Conference Program

At least three processes are currently pushing social science researchers to become involved in the evaluation and support of public action in education. The first two are closely linked to contemporary public management. On the one hand, they refer to results-based management and to the growing expectation that public policy should be guided by measurable objectives, which research is expected to help assess. On the other hand, the academic world itself is increasingly required to produce “results,” a requirement that translates into budgetary constraints on research and into the expectation that researchers secure their own funding through competitive calls for projects. These calls are supposed to foster more “efficient” research, better aligned with social needs.

A third process is also likely at work, one that is more specific to the academic world and to sociological research. In its effort to establish its legitimacy as a science, sociology has long emphasized a distanced stance vis-à-vis action (Durkheim, 1895). Having already demonstrated its scientific validity, it now increasingly allows itself to become an “engaged” form of research (Burawoy, 2021)—one that seeks to associate with public action or even to take part in it, as is the case with participatory research and action research.

What are the stakes of research work that becomes an additional partner in partnership-based public policies? What are the possibilities for such “engaged” research to become a genuine tool of reflexivity for practitioners in the field? What are the risks of instrumentalization and of losing the rigor required for the production of knowledge within a specific scientific field?

We have been confronted with these questions (and continue to be), as we are involved in the evaluation processes of six Cités éducatives. The Cités éducatives (CE), implemented experimentally in 2019 and significantly expanded in 2022 and again in 2025, are a French national policy label targeting disadvantaged urban areas. They are structured around three strategic objectives: strengthening the role of schools; promoting educational continuity; and expanding horizons and opportunities. These objectives are translated into territorial goals and then into annual action plans targeting children and young people aged 0 to 25.

At the heart of this initiative lies the imperative to opening schools to external partners and foster connections among all local educational stakeholders. The tripartite governance structure (communal authorities, national education system, and State) is a representative example of this imperative. As academic evaluators, we are thus one partner among others, expected to contribute to shaping local public policy.

In this paper, we propose a reflexive account of the research-evaluation process. After briefly presenting the Cités éducatives label and our methodological approach, we analyze two concrete fieldwork experiences. The first concerns attempts to exert control over data, analyses, and publications. The second examines a feedback process aimed at deconstructing practices, which ultimately ends up standardizing action. These two cases allow us to highlight the risks inherent in such partnerships, while also reflecting on the potential contributions of engaged research.