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AbstractA work for the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development (formerly MEDD) has, through the study of three sites of the former mining area in the region of Nord Pas de Calais highlight the links between models of regional development and perception of environmental issues. This contribution aims to reflect more precisely the modalities of a link between development models (which describe the result of collective action) and actors involved in this action.

Keywords: action collective, développement durable, reconversion économique, Collective action, regional development, sustainable development

This article questions the budgetary decision of the French local authorities, as a democratic process, faced with the 2008 economic globalization crisis, which turned into a public finances “crisis.” With the involvement of the states, a European “government” of austerity has been established through various reforms. The methodology crosses the (neo)institutional analysis of reforms, the statistical analysis of local budgets, and a survey based on interviews. A typology of concrete budgetary choices shows that the elitist and technocratic models are predominant with regard to the democratic model. Despite the variety of the actors' budgetary plays, the change in local public action is difficult, particularly because of the traditional spending culture within the French local system. These results question the political legitimacy of decentralization, managerial performance, and the representative democracy of proximity.

Keywords: action publique, collectivités locales, finances publiques, décision, démocratie, élite, technocratie, légitimité, crise, austérité, public action, local authorities, public finances, decision, democracy, elite, technocracy, legitimacy, crisis, austerity

This article proposes a critical review of the social construction of young people who are neither in employment, education or training (NEET) as a category of public action and as a response to immobility and to youth poverty. After defining activation in relation to a governmentality regime, it highlights the conditions of origin and extension of this category. This critical feedback makes it possible to identify some prescriptions and normative issues of activation policies and intervention practices that target today's young NEET. This article also makes it possible to question the effectiveness of these policies and practices in terms of mobilization, access to employment and the fight against poverty.

Keywords: État social actif, politiques d'activation, jeunes, mobilité, emploi, pauvreté, intégration socioprofessionnelle, NEEF, action publique, Active Welfare State, activation policy, Youth, NEET, mobility, employment, poverty, socio-professional integration

This paper addresses the question of innovation in the context of community governance of forestry. More precisely, we analyze the case of the Conseil de gestion intégrée des forêts publiques du Madawaska-Restigouche (CGIFP) in northern New Brunswick. In that province, local communities usually have little say in forest management. The CGIFP represents an attempt to allow community actors to get past that frontier and become full partners in the governance of regional forests. We analyze innovation in the CGIFP from two perspectives. First, as a solution to a specific problem- the very severe forestry crisis. Second, as a process which involves looking at the elements that were instrumental in the initiative's success and the remaining challenges.

This paper deals with changes in advisory institutions in the science and technology field. The structure, roles and membership of committees in the field of advanced industrial materials are studied. Three large groups are well represented (industrial managers, who are gaining importance; academic researchers; public organization managers), while three others are nearly absent (provincial government; public laboratory researchers; industrial associations). Members of committees are representative of programme's clienteles, although they are not always among the prime beneficiaries. Managers of public research organizations try to legitimize their activiries and increase their clientele through the involvement of industrial representatives.

Since the 2000s, the organisations in the home-care sector, which have traditionally been nonprofit, have had to adapt to changes in public policy. The introduction of competition and changes in funding systems have subjected the sector to market forces and profoundly altered the situation for home-care providers. The evolution of policy representations is the focus of this article. The policy vision of home-care and its evaluation, as it appears in the reports preceding the laws and government measures that increased competition in the sector, impacts the practices of actors in the sector, especially the nonprofit organisations.

As part of an analysis of the growth of the activities of the ten provincial governments in the domains of immigration and integration since the 1990s, this paper proposes a revitalization of the concept of “province building.” Taking as its starting point the criticisms of Robert A. Young, Philippe Faucher, and André Blais (1984), it is suggested to reposition province building as a social mechanism. Through this mechanistic approach and building on ten case studies, it proposes that the mechanism of province building operates via three components: activation, consensus building, and institutionalization. Despite these similarities in operation, the mechanism of province building produces variegated effects, depending on the context in which it is engaged. The heuristic potential of this approach is illustrated by tracing how a mechanism of province building centered on immigration has operated in Manitoba since the 1990s.