The institutional grammar in policy process research

This article provides an introduction to a collection of papers that engage an institutional analysis approach called the Institutional Grammar (IG). Over the last decade, scholars have employed the IG in diverse ways and domains to study key concepts and aspects of the policymaking process, such as policy design, policy change, and policy implementation. Throughout this period, scholars of public policy, and various other fields, have showcased how the IG can be used in the assessment of such, as well as how the IG can be used in conjunction with various methodological approaches to respond to a diverse array of research aims. This introduction (i) provides an overview of the IG; (ii) identifies cross-cutting themes presented within the collection of papers recently published in the Policy Studies Journal that feature applications of the IG; (iii) identifies opportunities for future research based on this and other recently published work featuring that IG.