The projects launched or supported by CIRM focus on the convergence of expertise and the involvement of professionals and practitioners. They aim to refine our understanding of the city through multidisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration. They value not only the knowledge developed in laboratories and university seminars, but also the knowledge 鈥渙n the ground鈥�, born from the experience of local actors.

鈥淎ction聽research is a process in which social actors are no longer considered as mere passive objects of investigation, but increasingly become subjects conducting research with the collaboration of professional researchers. It is therefore the social groups concerned who will identify the problems they want to study, carry out a critical analysis of them and seek the corresponding solutions.鈥澛�(G.聽Leboterf, 1983)