Support for participatory research: the « third-watchers » system

Whether in industry or public services, participation support is already established in many sectors of activity. Research has taken hold of this field at the same time as growing collaborative practices between researchers and organized civil society players are developing, with clear support from institutions on the one hand, and multi-disciplinary environmental science projects are increasingly involving technical partners (farmers, foresters, energy specialists, etc.) on the other. The concept of the "third-party monitor" emerged in France as part of the REPERE program set up in 2009 by the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, around the need for reflexivity, observation and capitalization on the experience of collaboration between stakeholders and researchers. It was then extended to the CO3 (Co-Construction de Connaissances) program, with the aim of supporting the co-constructed nature of research projects at every stage. These two experiments have helped to structure participatory research support practices. Based on the observation that these practices are gradually spreading, this article sets out to draw a number of lessons from them and put them into perspective.

The analysis is based on the authors' involvement in the implementation and operation of the tiers-veilleur system. The aim here is not to present research results, but rather to provide an enlightened two-voice account, and to raise questions about the social, political, epistemological and economic issues involved in supporting participatory research in a French context, extended in places to the French-speaking world. As a "witness", Claire Brossaud contributed to the knowledge commons movement with the VECAM association in the 2000s, which coordinated the "Science and Democracy" World Social Forum with Sciences Citoyennes in 2009. In Lyon, she co-founded the Coexiscience third-party space – Cooperating and experimenting with science differently. She has accompanied several "community research" and participatory projects, including three as a third-party monitor on CO3. Cyril Fiorini is an associate of Sciences Citoyennes, in charge of coordinating the third-party watchdog scheme within the association as part of the CO3 program. He oversees the monitoring of accompaniments. As a doctoral student in Sciences, Techniques and Society at the HT2S laboratory of the CNAM, he was a member of the scientific committee set up as part of the "Le tiers-veilleur: un acteur de la recherche participative" project with the Fondation de France and Sciences Citoyennes from 2016. The raw material for this account is made up of several immersive experiences, including accompanying the projects themselves, participating in CO3 steering bodies, inclusion in various transversal workshops bringing together third-party...