With the support of ADEME (the French agency for environmental transition), between January and June 2026, we are launching a small participatory investigation on new forms of research, innovation and public action. The main objective is to open up the black box of hybrid forms of cooperation between researchers and public agents or elected representatives in local authorities, particularly with regard to ecological issues. This should pave the way for a longer and more experimental research project with more local governments.
A long-standing collaboration
Exchanges between research and the public sector have existed for a long time, but they seem to have gained new momentum in recent years. More and more local authorities, in particular, are developing relationships with researchers and academic laboratories on topics related to ecological transition, social inclusion, digital transformation, and, more recently, the phenomenon of democratic erosion and post-truth.
As examples, and without forgetting hundreds of others, among the most recent we could mention the IRIS-E program in Rennes, the Becreative project led by INRAE, or the Laboratoire des transitions in Occitanie Region —we have already referenced dozens of them, and there are many others. We ourselves, at 27th Region, have designed and run several programs of this type, from Territoires en résidences (2009) to Rebonds (2025).
While the will is there, the operational implementation of these collaborations is proving more difficult. Between the scientific community and public decision-makers, each side ultimately remains somewhat entrenched in its own camp, and concrete results are hard to come by. Cooperation is not simply collaboration: it involves a paradigm shift on both sides, particularly in the way research and knowledge production are approached.
How can we go further?
How can we overcome obstacles and build a fruitful relationship for all parties? In an initial series of blog posts, we have already highlighted some advices for researchers and local authorities, drawn from a series of participatory workshops organized in the wake of the AFUV (Association of French University Cities) “research and territories” meetings, in partnership with the ELLYX cooperative.
Today, we want to take it a step further. Ultimately, we are convinced that the relationship between research and local authorities could be one of the bulwarks against the current ecological and democratic backlash. But in order to know how to prepare for this, we first need to better understand existing initiatives, what their goals are, how they intend to achieve them, what is really happening on the ground, and their successes and difficulties. Lifting the veil on their forms and uses would be a first step toward better defining how to support and advance them… So, what’s next ?
Actors with complementary motivations, at least in theory
The motivations of the actors involved are multiple and intertwined: universities are being asked to expand their role at the regional level; research actors are investing in citizen science and related initiatives (such as the “science with and for society” label, Cifre in local authorities, workshop zones, shared laboratories, etc.); in many regions, work with researchers aims to accelerate innovation, develop methods, anticipate risks, etc. Some local authorities are seeking to implement new development paradigms such as the “donut theory” (Raworth, 2017), and want to involve universities in their region; Associations and social enterprises are expressing a need for action research. As for citizens, they are increasingly involved in the process of developing transition policies, particularly from a “citizen science” perspective.
A participatory investigation
However, these approaches are still emerging and difficult to define. Many aspects of the relationship between research and public decision-makers remain unclear. Evaluations have been carried out, but they are rare and little used. Projects supported under these programs are sometimes evaluated, but not the programs as a whole. Their theorization is often weak or unclear.
This is why we have made it our mission to better understand these new formats, based on lessons learned from existing projects (in France and abroad), guided by the realities experienced in the field by researchers, local government officials, and decision-makers.
Our survey will begin in early 2026 and last for six months. It will be conducted in a participatory manner, involving teams from ADEME and our most motivated member communities. Its objective will be to document the specific characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses, as well as the co-benefits for stakeholders, their motives, and the terms of their involvement. It will thus open up a discussion on the best ways to support and advance them, and will conclude with a feedback seminar.
In addition to ADEME, the governance of this project will include a group of local authorities and universities already engaged in this type of initiative. Their teams will participate in the survey alongside the 27th Region, in a spirit of collaboration.
An initial phase of interviews with experts and documentary monitoring based on the state of the art will enable the production of an initial mapping of the actors, the documentation of a selection of existing cases (including some abroad), their categorization based on a number of criteria to be developed, and the identification of research questions.
The survey itself, which will also be administered in a distributed manner, will be based on a series of interviews with project leaders. Workshops, sprints, writing workshops, and “mirror groups” will be used to engage the network of investigators and capitalize on the results. This is not an academic research project, but a small-scale survey that should result in initial actionable proposals (tools, compasses, etc.) and lay the foundations for more ambitious, inter-community action research.
If you work in a community or university, identify with this work, and would like to make a concrete contribution, please contact us at infos [at] la27eregion.fr!
