Organizing the Dual Sporting-Social Project for High-Level Athletes in France

Abstract

Following on from studies focusing on the working of the state administration, the aim of this study is to conduct an empirical examination of the way in which one particular public policy — that concerning the dual social and sporting training of high-level athletes in France — is implemented. Because the aim is to respond as effectively as possible to the specifics of the problems encountered, it is on the local level that stakeholders have to come to an agreement and find common solutions built around coordination between departments. Through an analysis of the registers of action elaborated by the stakeholders in charge of this mission — the local civil servants of two Ministries (Sport on the one hand, National Education on the other) — the aim here is to see how they construct the rules of the collective action required to manage this dual project. This investigation was conducted through semi-directive interviews and reveals that the institutional positions and professional logic of each category of stakeholder create tensions within the partnership, that have a negative influence on the effectiveness of the way this dual project is organized.