Institutional Design Principles: A Framework for Thinking About Institutions

Principles

• Clear Metrics — Objective, transparent measures of competence — ['Define what competence looks like', 'Create measurable criteria', 'Make metrics transparent', 'Regular calibration and review'] — ['Metrics become games to optimize', 'What gets measured becomes what matters', 'Easy metrics may miss depth']
• Accountability — Clear ownership and responsibility — ['Define individual contributions', 'Make accountability visible', 'Connect outcomes to individuals', 'Support development, not just evaluation'] — ['Can create blame culture', 'May discourage collaboration', 'Can miss systemic issues']
• Portable Skills — Focus on transferable competence — ['Emphasize generalizable skills', 'Value abstraction and systems thinking', 'Prioritize learning how to learn', 'Build competence density'] — ['May miss domain-specific depth', 'Can undervalue specialization', 'May not prepare for specific roles']
• Outcome Focus — Reward results, not process — ['Measure outcomes, not activities', 'Value efficiency and effectiveness', 'Focus on impact', 'Allow multiple paths to success'] — ['May miss important process', 'Can encourage shortcuts', 'May not value learning from failure']