EVALUATION OF SOCIAL AND SOLIDARITY ECONOMY ACTORS IN FRANCE IN SUPPORTING MIGRANT POPULATIONS: WHAT INDICATORS? WHAT TOOLS?
The construction of “integrative” public policies generates new international solidarities. The aim here is to take stock of the situation with the actors of the Grenoble region, Briançon and the Italian border
So-called “participatory” evaluation principles
This study seeks to describe the principles of the evaluation of SSE actors and migrants, in an approach of developing so-called “participatory” or “inclusive” evaluation processes, then to compare them to the evaluations of institutions (communities, state institutions). The aim is to verify that the evaluation methods of SSE actors and migrants are not standardized in relation to a quantitative, non-categorical and performance-oriented approach. This approach made it possible to analyze the reciprocal influence within organizations that the diversity of evaluation methods generates.
Investigating in so-called “welcoming” Alpine territories
The survey took place from September 2018 to September 2019 in two so-called “welcoming” Alpine territories: Grenoble and Briançon. Although they do not describe themselves as “pro-migrant”, the citizens and communities of the two municipalities have been very active in welcoming and supporting migrants. Their town halls also participated in the creation, on September 28, 2018, in Lyon, of the association of welcoming cities and territories. This local dynamism of associations, citizens and communities made it easier to meet with the people interviewed (associations, residents’ groups and migrants).
Given the particular situation of Briançon as a transit territory and given existing studies, this research incorporated participant observation as a method prior to the survey: participation in meals and in putting away clothes with volunteers, association leaders and people arriving from Italy, which made it possible to better understand their situation and their vision.
Building new evaluation methods
Many associations and communities face social, political and economic issues to ensure the reception and rights of migrants. In the production of indicators, the imposed uniformity leads to a routinization of practices and ultimately turns out to be a soft power in relationships, as well as a precise tool for the domination of a certain type of actors.
The standardization of the “cost-result” approach, or the development of performance-based approaches, prevents the diversification of types of companies, leads to the denial of the “Other” and its values, and harms the imagination of the social body.
It is now necessary to build new evaluation methods, to value the actions of SSE actors and to take into account other indicators in order to energize political and social life.
Generating new international solidarities
This research is the development of previous work on the construction of indicators in the evaluations of public development aid policies. The constructions of “integrative” public policies and their failure generate new international solidarities. The aim here was to take stock of them through qualitative and quantitative surveys of actors in the Grenoble region, Briançon and the Italian border.
This research reports on the construction of indicators in the sociology of power but also in the sociology of knowledge, the evaluation clearly entering the political field.
Biography
Cristèle Bernard obtained her thesis in political science at the Lyon Center for International Security and Defense Studies (CLESID) of the University of Lyon 3 under the supervision of Taouk Bourgou and Professor Babaly Sall. She has worked for over 15 years with associations for the defense of human rights, the prevention of crimes against humanity, and associations for democratic and civic development in France and Senegal. She was also an evaluation expert at the European Commission in the EACEA 2020 (Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency) projects for the development in Europe of projects relating in particular to culture, civic participation and youth.