@ARTICLE{10.21494/ISTE.OP.2022.0846, 

TITLE={Trajectory of a strategic action field: can citizen sciences melt in science?}, 
  
AUTHOR={Evelyne F. Lhoste, }, 
	
JOURNAL={Technology and Innovation}, 
	
VOLUME={7}, 

NUMBER={Issue 3}, 
	
YEAR={2022}, 

URL={http://openscience.fr/Trajectory-of-a-strategic-action-field-can-citizen-sciences-melt-in-science}, 
	
DOI={10.21494/ISTE.OP.2022.0846}, 
	
ISSN={2399-8571}, 
	
ABSTRACT={The aim of this paper is a better understanding of the evolution path of citizen sciences. I enlist the concept of the strategic action field, a concept rooted in the theories of collective action [FLI 12]. The first part of the article is a socio-historical analysis of activities defined as citizen sciences. In the second part, I draw on the agency of the strategic action field’s incumbents, namely the public authorities and associations, to analyze its evolution path. Associations, and in particular those labeled « éducation populaire », are historically linked to the state and depend on public funding. They are the most widespread administrative form of civil society organizations. They have gradually obscured their research activities while Fligstein and McAdam posit that the evolution path of a strategic action field depends on the actors’ capacity to construct a common identity and objectives. Other associations are pleading for the acknowledgment of their role in research. The transformation of public policies will be decisive for the development of the field.}}