[Evaluation of public health plans: a driver of change for regional health policy in France?].

Between 2007–2010, each French region carried out an evaluation of their public health plan, at the very moment when regional health system governance reform was taking place. The objective of this article is to analyze the influence of this dynamic of evaluation on health policy at the regional and national levels. An in-depth analysis in nine regions showed short-term consequences that were inconsistent among regions, depending on the implementation schedule and the evaluation process that was put into place. On the other hand, the lessons that emerged reinforced local expertise that was useful for the new planning exercise. This regional work has not yet been taken up nationally, but we cannot exclude the possibility that it fueled discussions in the working groups preparing the reform.