The need for centres of expertise and aid to multidisciplinary decision-making has never been more evident, in an increasingly complex institutional environment rife with European and international problems. The Decree of 6 March 2006 which created the Centre for Strategic Analysis was aimed at meeting this need, and reflects a desire to refashion official decision-making methods.

    The Centre has three tasks: to inform and aid governmental decision-making by putting it in perspective in time and place and by taking into account the principal economic and social issues; to renew official expertise by calling widely on the academic world and on econ-omic and social actors; and to stimulate public debate by making clear, high-quality information available to all.