Institution building is considered as a process amenable to both explanation and design if a generic "grammar of artifactual action" is used. The Configurational Theory of Innovation Diffusion model (CLER) is introduced and used to demonstrate how the world of the institution builder could be ordered as part of such grammar for designing and implementing systems of action. The four variables of the CLER model--configurational relationships, linkages, environment, and resources--are used to develop general strategies for institution building. (Author/MLF)