The topic
The analytical concept of public policy was defined in the 1980s in order to help researchers grasp all the activities carried out by public authorities through space and time, governed by institutional actors and pursuing a common goal. Since then, both private and public actors have appropriated the term, which allows them to frame their activities within the sectoral public policies they lead. Thus, the term of public policy has moved on from the field of research to field of the day-to-day politico-administrative reality. Since the 1990s, this move has contributed to a significant restructuring of the public sector thanks to the inquiries it initiated about evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of public action.