Sara Simões

Sara Simões is a PhD candidate in Development, Societies, and Territories at the Polytechnic Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC). She serves as a guest lecturer at the Higher School of Agronomy (Escola Superior Agrária) within IPVC. Her educational background includes a Master's in Agrarian Economics and Rural Sociology, a postgraduate degree in Organic Farming, and a degree in Agronomic Engineering.

Her research focuses on revitalizing rural territories through sustainability, participatory processes, and social innovation. Key areas include common land management, mountain agroecosystems, and community property governance. She actively contributes to projects like BEM COMUM (boosting rural bioeconomy resilience) and FORVALUE (forest management innovation).

Her publications emphasize rural development challenges, institutional equality policies, and sustainable landscape management. Notable projects span community animation in mountain territories, cross-border forest resource management, and gender equality frameworks within institutions. She collaborates with organizations like ARDAL and Minho Inovação, demonstrating expertise in bridging scientific research with territorial governance.

Advising and grants: She leads research in multiple EU-funded and national initiatives, including the BEM COMUM project (2023-2025) and FORVALUE (2020-2021). Her work integrates technical and social dimensions of rural sustainability.

Labs/Teams: Member of the Territorial Transitions & Wellbeing (T2WELL) research group, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to rural resilience and quality of life.