Towards a Design Model for local Smart Grid Systems: Connecting Ostrom’s IAD-Framework to Institutional Legal Theory

This paper proposes an analytical framework towards a design-model connecting Ostrom’s IAD-Framework with Institutional Legal Theory (ILT), applicable to legal-settings for local Smart-Grid systems. This connection contributes to achieving legal innovations necessary to the (fit of) public-private arrangements of such local systems. A two-step analytical approach is used. The first step is to frame the institutional connection between IAD and ILT. Ostrom’s ‘rules-in-use’ are connected to legal ‘rules-in-form’. This institutional rule-perspective is then aligned with Action Situations at Ostrom’s three analytical levels, considering that different legal institutions are relevant to the content of Action Situation rules. In the second step, the institutional rule-perspective is placed in the specific legal setting of a example in a Dutch municipality. We demonstrate how the abstract IAD/ILT-frame provides a lens to identify legal aspects (e.g. gaps and conflicts) of establishing and maintaining particular local Smart-Grid systems – to provide insight for future design challenges.