Team

Coordinators: Michela Giovannini, Beatriz Caitana e Eber Quiñonez

Current Members

Andrés Spognardi is a post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Social Studies (CES). He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Economy from the University of Mar del Plata (Argentina), a Master's Degree in Cooperative Economics from the University of Bologna (Italy), and a PhD in Political Science from the Italian Institute of Human Sciences (Italy). He has been a research trainee at the Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies (Italy), and a visiting scholar at Columbia University (USA) and at the University of Valencia (Spain). His research interests centre on the socioeconomic and political determinants of worker ownership, with a particular focus on industrial worker co-operatives. His current research project is funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and aims to uncover the factors that account for the divergent paths of worker ownership in Portugal and Spain.

Beatriz Caitana da Silva holds a Master's Degree in Sociology from the University of Coimbra and is a PhD candidate in Sociology at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra (FEUC/UC). She is a junior researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, being a member of CCArq - Cities, Cultures, and Architecture Research Group. She integrates the research team of URBiNAT - Healthy corridors as drivers of social housing neighbourhoods for the cocreation of social,environmental and marketable NBS, funded by European Commission. Takes part in the Study Group on Solidarity Economy at CES since 2011. As an activist, has started and run an academic Social Incubator - ISFEUC. As researcher, has published and carried out research on issues of Solidarity Economy, with particular interest for solidarity finance. 

Eber Quiñonez holds a Master's Degree in Sociology from the University of Coimbra and is a PhD candidate in Sociology at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra (FEUC). Holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Psycology from the University of San Carlos, in Guatemala. Has lectured in Rural Sociology at FEUC. Has been a member of the Study Group on Solidarity Economy (ECOSOL-CES) and carried out research on portuguese food short circuits. His research interests are: small-scale agriculture, family farming, and solidarity economy. 

Fernanda Petrus is a PhD Student funded by FCT at the University of Coimbra. Her project "The urban practices of solidarity economy: dialogues between collective initiatives in Portugal and Brazil", is hosted by the Department of Architecture/Faculty of Sciences and Technology/UC and the Center for Social Studies/UC. She holds a Master's Degree in Urbanism from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ/2019) and a Bachelor´s Degree in Architecture and Urbanism from the same university (2015). She is a researcher at Observatório da Metrópoles (IPPUR/UFRJ) and a member of Soltec/UFRJ. Since 2021, she is also a member of CES' study group on solidarity economy (ECOSOL-CES). Fernanda's primary research interests and professional practice are related to the following topics: urban self-management; social movements; urban policies; solidarity economy and technology for social development.

Luciane Lucas dos Santos is a senior researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, integrating and co-coordinating the Research Group on Democracy, Citizenship and Law (DECIDe). Integrates, as a permanente member since 2008, the Study Group on Solidarity Economy at CES (ECOSOL-CES). From 2016 to 2018 she was Visiting Professor in Brazil (Federal University of Southern Bahia), having been part of the academic staff of the PhD Program in State and Society (PPGES/UFSB). Holds a PhD in Communication and Culture from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (2004). Her main research and lecturing interests are: postcolonial feminisms, postcolonial and decolonial studies on consumption and Economics, feminist economics, feminist aesthetics, poverty and social inequalities from an interseccional perspective. She has also worked on the following issues relative to community economies: complementary currencies, exchange fairs, indigenous economies. 

Michela Giovannini is a Marie Sklodowska Curie fellow at the CES, integrating the research group POSTRADE (Social Policies, Labour and Inequalities) and its sub-group on Solidarity Economy (ECOSOL-CES). She holds a PhD in Local Development and Global Dynamics at the University of Trento, Italy (2014) and a Laurea (equivalent to an MA) in Political Science (University of Padova, 2001). Her main studies focused on social and solidarity economy organizations in Latin America, such as indigenous grassroots initiatives in Mexico and their contribution to buen vivir, and recyclers' organizations in Chile. Her current research project is devoted to analyze the political dimension of social and solidarity economy organizations connected to anti-austerity social movements in Spain and Portugal. Her research interests focus on social and solidarity economy in Latin America and Europe, indigenous socioeconomic initiatives, community development, anti-austerity social movements.

Pedro Hespanha holds a PhD in Sociology, and is retired Professor at the Faculty of Economics of Coimbra. He is the coordinator of the Research Group for Social Policies, Labor and Inequalities (POSTRADE) at this Center and of the Group of Studies on Solidary Economy integrated into the same Research Group. He has researched and published in the areas of rural studies, social policies, sociology of medicine, poverty and social exclusion. He has been a visiting professor at several foreign universities. He is co-editor of the books Dicionário Internacional da Outra Economia and Economia Solidária: questões teóricas e epistemológicas and of the special issue of the Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais on “Os desafios da Economia Solidária”.

Teresa Cunha holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Coimbra. She is a researcher at the Center for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra where she co-coordinates the area of Other Economies of the ALICE project and the Center for Humanities, Migrations and Peace Studies. She is a Professor at the College of Education of Coimbra and Senior Trainer at the European Centers Of Youth of the Council of Europe. Her research interests are feminisms and post-colonialisms; Feminist economies; Women's economies and Human rights. She has published, among others, the following books: Women inPower Women. Other Economies created and led by women from the non-imperial South; Essays on Democracy. Justice, dignity and Good Living; Never Trust Sindarela. Feminisms, Postcolonialisms, Mozambique and Timor-Leste and They in the South and North, as well as articles in scientific journals and chapters of books in various countries and languages.

Associate researchers:

Aline Mendonça dos Santos - Catholic University of Pelotas (Brazil) - founding member

Caetano De' Carli - Rural Federal University of Pernambuco (Brazil)

Karine Queiroz - Unila (Brasil)

Marília Veríssimo Veronese -  Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos - Unisinos (Brasil)

Tatiane Godoy - Federal University of São João Del Rey (Brazil) - founding member

Vanderson Carneiro - Federal University of Paraíba (Brazil) - founding member

Collaborator researchers:

Flavio Chedid - Interdisciplinary Group for Social Development (NIDES/UFRJ) 

Visiting researchers:

Rizoneide Amorim

International consultants:

Jean-Louis Laville (France)

Jordi Estivill (Spain)