About

Advancing effective governance worldwide

The Ostrom Workshop was founded at Indiana University in 1973 by Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom and her husband, Vincent. Today, we carry forward their legacy by seeking and sharing solutions to the world’s most pressing problems involving communal and contested resources—from clean water to secure cyberspace.

The need for policies that incentivize effective governance is at the root of society’s most significant struggles. From famine to higher education, business loans to vaccinations, and disaster preparedness to internet connectivity, motivating people to work together is essential to overcoming our most important global challenges.

Meet our collaborators

Fellows, Postdocs, Awardees, Affiliates, and Visiting Scholars collaborate with Ostrom.

Leadership and advisors

Meet the people helping guide and lead the Ostrom Workshop, from internal leadership to external advisors.

Meet the staff

Find information on Workshop staff and team members.

The history of the Ostroms

The Ostroms established an enduring legacy. Read about their inspiration and ours here.

Workshop on the Workshop Conference

WOW conference dates, photos, and information

Our ambition is to fundamentally understand how to manage issues stemming from governance failures.

We’re focused on these research programs

Our vision

The Ostrom Workshop will serve as a campus asset for all social scientists and help the social sciences play a more prominent role in the future of Indiana University.

The Ostrom Workshop focuses on the study of governance as it relates to a variety of research areas. These are our established research programs:

New programs will be added as they fit into our ever-changing research agenda.

We seek to leverage the knowledge produced both within and across research programs in order to enhance educational opportunities for students at IU and worldwide, produce innovative and policy-relevant research, and increase the scope for multidisciplinary collaborations.

Since its creation in 1973, the Workshop has regularly engaged field experts like Tecla, a Mozambican beekeeping instructor presenting to Workshop members visiting Nhaedze, July 1999. Courtesy Digital Library of the Commons.

What’s next?

We have goals to:

Build multiple research programs, each headed by a Program Director recruited from the best scholars across the globe;
Develop promising young scholars by supporting their graduate work while at IU (Ostrom Fellowships), funding their research (Graduate Research Awards), and connecting them with scholars outside IU (Visiting Scholars Program);
Support senior scholars by providing help in writing grant proposals and connecting them with other scholars outside IU (Visiting Scholars Program).

4 students in collaboration smiles at the Ostrom Workshop.

You can help us meet these goals and challenges

The Ostrom Workshop relies on a three-pronged approach to funding: university funds, your donations, and external grants. These varied sources of funding enable the Ostrom Workshop to engage in a wide range of activities and sustain its research interests over time.

Support our mission

Help us develop a research program
Contribute to fund a Visiting Scholar
Donate to student fellowships
Support student research projects
Partner with our programs and affiliates

Contribute to the Ostrom Workshop

About

Advancing effective governance worldwide

Meet our collaborators

Leadership and advisors

Meet the staff

The history of the Ostroms

Workshop on the Workshop Conference

We’re focused on these research programs

Our vision

What’s next?

We have goals to:

You can help us meet these goals and challenges

Contribute to the Ostrom Workshop

Ostrom Workshop social media channels