To be effective, institutions should be able to incorporate information from different sources, evaluate the relative quality of that information, set goals that are based on evidence, and be adaptable when facts change. There is a difficult trade-off between strictly detailed procedures which are easy to communicate and control but introduce a lot of rigidities that may significantly increase costs (including long delays, interminable negotiations, repeated votes) and flexible rules that facilitate adaptation but could allow the decision process to become arbitrary. Public access to procedures, including for parties not directly involved, is one way to reduce the shaipness of this trade-off by making rigid systems run more smoothly and flexible ones less arbitrary.