Territory, Institutional Work, and Policy Co-creation: The Case of Venelles in Transition[Territoire, travail institutionnel et co-création des politiques publiques locales : le cas de Venelles en Transition]

The article aims to understand how the territory influences the organizational dimension of institutional work of territorial managers deploying co-creation in the face of societal challenges. Co-creation is perceived as a solution for these problems requiring innovative and collaborative approaches. However, these practices are emerging and must be adapted to the context. The findings of our qualitative single case study show a paradoxical model of institutional work: the territory can both facilitate and complicate the institutional work of territorial managers. Their practices are based on a hierarchical and top-down logic, with a centralized, closed, and internal organization of institutional work when the territory facilitates the action. On the other hand, during the co-creation process, the territory complicates institutional work, which is based on a bottomup logic, emerging practices, and a dispersed, open and territorial organization of institutional work.