The project aims at gathering economists and physicists in order to better understand how innovation emerges and spread from the initial scientific discoveries into groundbreaking technologies, and how government policy may support specifically such research and development investments. The burgeoning fields of research that are identified by the generic prefix “Nano” provide an ideal field to study. We are besides at a unique period of time in science and technology history with the development of new technologies for the nanoscale and new scientific artifact like molecular machines. A new wave of public initiatives is about to be launched, with the “Atoms to products” initiative of the US government, or the “quantum technology” flagship of the European Commission. Now is a very opportune time to bring precise answers and corrective actions on how to design an optimal public policy in favor of research. Our recommendations will not be limited to the scope of “nanotechnology” but should apply equally on other fields, and provide a better understanding of how the general framework of innovation –in particular its social organization as well as the public intervention in its favor– facilitates the emergence of radical innovation. We will build a database on research activity (publication), innovation (patents) and funding (public grants) that distinguishes between different types of “nano” fields, to observe their own internal dynamics and the moving frontiers between them. Based on those data, we will analyse more deeply the knowledge value chain in the Nano-field and its evolving network structure. We’ll also characterize innovation output (patents, publications) using in particular backward and forward citation. This will allow mapping and measuring how networks evolve over time and space, what are the critical parameters of these evolutions, when typology of agents and technologies are taken into account, and what type of outputs are produced by such networks. We will also conduct an empirical and a theoretical analysis of the efficiency of public subsidies in favour of R&D. Such policy may become less effective if those subsidies are diverted to technologies with a strong product market rivalry (to the disadvantage of upstream innovation), or simply crowd-out private funds. Empirically, a particular focus will be set on the impact of public academic grants (at the European level, and at the level of regional cluster). This will require quasi-experimental methods in order to avoiding any selection bias when comparing subsidized and unsubsidized projects. A theoretical model will be also developed in order to find out how public policy can screen research projects in accordance with non-observable technological characteristics, such as technological spillovers. These different tasks will not be carried out independently; regular interactions are necessary to refine the assumptions and to achieve greater relevance with respect to economic reality. The ultimate goal is to analyse empirically and theoretically the efficiency of government sponsored R&D under a new angle, that is the analytical grid developed in the two first work packages of this research program. This means finding out the extent to which the efficiency of public R&D subsidies varies depending on the type of technological subfields considered (e.g. upstream vs. downstream innovation, underlying social network, etc..), and to identify the optimal policy – based on a mix of ex-ante subsidies, ex-post prizes, intellectual property rights, information-acquisition efforts. The final recommendations of this research program will be developed in close coordination with policy makers from national and European institutions, and discussed at a policy roundtable that will be organized during an international seminar gathering experts from multiple disciplines (economics, history of science and “hard science” i.e. physicists).

The French economy and its territories have been experiencing a very significant deindustrialization since the second half of the 1970s. Deindustrialization (the decline in the number of jobs in the industrial sector) accelerated during the global crisis of 2007-2008, so much so that France is now among the European countries where the decline in industrial employment has been the greatest (- 2.5 million jobs between 1970 and 2019), and now represents only 11% of total employment (compared to 23.7% in 1970 according to INSEE). However, more and more voices are being heard among politicians, observers and economic actors to call urgently for an industrial renewal of France through the implementation of a powerful dynamic of reindustrialization, especially for strategic industries. The Covid-19 health crisis has given the objective of reindustrialization a sudden boost by providing a new argument of a profoundly political and geopolitical nature: that of national and European industrial sovereignty, an expression of the inseparable link between industry and the notions of power and strategic independence. Based on the improvement of the economy's competitiveness (which is the imperative prerequisite), the objective of reindustrialization has never been so credible, nor so much hoped for, because of this change in context which makes it feasible under certain conditions, a perspective which is also common to other industrialized countries. It is precisely in this context that the IRETRA project fits, whose content has gained in maturity, in hindsight and in conviction on the occasion of its third submission to the ANR. The IRETRA project is part of the Human and Social Sciences (SHS) and is led by 12 researchers who are committed to interdisciplinarity in order to raise the issue of territorial reindustrialization to the level of an object of study, which is not yet the case. This will be approached through its stakes, its conditions, its modalities, its current and future forms. Clearly positioned in axis 1.1 of the "CES 26 Innovation, work", this project intends to show that innovation in all its facets (technological, social, organizational), and work (from the perspective of its transformation and the rise of skills) are the main vectors that will make the reindustrialization of the French economy possible. How do they interact with each other? What types of management are used? How do local territories take hold of them or not through their actors and make their practices evolve? This project intends to take into account the complexity of these articulations, but also their promise for the future. Without being exclusive, these two essential vectors for the construction of the new attractiveness and competitiveness of territories will structure this project from start to finish. The challenges posed in terms of raising the level of qualifications, reducing the drudgery of work, developing initial and vocational training to meet employers' expectations, and the rapid transformation of professions will be studied. The project will also study the new relationships that are already developing between employees and technologies, following the advent of Industry 4.0 since the early 2010s. This has already begun to transform part of the industry by allowing it to remain in France and to redeploy there thanks to significant improvements in productivity and competitiveness; it is also likely to encourage relocation.

