Francesca Gagliardi

Francesca Gagliardi

Francesca Gagliardi is a Professor in Institutional Economics at the Hertfordshire Business School, University of Hertfordshire. She serves as Operational Co-Lead for the £1.25 million ESRC Impact Acceleration Account and is a member of the Research Degrees Board. Her roles include Doctoral Research Tutor and Deputy Editor of the Journal of Co-operative Studies. She holds leadership positions in professional organizations such as Treasurer of the World Interdisciplinary Network for Institutional Research (WINIR) and Secretary of the UK Society for Co-operative Studies.

Education: BSc in Economics (University of Calabria), MSc in Economics (University of York), PGCE and PhD (University of Hertfordshire). Her PhD was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for Outstanding Achievement in 2010.

Research Interests:

• Institutional economics and comparative institutional analysis
• Entrepreneurial ecosystems and SME performance
• Cooperatives and sustainable development
• Political economy and financial markets

Key Projects:

• Cooperatives for Sustainable Development (2024)
• Rewilding Africa Policy Brief framework (2024)
• Political Economy of Cooperative Firms (2018-2019)

Awards:

• Horvat-Vanek Prize (2008)
• Chancellor’s Medal (2010)

Grants and Advising: Francesca leads major interdisciplinary projects, including ESRC-funded initiatives. She has supervised numerous doctoral candidates and advises on institutional frameworks for cooperatives and social enterprises.

Labs/Teams: Active in the Sustainability Research Group and the Business and Digital Research Group at Hertfordshire Business School. Collaborates internationally, including with the Tuscan Universities of Florence, Siena, and Pisa.