Definition
Plain language
Whether the people living under a set of rules get any say in changing them.
As stated in the literature
One of Ostrom's design principles for governing shared resources: those affected by the operational rules can participate in modifying them, rather than only an external authority.
Also called: collective-choice
Why it matters: People follow rules far more willingly when they helped write them, and systems that deny participants any say tend to get quiet non-compliance instead of genuine buy-in.
For example, a neighbourhood allotment where the gardeners themselves vote each spring on watering rotas has collective choice, while one where the council mails down the rules does not.
Heard on the show
“Ostrom calls that collective choice: can the people governed by a system participate in changing that system?”Episode 260 — One Line of Lean Faked 34 Proofs, and 99 Agents Copied It