Quiet revolution in the Social Security system

Acoss runs a network of one hundred and three Urssaf agencies (Union de recouvrement des cotisations de Sécurité sociale et d'allocations familiales : the organisation managing social security payments) in Metropolitan France, and four social security funds overseas. In 2002, Acoss wanted to improve the efficiency of its internal audit by grouping together companies according to their ability to pay their contributions and by implementing monitoring procedures. The inspectors felt that this new policy was contrary to the principle of treating contributors equally. Acoss also emphasised risk prevention and the advice given by inspectors who, up until then, had been used to working exclusively on the basis of internal audits. Acoss developed tools which assess the quality of these monitoring methods and which make the process clearer to contributors. These measures were seen as a major constraint to inspectors carrying out their jobs. How did Acoss manage to set in motion and carry out such changes throughout the Urssaf agencies using one thousand five hundred inspectors?