The regional nature parks in France are often presented as " laboratories of innovation ". Their main added value deals with social innovation, in other words the construction of territorial dynamics of collective action. Essential but much more discreet and more complex to pilot than technical innovation, social innovation is a large part of the daily work of agents, managers and elected representatives of parks. It leads to relational dynamics and a specific identity on these territories. Taking the example of the regional nature park of Vercors, we describe the difficult conditions and the narrow path of social innovation around the construction of park’s shared vision. A first analysis of this current dynamics, allows to underline advances, but also fragilities. They depends on the sociological and organizational components which distinguish social and technical innovation. This provides meaning to a narrow partnership between the research and parks as " laboratories of innovation ". It requires a specific posture of researcher to guide public decision-makers by production of knowledge " in mirror of the action being carried out ".