Research Group 3 « Institutions and Levels of Public Action »

Leads: Thomas Frinault et Sébastien Segas

The Research Group focused on “Institutions and Levels of Public Action” comprises a dozen members including researchers, researcher-lecturers and PhD students. They analyse the many territorial aspects of public policy by bringing into play political science, sociology and public health studies. This inter-disciplinary team is based in several academic locations (Sciences Po Rennes, Rennes 2 University, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique).

The work of the “Institutions and Levels of Public Action” team centres in particular on how local public policy is constructed taking a comparative approach. This key issue can be subdivided into four areas that provide a focus for the team’s research work:

• Impacts of standardisation and differentiation in the field of local public policy;
• Analysis of decentralising and territorial reform processes;
• The interconnection, within the dynamics of public policy, between different institutional levels (multi-level governance);
• Public participation in public policy making.

Pursing one or the other of these perspectives, members of the “Institutions and Levels of Public Action” team have worked or currently work on research subjects like: analysis of regional powers in Europe, dependency policies, the sociology of territorialised public administration, territorial development policies, youth-focused policies, etc.

 A few examples of current research projects:

• Investigation into payroll-related issues with the support of GRALE (Research Group on Local Administration in Europe);
• International investigation into the convergence/divergence of territorial governance processes in Europe;
• Joint and national (multi-site) research on metropolisation coordinated by Guillaume Gourgues / IRES funding;
• Research supported by GRALE on the politicisation of payroll management;
• Joint and national (multi-site) research coordinated by Guillaume Marrel on how anti-overlap legislation impacts the strategies of elected representatives.

Our involvement in networks:

• Participation in joint research, close connection with the activities of the “Territories and Mutations of Public Action” (TPAM) chair (organisation of science days; training of elected representatives and territorial managers);
• International summer school on “Local Democracy, Decentralisation and Multi-level Governance” (1^st event in 2016) organised under the auspices of the TMAP chair;
• Network members (GRALE);
• Member of science journal boards (Politiques Européennes, Pouvoirs Locaux, Revue Gouvernance)
• Inter-disciplinary seminar common to Arènes (UMR 6051) and ESO (UMR 6590 / geography-land planning)