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The article highlights the cultural policy design strategy. In his study the author establishes the relationship between a recent example of action research realized in a major Quebec City and its epistemological, theoretical and methodological grounding in qualitative research. This study, which was carried out by the University of Quebec, in partnership with the Arts and Culture Division of the City of Longueuil from 1999 to 2001 will provide a breakdown of the complexity of an action research project, while underlining the necessary contribution of a constructivist research design, of participatory action research, of soft systems methodology and of the mechanics of knowledge transfer, all of which were part of the research strategy. In the present paper we propose a model for the analysis and planning of a cultural system constructed with these various strategies in mind. We also discuss a cultural policy design strategy and the instruments needed in order to obtained the desired results. This article is intended for university researchers and municipal stakeholders in the cultural domains and attempts to emphasize the relevancy of action research for those who work professionally in or with the cultural milieu.