sanofi aventis
Citroën
CEA 2008
MAIF et EDF 2007
CEA 2007
Total 2007
L'Artisanat SNCF DGA 2007
GDF Eco-
Emballages 2006
Bull Orange 2006
Citroen 2005
Microsoft 2005
Safran Sagem 2005
CEA 2004
Orange 2004
Peugeot 2004
Total 2004
Pechiney 2003
Fondation EDF 2003
Gaz de France 2003
Fondation EDF 2003
UIC 2003
Janssen Cilag 2002
Bull 2002
SNCF 2002
BioMerieux Essilor 2001
An innovative approach
From the outset, in 1986, the founders of the CSI were intent on associating the world of industry with the Cité's activities, in the context of partnerships that would be lasting, balanced, and mutually beneficial. This is how the FVE was created.
Within the framework of the Foundation, the rapprochement of the Cité and companies has become a real symbiosis.
Hubert Curien, Minister of Research and Technology, in 1992.
How can two worlds that a priori barely know one another and that have different modes of functioning be brought together in a spirit of mutual cooperation, to develop their common interests in joint projects? The FVE is an answer, unique in its conception and functioning. It works to ensure that everyone's interests are respected - companies, museums, and the public alike.
A bridge between two worlds
In facilitating a mutual understanding between two different worlds, presumably quite far apart from one another, the FVE has initiated a new form of partnership, lasting and constructive, between the world of science and of industry.
The Foundation is the living voice of business at the heart of science and industry.
Dominique Norguet, communications director (Philips France). 2006.
The support that companies provide the Cité is financial, of course, but this represents only a part of the joint projects generated by the Foundation. Companies can also be asked to contribute content to permanent or temporary exhibitions organized by the CSI and they can propose subjects - or have subjects proposed to them - in relation to their recent discoveries.
In the latter case, a renowned author, or a scientific committee especially constituted by the CSI, guarantees the exhibition's scientific rigour.
The Fondation is also setting up working parties for its members to allow them to pool thoughts and research, and to get feedback from partner companies concerning the optimisation of knowledge, changes in the nature of work, or risk management.
The CSI and partner companies profit equally from such collaborations.
Now that I am leaving the Presidency of the Fondation de France, I would like to tell you how much I appreciated being able to participate, even slightly, in the life of the FVE, which is, in my opinion, the best illustration of a public/private partnership.
Bertrand Dufourcq, 2007
A mutually beneficial association
Companies, for their part, derive numerous benefits from the variety of forms of partnership that they establish with scientific museums, and in particular with the Cité.
If the Foundation didn't exist, we would have had to invent it! Its members embody with talent and diplomacy the 'I' for industry in CSI, which the Cité, without them, would have a tendency to ignore... Thanks to them, projects see the light of day: thank you, our "exhibition angels"!
Jean-Dominique Tortil, director of public relations and sponsorship. L'Oréal, 2006.
Firstly, such partnerships provide them with an original approach, different from such traditional forms of communication as advertising and public relations - an approach that is at once rigorously scientific, objective, and didactic, and which allows them to make their professions, their wealth and their values known to a wide public. Proof that the model is catching on is the number of companies that don't hesitate to ask the Cité for advice and information about setting up their own exhibitions.
Moreover, the objectives of partner companies often coincide with those of the CSI: this is particularly true when it comes to making their research and innovation known to the youth, who will be the vital force of the future.
