water replenishment in a variety of different ways involving some POLICY MATTERS 2014: REMEMBERING ELINOR OSTROM 72 combination of individual effort and initiative Elinor’s participation in this work had led to on the one hand and centralized direction and a jointly authored piece entitled “A Political control on the other.” (Ostrom, 1965: 588- Theory for Institutional Analysis” (1971). 589). The articulation of institutions as the critical factor in successful common pool resource Research activity
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