Territoires en résidences • La 27e Région

Summary

Run on 19 occasions between 2009 and 2017, ‘Territoires en Résidences’ is the first programme developed by La 27e Région. The way it works is simple: for three one-week periods, a multidisciplinary team immerses itself in a local initiative – a neighbourhood, a secondary school, a community centre – and examines how it operates from the perspective of its users in order to propose practical improvements.

Context and aims

An alternative to traditional engineering approaches

The usual engineering services commissioned by public bodies (research, consultancy, evaluation) are often costly and ill-suited to the challenges and needs of users of public facilities and services. How can we help to rethink, improve and refocus the implementation of public policies by drawing on users’ actual practices and experiences? Inspired by artist residencies, Territoires en Résidences has been rolled out across the country as an alternative to conventional approaches to public policy-making.

Making a proof of concept

This ‘lightning-fast’ approach, embedded at the heart of public policy, has enabled the residencies to be rolled out across more than 19 sites and an equal number of themes, ranging from the overhaul of existing public schemes to the creation of new services and issues relating to public management. Territoires en résidences aims to demonstrate, through experimentation, the value of an approach based on observing actual usage, drawing on the expertise of citizens and professionals on the ground, and rapidly prototyping and testing public policies.