Contenu du sommaire : La démarche de projet. Projets de développement, grands chantiers, modernisation du service public

From the Evaluation of Projects to their Economic Analysis The experience of economic analysis of investment projects in the developing countries in Africa shows a growing gap between the soundness of the model and the way these investments have been implemented : it is the case with project evaluations based on the «method of effects» or the «method of reference prices». In the 1980s, we witnessed a questioning of projects in the development process and of structural adjustment programs underscoring the preeminence of a global financial macro-economic approach. But new stakes have appeared, justifying the need for a new approach toward project analysis, in a context characterized by the growing number of diverse actors. economic approach. But new stakes have appeared, justifying the need for a new approach toward project analysis, in a context characterized by the growing number of diverse actors.

Cooperation through Projects : the Change in Practices and Mentalities In the field of international cooperation, projects are supposed to introduce and test the changes in practices which will later be institutionalized to become a local or national policy in a specific sector. But they need to be based on the real shared experience of both countries. They must try to encompass the different aspects of development as well as the changes in attitudes and mentality underlying it.

From Project Management to the Involvment of the Enterprise In the past, people used to be interested in investments resulting in major works projects ; they thought they only had to make investments to achieve development. Today people are more concerned about creating suitably managed and profitable activities within an economy that is more healthy overall. Without questioning the utility of the public service, the best managing methods (public, semi-public, private) are being sought after, notably through specific agreements and company strategies jointly with in-depth studies on pricing.

Financing and Conditions The terms of the conditions imposed by a State or lending body on the borrowing countries has changed considerably in the last 25 years. It was first a question of micro-economic conditions (determining a profitable project, inserting a project in an overall plan) then macro-economic (respecting the code of conduct demanded by the IMF and the World Bank, economic austerity, financial discipline, opening to the free-market system and to competition, pre-established priorities by sector). It seems that we are now headed towards political and social conditions with the obligation to respect human rights, the laws of the nation and political pluralism guaranteed by free elections.

The Process of Planning a Project : a Demanding Method for Administrative Reform We are now witnessing a new discovery of the process toward producing an administrative reform project. Ministerial plans for modernisation, projects in favor of delegating wider authority to State representatives in local areas, «service project» and responsibility centers are many ways designed to better match immediate action with future prospects, individual interest and the organisational constraints, basic innovation and strategic planification. So that these steps involved in producing a project may contribute towards an in-depth change in traditional administration, close coopération is needed between a strong political willingness to renovate on the part of government leaders and a wide autonomy in management, and a wider participation at the lower levels in the administration.

The Service Project at the Heart of Public Management Questions The main interesting aspect of the process involved in the «service project» is matching the objectives of the general policy of modernisation of the public service with the personal hopes of Civils Servants. The study of past experience in the Administration has shown that their success depends on a series of factors and particularly on the strategy used to introduce the change, on the organisational context, on the degree of involvment on the part of middle and top-ranking Civil Servants and on the evolution of union practices. It seems indispensable to combine the process involved in the «service project » that includes the participation of Civil Servants in major decision-making with new methods of human resources management.