Vivendi

Pierre Allain, Executive Vice-President, Social Affairs, Vivendi
(SDR 2007-2008)

« Vivendi’s contribution to the economic and social development of employment bases particularly affected by unemployment is made up of a financial chapter and an accompaniment chapter. Throughout the missions, Vivendi ensures that all participants act in such a way as to ensure the permanence of the projects.
The cooperation process takes place in several stages. Once the employment base has been designated by the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Employment, Vivendi’s Social Affairs department works out specifications for the program in close collaboration with the préfet and sous-préfet of the designated region. Once the specifications document has been approved, a call to tender is launched to economic development companies (often referred to as “reconversion companies”). Vivendi makes the final choice of the service provider in collaboration with the prefectoral authorities, taking care to avoid any situations of monopoly or confusion with important worker reclassification missions. The company selected is required to establish itself in the region concerned, with permanent facilities and resident consultants.
After a short phase consisting of a diagnosis of the region and the initial prospecting, the job creation dossiers are examined by the economic development company, which assists submitters of projects in working out their business plans. The dossiers are then examined and monitored according to the following procedure:

• validation by a funding committee whose members include representatives of the decentralized government administrations, chambers of commerce and industry, the French National Bank, and urban-region development committees;
• monitoring by a steering committee whose members include – in addition to the members of the funding committee – legislators, mayors of large cities, and sometimes departmental trade-union representatives.

During these meetings, Vivendi’s representatives contribute the company’s expertise. Decisions on aid to employment are made jointly by the préfet or the souspréfet and Vivendi’s Social Affairs department. »