The Role of Collective Bricolage in Creating University Governance Structures: The Example of the Galileo Observatory

This study investigates the concept of “collective bricolage” within the framework of creating a universe science observatory in France. In the face of significant transformations in higher education and research, this article examines how university stakeholders can employ collective bricolage to adapt to institutional mandates for restructuring. Drawing on Lévi-Strauss’s notion of bricolage and the theoretical contributions of Duymedjian and Rüling (2010), this research investigates how this bricolage can be implemented in the absence of conventional or normative space to support the process, and particularly within a context characterized by conflictual relationships. The case study analyzes the collective bricolage process and its components, demonstrating that the dialectical nature of collective bricolage facilitates the creation of robust governance structures through the negotiation and recombination of resources and rationales from the diverse actors involved.