Dorothée Oster

Please tell us about your research project.

I am a PhD student in Information and Communication Science at the University of Grenoble Alpes, within the GRESEC laboratory. My thesis focuses on the mechanisms of creativity and participation employed within local authorities, with a view to renewing public services and management. Public innovation approaches inspired by ‘designs’, social intervention or management tools derived from the corporate sector claim to employ disruptive practices to support ‘public transformation’. They remain, however, constrained by organisational norms that shape thought, action and self-expression. The field research explores this tension between institutional constraints, the imperative for innovation and the heuristic potential of creative experiences. The ethnographic approach leads us to observe subtle forms of expression such as real-life interactions, traces of emotion, gestures and silences, which provide access to the subtle logic of information and communication practices.

Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?

Information and communication sciences are not recognised as a distinct discipline in the Anglo-Saxon world; my field and my thesis topic remain on the periphery of the research approaches traditionally practised within the academic sphere. I therefore aim to develop a new research approach in this doctoral project, combining the academic culture of Oxford with a grounded, multidisciplinary methodology.

This mobility will contribute to the development of a research-creation component: the production of photographs, conceived as both traces of inquiry, research materials and vehicles for scientific communication, will form the subject of an exhibition designed to explore alternative forms of presenting and disseminating research.

First impressions of Oxford/the University?

Oxford is a charming city that feels like a living museum, steeped in history that seems to emanate from every stone. It is a university town bustling with students who flit between libraries and pubs. Nature is ever-present, with numerous parks and gardens. A stay that gets off to the best possible start.