9 IAD Framework

• Title: Colorado’s Interbasin Compact Negotiations: Development of an Institutional Framework - IAD Framework
• Date: 12/17/2004
• Author: Russell George, Frank McNulty, Peter Nichols, Eric Hecox
• IBCC - Doc Type: Program Planning, Budget & Contracts

Revised: 7/26/2007
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Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework

Action Situation

Consists of three broad and interrelated components:
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Physical environment – in natural resource this includes the physical environment
of land, water, air, biota, and biophysical p rocesses
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Actors and their behavior – includes both individuals and organizations

It is important to make assumptions about the expected behavior patterns
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of these actors: the adaptive problem - solver; the rational decision maker;
and/or the socialized and r ule - bound actor
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Institutional rules – Institutional rules are the primary focus because institutional
rules are explicitly human creation subject to deliberate modification through
individual and/or collective action.

Natural resource or environmental pro blems can be solved by manipulating one or more
of these three elements. Societies typically look towards manipulation of the physical
environment first, because it is less controversial, less difficult, and less uncertain than
attempts to manipulate beha vior. Examples include cutting trees and building dams.
Typically, technological fixes can only be pursued after significant institutional reforms.
Often the best long - term solutions are those based on manipulating the behavior of
resource users, discou raging problem - causing actions while promoting problem - solving
behaviors. Again, these types of solutions cannot normally be pursued without first
modifying institutional rules.

Institutional Rules and Levels

There are seven types of institutional rul es : scope, position, boundary, authority,
information, aggregation, and payoff.

There are three general institutional levels :
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Operational choice – Decisions made at this level directly determine how resource
are used.
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Collective choice – Operational choic e rules are made and revised at this level.
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Constitutional choice – Highest decision - making level. Not generally considered
to be open to change.

In an analysis, the seven rules are applied to the three levels in a bottom - up fashion. The
seven rules tha t comprise the operational level should first be investigated and described.

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Elinor Ostrom developed the IAD framework. The information in this document is taken from an
integration of the IAD framework with other concepts as articulated by Kenney and Lord. See Kenney,
Douglas S. and William B. Lord. Analysis of Institutional Innovation in the Natural Resource and
Environmental Realm: The Emergence of Alternative Problem - Solving Strategies in the American West .
Natural Resource Law Center, University of Colorado School of Law, Research Report (RR - 21), 1999.
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