La construction des indicateurs de performance des services d'eau en France : mesurer le développement durable ?

Résumé Fr En

Dans un contexte de défiance des usagers face à leurs services d’eau, la quantification de la performance par des indicateurs s’est construite par synthèse des contributions des parties prenantes. L’analyse de ce processus illustre les tractations autour de la définition des indicateurs. Malgré leur technicité et leur objectivité apparente, ils reflètent des intérêts particuliers et ne garantissent aucune neutralité. On appréhende ainsi comment les difficultés de la mesure et les emplois attendus des indicateurs influent sur leur définition. En effet, les enjeux contrastés entre les usages de contrôle et d’information ont été le principal moteur de la sélection du panel. Le développement durable apparaît, in fine, comme une légitimation a posteriori de la démarche, qui peut se prévaloir d’aborder des dimensions non financières et d’inclure diverses parties prenantes.

The construction of performance indicators for French water services: do they measure sustainable development?French water services have been characterized by a high level of fragmentation of local authorities and have often been delegated to private operators. During the 90s price increases and corruption brought water utilities under the spotlight. Performance indicators (PI) then appeared to be an interesting tool for restoring trust and drawing attention to complementary operation aspects. As the creation of a national regulation authority was being debated, many stakeholder working groups developed their own PI selections. Despite the technical nature of the PI and its seeming objectivity, they reflect particular interests and do not actually guarantee any neutrality. The diversity of initiatives underlines the two main uses of external reporting: control or information. Even after the French regulation reform was abandoned (2002), the PI definition converged with a new law (2007). Our analysis allows us to understand how measurement difficulties and the expected uses of indicators influence their own definition. As a result, sustainable development can be seen as an ex post legitimization of the process rather than a real building framework, even though stakeholder participation and non-financial dimensions are taken into account.