Mainstream adaptation to the imperatives of sustainable development remains largely technological. In a period in which governance promotes citizen participation, insurgent planning experiences multiply, as do urban co-production practices uniting civil society, universities, professionals and sometimes allies within public authorities. These initiatives carry fundamental social innovations for transitions-to-sustainability, especially in deprived areas. Rather than the greening of technologies, CoPolis insists on the importance of cooperation tools in adaptations to sustainable development. As societies increasingly claim the need to debate and the power to influence governance systems, collaborative practices can overcome some of the remaining gaps between civil society, professionals and, to a certain extent, government. They are poles of social and democratic innovation that explore concrete alternatives for reduced socio-spatial inequalities and for inclusion. France and Brazil are two countries which have a long history of cooperation and collective and community involvement in urban and professional sectors, including in the areas where the most discriminated of populations live. This project explores the potential of co-production in the adaptation to sustainability imperatives: reducing social and environmental vulnerabilities, building more democratic governance, empowering vulnerable populations and the cognitive effects of knowledge co-production. Departing from the tensions between cooperative practices and the “collaborative cul-de-sac” (Laurent, 2018), we will critically assess the impacts of these approaches on civil society, the third sector and the production of a “solidary transition urbanism”. These aspects are analysed through the mens of social and spatial justice. The project tackles three main research questions: on the origins and development conditions of these collaborations; on the relationship between political and institutional contexts and the organisational configurations of collaborative practices; and on the organisation and the circulation of knowledge within each collaboration and the role played by different types of intermediary actors. To do so, CoPolis will implement mixed methods, including qualitative research and participatory action-research protocols. We will investigate nine French and Brazilian case studies with different urban issues at stake: metropolitan megaprojects in working class neighbourhoods; large-scale urban renewal projects; and collective initiatives in housing and transition urbanisms. Moreover, the project will tackle long-lasting collaborative practices in working-class neighbourhoods and their circulation. Regarding action-research, the team will implement a survey with partners among local intermediary actors and residents. We will implement protocols to co-construct objectives, identify means for action and implementation. It will be one of the ways of observing collaborative practices. Thus, CoPolis is a comparative and participatory project, anchored in partnerships with intermediary actors and civil society organisations. In doing so, CoPolis will also assess the tangible gains due to the collaborative practices implemented during the project, in relation to the political and institutional contexts which influence organised civil society’s action possibilities. That is why the project will shed light on the conditions encouraging the emergence and consolidation of collaborative practices. At the same time, results on organisational configurations and cooperative tools will be produced. These two types of results will feed an intense effort of dissemination.

TransIndiandairy addresses technical, organisational and institutional levers to upscale agroecological transitions. It does it by developing a multiscale framework on institutional resources regime guiding the analysis (both qualitative and quantitative) and supporting the integration of results. Indian dairy systems are chosen as case study for their local and international importance and for the unprecedented scale of their transition. Concretely, the team of 12 social and biotechnical scientists will analyse the coevolution between the business models involved in the production, processing and marketing of dairy products in three Indian states (WP1) and the multiscale governance of the transitions (WP2). It will also assess the systems multidimensional performance (matter and energy flows, value creation and distribution, resilience) (WP3). Project outcomes will be both scientific (articles, report, PhD) and operational (unlocking, knowledge spreading, scientific cooperation).

Global urban and environmental challenges create tensions and vulnerabilities and the need for rethinking modes of city production. Growing spatial and social inequalities in cities raise a concern that traditional modes of knowing and governing the city are no longer adapted. Our project analyses other modes of city production emerging since a decade in tri or quadripartite cooperation in Europe and Southern countries: broad alliances leading to concrete collaborative urban action between citizens, professionals, the non-profit private sector, local authorities and universities. The research aims at filling the wide gap in comparative understandings of the governance of collaborative practices for a just and sustainable city. Research organizations show greater interest for participatory practices, but new alliances’ potentials and their internal mobilization into collaborative urban actions to drive change in planning practices are underestimated . A multidisciplinary and comparative (North/South) approach is necessary to bring major stakeholders to develop common research on collaborative initiatives for justice and sustainability. FAIRVILLE’s research emphasis is on citizen-based collaborative urban initiatives through a methodology also based on collaborative tools, namely their potential for social and spatial innovation through a co-designed analysis of the full process of alliance creation and knowledge production during implementation. On the one hand, the team will investigate the plural forms of knowledge which emerge through participatory and collaborative tools. Identifying the channels and obstacles to shared knowledge and skills in increasingly horizontal collaborations between researchers, facilitators and organized city dwellers, is an important step in Fairville’s contribution. On the other hand, we will analyse the organizational dimension of collaborative practices and their contribution to democratic governance; and alliances’ ability to counteract social and environmental vulnerabilities, deal with conflicts and define a common agenda of socio-spatial justice and transition-to-sustainability. Thus, the project will inform public policies on the outputs for city planning of inclusionary initiatives in regeneration and upgrading programs, risk mitigation, access to sustainable environments and services. It also aims at enhancing city-dwellers’ recognition and especially the role of the less privileged, migrants and women in research and by research. To do so, it is necessary to bring together different disciplines and all types of actors involved in these alliances, in their diversity and complementarity. The consortium includes four types of stakeholders in urban participatory contexts in the Global North and South who implement horizontal work methods with local residents: (a) SSH specialists involved in international research projects on collaborative urban initiatives (b) supra-local organizations and NGO providing support, expertise and peer-to-peer training to citizen movements (c) regional civil society platforms eager to promote community development and support (d) facilitators and civil society organizations including residents. Citizen science is present all along the research process, by engaging residents of deprived neighborhoods working in collaborative processes with consortium members. Democratization of planning process and change in participatory methods precisely come from alliances of some organizations support and advisory groups with residents and generally women among their active members, added to universities. Integration of all these members including non-professionals will occur through a co-elaboration of knowledge production, co-design of survey and planning co-decisions. Together with critical and analytical research Fairville wishes to unpack power relations and critically assess the outcomes: empowerment, increase in influence and more equitable resource distribution.