This article analyses the role played by a research process during the implementation of a citizens’ conference on water management in France. It underlines how the researcher might influence the action before and during the process: the effects on the actors’ involvement, the attempts to adjust action and the constant vigilance towards the initial objectives of the project. Then, it analyses the research as a support for actors’ critical reflexivity after the experience, and prompts scrutiny of the research translation tools towards associative actors who are used to reflect on their own practices.