Institutions are Social Infrastructure.  

 The Sinews of Small Cities and Towns 

The Need for Institutions. Institutions embody the values of society and the processes used to promote civic behavior in a manner consistent with society’s norms and conventions. Sometimes these need to be challenged and their purposes revisited, but rarely do they need to be eliminated or denigrated. As Professor Fukuyama expresses in State-Building, Governance and the New World Order in the 21st Century, “more or less government [and institutional systems] is not the issue; building effective governments and institutions that meet society’s needs is the assignment.”