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Section 2.4: Ostrom’s Design Principles
These case studies indicate that operational rules of CPR institutions may vary from
one institution to another, but there are certain design principles that are common to
each ‘successful’ CPR organisation. By design principles, Ostrom refers to the
conditions that must exist for the CPR regime to be successful.
“By “design principle” I mean an essential element, or condition, that help to account
for the success of these institutions in sustaining the CPRs and gaining the
compliance of generation after generation of the appropriators to the rules in use.” 8
These design principles are:
1) The presence of clearly defined boundaries. The set of individuals or households
who enjoy the right to appropriate from the resource stock must be clearly defined.
Clear demarcation of the boundaries of the CPR is also necessary.
2) Congruence between appropriation and provision9 rules and local conditions.
Appropriation rules defining the time, place, technology and amount of resource that
can be withdrawn should be related both to local conditions and to provision rules
requiring contribution of labour, time and financial resources to maintain the
resource.
3) The existence of collective choice arrangements. Most individuals affected by the
operational rules can participate in modifying the operational rules.
4) Undertaking of monitoring activities. Monitors who actively audit CPR conditions
and behaviour are accountable to the resource community, or are themselves
resource appropriators.
5) The presence of a system of graduated sanctions. Those members of the
resource community who violate operational rules are likely to be sanctioned by
other resource appropriators, by officials accountable to the community, or both. The
sanctions are graduated according to the seriousness and context of he offence.
This ensures quasi-voluntary compliance.
8 Ostrom (1990) pp. 90.
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