Diving into territorial innovation with a key player in ZAN

3 Questions to Benoît Parent, Director of the SCoT of the Greater Grenoble Area

What factors led you to participate in the 2023/2024 journey of the territorial innovation catalyst, organized by the Inclusive Sustainability Chair at Grenoble Ecole de Management?

"I have had a long-standing relationship with Thibault Daudigeos, Associate Dean for Research, professor, and co-founder of the TeT chair, particularly during my time at the Urban Planning Agency of the Grenoble Region (AURG). The Chair demonstrates an ability to approach territorial policies in a cross-disciplinary and complementary way to that of a technical engineering organization. The public institution overseeing the SCoT of the Greater Grenoble Area brings together local authorities (intercommunalities) and is responsible for the 'SCoT' document. We are on the front line in facing the complexities of implementing the ZAN law.

The issue of ZAN is central to the prospective solutions developed by the territorial innovation catalyst – a pilot program of collective reflections and actions led by the TeT chair at GEM. What are your expectations from this initiative?"

"Local authorities and all territorial stakeholders must break with over 50 years of territorial planning. The disruption brought about by ZAN questions all models. And sometimes, we simply don’t yet know how to do it... The territorial innovation catalyst, focused on ZAN, clearly provides an initial building block.

ZAN is a means, not an end. Its implementation will have a strong impact in several areas. The question raised by this initiative is how to collectively think about the territory of tomorrow. All actors who will be impacted should be involved. The framework established by these collective exchanges adopts a very dynamic approach, offering a fresh perspective on the ZAN issue. Project management is the cornerstone of this methodology. It helps enrich our approach to ZAN and measure its complexity. Because there is not ‘one’ solution, but ‘many’ solutions. The participation of multiple stakeholders in the initiative helps keep us humble and pragmatic."

What are the first contributions from your participation in the workshops?

"The SCoT of the Greater Grenoble Area is the largest SCoT in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. The great diversity of the territories involved – from Trièves to the heart of the Metropolis, including Belledonne, Voironnais, Bièvre, and Saint Marcellin – adds to the complexity of implementing ZAN while fostering solidarities and complementarities. The rules are collective, but they must be applied differently depending on the territories.

I see several benefits arising from these exchanges: the work presented by Mark Olsthoorn, professor and researcher at GEM, on #wickedproblems (problems with complex solutions) was particularly insightful in untangling the complexity of ZAN. The learning, in terms of posture, has been significant.

Furthermore, as a professional in territorial planning, I have a fairly good understanding of the content of the ZAN law, compared to other actors involved in the process. The major benefit of these workshops is that they enable me to adopt an open attitude and remain receptive to the issues raised by various stakeholders: citizens, notaries, construction companies, etc. The aim of the catalyst is indeed to stay connected in order to collaborate with diverse partners. Because ZAN can quickly become technical and lose its meaning in the process. The TeT chair’s initiative provides key insights for each participant and brings these issues down to the level of all the stakeholders. This is essential."