Team
Principal Investigator: Dr Sara Ballero (PhD, MA, MA, BA)
I am a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, working on a project about rural business transfers and local development since September 2025. I was awarded an International Doctoral Degree in Management (University of Sheffield and Kobe University) with a research on the role of state policies and firms in rural revitalization, spending several months of fieldwork in Japan. I have a longstanding academic and personal interest in East Asia, where I lived and studied for several years.
Further details about my research can be found in my research agenda, and my full CV is available upon request.
Supervisor: Prof Antonello Podda
Prof Podda, PhD in Economic Sociology, is an Associate Professor in Environmental and Territorial Sociology at the University of Cagliari. His research interests include local and inner area development, food and food systems, social networks, and public policy evaluation. He is currently the National Coordinator (PI) of the PRIN project “GC-LIFES” and the lead for the Italian unit of the European project THCS CONNECT-CARE. His most recent publications address topics such as food practices in Sardinia, regional innovation systems, and the importance of credit for the cooperative model.
Further details about Prof Podda can be found here.
