This chapter outlines the concept of institutional bricolage as a tool for understanding how community forest arrangements actually work. We characterise two contrasting schools of institutional thinking and show how bricolage belongs to a 'critical institutionalist' rather than a 'mainstream institutionalist' perspective. The key elements of bricolage are outlined to elaborate the concept. These are further explored through an examination of the different practices adopted by local actors in shaping institutional arrangements. Illustrations are drawn from studies of community forestry in Bolivia and Ecuador and areas for further work are identified.