Capturing Structural and Functional Diversity Through Institutional Analysis

Abstract

City charters affect the governance of municipal systems in complex ways. Current descriptions and typologies developed to study city charter structures simplify the diverse types and configurations of institutional rules underlying charter designs. This research note demonstrates a more detailed approach for studying the design of city charters using analytical methods based on the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework. This approach is illustrated with a pilot study of institutional rules in municipal charters that define the roles and duties of mayors. The findings reveal that city charters exhibit great institutional diversity, particularly within strong mayor cities. We conclude with a research agenda that could generate a more precise and rigorous understanding of the relationship between the different configurations of institutions of city charters and the politics, governance, and performance of municipalities.

A narrative method for analyzing transitions in urban water management: The case of the Miami‐Dade Water and Sewer Department

“…In order to measure the potential moderating effect that institutions exert on a utility in a systematic way, we use the Institutional Grammar (IG) tool [ Crawford and Ostrom , ], which is a coding scheme for translating the syntax of formal institutional rules, norms or shared strategies into standardized measures. To use the IG tool, relevant texts (city/county charters, constitutions, utility regulations) must be identified and relevant statements from within these texts selected based on search terms chosen to capture water management actions [ Basurto et al ., ; Feiock et al ., ]. Then, the selected statements must be coded to identify the set of actors and the range of actions allowed, required, and prohibited in collective decision‐making situations.…”

Ruling out learning and change? Lessons from urban flood mitigation

“…An increasing number of IAD-based studies started to employ, test and develop the Institutional Grammar Tool (Basurto, Kingsley, McQueen, Smith, & Weible, 2010;Feiock et al, 2016;Ostrom & Basurto, 2011;Roditis, Wang, Glantz, & Fallin, 2015;Siddiki, Basurto, & Weible, 2012;Siddiki, Weible, Basurto, & Calanni, 2011) conceptualized by Ostrom (1995, 2005). It is used to systematically describe the composition and evolution of rules that structure particular action arenas.…”

Collaborative Governance: Integrating Management, Politics, and Law

“…Other scholars are explicitly examining the institutional structures embedded in legal text. For example, Feiock et al () use IAD to analyze city charters to identify structural and institutional diversity in the mayoral position, a question of management and politics. They propose a research agenda using this approach (Feiock and Scholz ) and intend to code for meaningful avenues for citizen input into public decision making, in part a political question.…”