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Group structures vary along a continuum, from a concentration of the power to decide and act (resulting in a distinction between people who use services and those who produce them) to a decentralized functioning characterized by the involvement of all members, who seek to take part in initiatives, give their opinion, or help realize projects. This article analyzes the obstacles to implementing participatory approaches. The case study focuses on a departmental network comprising about twenty organizations in the field of socio-cultural animation, in a context of low geographical proximity (Creuse, Nouvelle-Aquitaine). The analysis of this sector of activity is all the more enlightening given that the profession of socio-cultural animation consists in particular of running groups through user participation. However, the different objectives sometimes prove to be incompatible in the face of daily constraints (geographical distance, coordination between actors, lack of human resources . . .).