Introduction to The Public Factory

Description

The Public Factory is a structure that opened in Lyon at the start of the 2018 academic year. The Public Factory offers modular, user-friendly spaces for student and teaching communities, as well as local stakeholders (government departments, local authorities, businesses, associations). The Public Factory is made up of a range of spaces where people can meet, get together, and take part in events, as well as learning, sharing, and debating.

What is the format about?

Its aim is to develop a scientific, artistic, and civic program in line with the activities of the school, Science Po Lyon and its Foundation, but it was also created on the basis of a Political Science teaching program designed to involve fourth-year students in concrete and complex issues of general interest to which the humanities and social sciences can provide useful food for thought and answers.

The aim of the Public Factory is to create links between students, researchers, policymakers (state, local and hospital civil servants, institutions, elected representatives), semi-public and socioeconomic players around issues of transforming public action. The University of Lyon 2, the IAE Lyon 3, the ENS, and the University of Lyon also participate by mobilizing their students for certain projects while developing a science, arts, and civic program linked to the activities of the school, Science Po Lyon and its Foundation.

Over a period of six years, the Public Factory has carried out nearly 50 projects involving more than 300 students and 40 different partners. Every year, around a hundred students work with local authorities, government departments, businesses, and associations that are committed to tackling issues of public interest.

How does the format work?

Public Factory projects are carried out in the form of action training. They are based on phases of research and immersion in the field, enabling students to meet the various players involved in or impacted by the theme of the project. This is a pedagogical method of in-situation training with an enhanced creative and professional dimension. The common theme is the action-research approach to teaching by Kurt Lewin.

More concretely, here are the different steps in a Public Factory project

1) Each year, there is a call for expressions of interest concerning public policy projects.

When the request is received, the problem is approached and rethought in consultation with the teams at the Public Factory and the lecturers. This is the step of collaborative work and redefinition of the scope of intervention and expectations.

Parallel to this, students form groups of eight to ten students from September to April (out of a total of around 100 students).

2) The central idea is to immerse the project teams in the field to understand how the various stakeholders experience the chosen problem. Parallel to this, the project teams draw up a literature review to guide their work through the literature relevant to their subject.

3) Finally, a feedback session is organized for each project, giving the students the opportunity to present their conclusions and recommendations to all the partners, teachers, and professionals present. Each year, we can count on around 15 projects for around 100 students. The results of the work are free, as the Public Factory wishes to be part of the knowledge commons.

Examples

Public Factory website: https://www.sciencespo-lyon.fr/public-factory/

Projects for the year 2025-26: sciencespo-lyon.fr/public-factory/dispositif-pedagogique/projets-de-lannee-en-cours-2/

Sources and further reading

Action-Research and Kurt Lewin: https://cedrea.net/La-demarche-de-recherche-action-une-rupture-epistemologique

Do you want to know more about the policy engagement toolkit?

Do you want to share your experience in policy engagement? Do you think about contributing to the policy engagement toolkit? Feel free to contact Tome Sandevski via science-policy@pvw.uni-frankfurt.de