Abstract
Sciences Shops, which disappeared in the 1980s, reappeared in the French research landscape in the 2010s. Promoted by those in France who supported their development as a network at an international level, today they are part of a context of change in Science-Society relations. Stuck between a "social demand" for the resolution of complex problems and the scientific community, which is supposed to be able to respond to these demands, we note that there is a need to renew the place as well as the role of science in the face of current socio-environmental issues. Science Shops thus bring together the development of joint projects between researchers, civil society organizations and sometimes students. This support is divided into three operational categories that illustrate the current renewal of Science Shops: intermediation, co-construction and incubation. This article is based on two case studies. They describe the trajectories and operating methods of the Science Shop in Lyon, and the Trait d’Union mechanism in Montpellier. This comparison focuses on the modes of governance, the modalities for receiving collaboration requests and the incubation of the co-construction phases of supported participatory projects. An analysis of the impact of these mechanisms on field actors, researchers and students is alsogiven. This reflection allows us to question the contribution of Science Shops to the transformation of the relationship between science and society and feeds the debates that are currently taking place on the epistemological, ethical, political and economic dimensions of scientific research as well as on the space that should be given to participatory research. Finally, the article questions the support methods necessary for the perpetuation and development of these types of territorial interfaces, which are still very precarious today.