This project centers around interviews with professional and/or personal acquaintances of Elinor and Vincent Ostrom. Every interview explores a unique relationship with the Ostroms and the continuing impact of the Ostrom Workshop at Indiana University. Elinor (Lin) and Vincent Ostrom founded the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis in 1973.The Ostrom Workshop has been the catalyst for worldwide collaboration in the field of public policy and environmental issues. "Coming Together" is an interdisciplinary exploration of the legacy and impact of Elinor (Lin) and Vincent Ostrom. Major topics include; academia, "the commons", cross-disciplinary collaboration, Elinor Ostrom's Nobel Prize, the Ostrom Workshop, political science, political theory, and the Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop (WOW) conference. The project was created to assist in the dissertation research of Sara Catherine Clark, who was a doctoral candidate within the School of Education, pursing a Ph.D. in History, Philosophy, and Policy in Education, at Indiana University Bloomington. Sara Catherine Clark's dissertation was completed in 2019 and is cited as follows: Clark, S. C. (2019). Elinor ostrom: A biography of interdisciplinary life.
Julie England is an adjunct instructor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington. England discusses her work on databases that began with the common-pool resources (CPR) database and evolved with new projects in the Ostrom Workshop. She also discusses the technological changes in the Ostrom Workshop, the creation of the Center for the Study of Institutions, Populations and Environmental Change, and the Workshop on the Workshop Conference. The interview then discusses the Ostroms on a personal level including Manitoulin Island and the Ostrom Workshop after the Ostroms.
Burnell Fischer is the Clinical Professor Emeritus in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Fischer discusses his time as the State Forester of Indiana. Fischer wanted more collaboration with a greater variety of stakeholders and he discusses how he made that work. While he was working at the State Forester of Indiana Elinor Ostrom contacted him to come down and speak to her and her graduate students. During this time a collaborative was formed between Indiana University, Purdue University, The Nature Conservancy, and Professor Dan Cole of IUPUI (now Indiana University Bloomington). Fischer then began working at Indiana University where he assisted Elinor Ostrom in teaching. His position moved from work at the Ostrom Workshop to his position as the undergraduate program director at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Fischer recalls his time at the Nobel ceremony and why he was there. The interview concludes discussing the Workshop on the Ostrom Workshop (WOW) and the Ostrom Workshops future.
Leticia Merino is a researcher with a Doctorate of Anthropology specializing in agrarian studies. Merino opens the interview by discussing her personal background and how her background in forestry led her to Elinor Ostrom's book Governing the Commons . Merino met Ostrom in Mexico through Gustavo Gordillo, a mutual colleague. Merino was asked to go through the International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) program at the Ostrom Workshop, which she did, and became more involved after taking the course. Merino goes onto discuss collaborating with Ostrom through IFRI and the International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC). She reflects on her friendship with Ostrom through a discussion of Ostrom's visit to a climate change conference in Mexico. The interview closes with a discussion on the 2012 Planet Under Pressure Conference in London where Ostrom was a keynote speaker.