Research

For an administration, transparency corresponds to the possibility of citizens having free access to all the documents and information it holds (subject to overriding private or public interests). Transparency is a modern means of public sector governance which enables the following objectives to be met: improving citizens’ trust in the administration, increasing its effectiveness and favouring citizen participation in the political decision-making process. This research project’s principal goals are to study whether these objectives are reached and by what means the administration promotes or impedes access to information.

Thesis project : Vincent Mabillard, The effects of administrative transparency on citizens’ trust: the case of medicines.

Public organisations have been subject to numerous contemporary changes, such as the increase in the number and diversity of actors, a reworking of traditional hierarchies in favour of a more networked approach to public service delivery, greater transparency, and so on. Furthermore, the State is increasingly forced to clearly separate the role of the regulator from that of the owner. Faced with these changes, organisations enjoying a certain level of autonomy in the conduct of their actions must develop rules of governance that are adapted to this new context. Notably, they must improve the manner in which they can be held accountable for their decisions and activities. This field of research studies the definition and application of these rules of governance in autonomous institutions under public law.

Thesis project: Raphaël Zumofen, How accountability affects organisational performance—the case of organisations responsible for active measures in the event of unemployment.

Significant measures are taken and investments are made to promote and market the images or brands of countries, cities and territories more broadly. Nevertheless, studies demonstrate that territories have very stable images and that the impacts of positive or negative events on them are weak or inexistent. This research project aims to understand the concept of “Place Brand ” and study the contribution of territorial branding to the attractivity of that same territory..

Thesis project: Renaud Vuignier, The role of political–institutional agreements in the implementation of a territorial branding strategy and in the operational management of a territorial brand.