Research Profile
Dr Roberta Sonnino
Career Profile
Senior Lecturer, School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University (2010 - Present)
Lecturer, School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University (2006 - 2010)
Research Associate, School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University (2003 - 2006)
Lecturer, Department of French and Italian, University of Kansas (2001 - 2003)
Teaching Assistant, Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas (1997 - 1999)
Memberships / External Activities
Member of the Cardiff Food Charter Steering Group (2012).
Member of the Soil Association's Catering Mark Standards Committee (2011-).
Member of the Editorial Board of Sociologia Ruralis (2011-).
Member of Zac Goldsmith's national taskforce to redesign the UK national policy on public food procurement (2009-2010).
Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Encyclopaedia of Environmental Management (Taylor and Francis, USA) (2009-).
Scottish Government. Member of the working group invited to advise the Scottish Cabinet on the development of the first National Food and Drink Policy (2008-2009).
City of Rome. Advisor to the Department for School and Educational Policies, (2006 - 2008).
University of Reggio Calabria, Italy. Associate faculty member, supervision of students participating in a PhD programme on "Science, technology and Society", (2005 - Present).
Media. I have recently acted as a commentator to both print and broadcast media organisations, both in Italy and the UK, including BBC, ITV Wales, Western Mail, London Times, RAI (Italian National Television and Radio), Il Messaggero, Il Giornale, l'Unitá, il Corriere della Sera, la Repubblica, Sole 24 Ore.
Invited lectures
Development in Peri-Urban Areas: Rethinking Networks in the Food System. European PhD Winter School, organized by Ghent University and the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research. Leuven (Belgium), 2012. Keynote speaker.
School Meals in the Context of Public Policies for Food and Nutritional Security. Federal University of Parana, Department of Food and Nutritional Security. Curitiba (Brazil), 2011.
Urban Food Planning and Sustainable City-Regions. University of Reading, Business School, 2010.
Fair Trade, Governance and Social Justice. Swansea University, 2008. Final discussant.
Territorial Strategies for Sustainable Food Policies. Wageningen University (Netherlands), 2008
Quality Food and Sustainable Development: The Power of the Public Sector. Savonia University of Applied Science, Kuopio (Finland), 2007.
Local Food and Sustainable Development: The Power of the Public Sector. Department of Agronomy, University of Pisa, Erasmus Mundi Program (Italy), 2007.
Sustainable Food Procurement in Italy and the UK. Department of Agronomy, University of Pisa, Erasmus Mundi Program (Italy), 2006.
School Meals and Sustainable Development: Some Lessons from Europe. Columbia University, New York (USA), 2006.
Globalization and the Politics of Sustainable Tourism in Tuscany, Italy. Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, Kansas (USA), 2002.
Globalization and Sustainable Development in Rural Italy. Honors Program, University of Kansas (USA), 2000.
Presentations
Up to the Ground and from the Ground Up: Initiatives and Strategies for Sustainable Food Production and Consumption. 1st Multinational Knowledge Brokerage Event on Sustainable Food Consumption, sponsored by the EU (Responder). Lisbon (Portugal), 2012. Opening keynote speaker.
Sustainable Urban Food Strategies: Measuring Progress and Impact. London Food Board’s Executive Group Meeting, City Hall, 2012.
Local Food Policy Actions. Symposium on “Where is UK Food Policy Going?”, organized and sponsored by City University. London, City University’s Business School, 2011.
Public Policies and the Construction of Markets: Insights from Home-Grown School Feeding Initiatives. Third International Colloquium on Family Farms and Rural Development, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre (Brazil), 2011.
Sustainable Urban Food: Measuring Progress and Impacts. Sustainable Food Cities Conference, Sponsored and organised by Cardiff University, the Soil Association and Bristol City Council. Bristol, 2011.
School Feeding, Public Procurement and Sustainability. Technical Meeting on Linking School Feeding with Agricultural Development, organized by the UN’s World Food Programme. London, Imperial College, 2011.
Sustainable Public Food Procurement: Redefining Costs and Values. National Conference on University Purchasing, St. Andrews, 2011. Plenary speaker.
Addressing Inequalities through Rural-Urban Linkages. ESRS Biannual Meeting, Chania (Greece), 2011. Convenor and chair of the Working Group.
Sustainable Food, Sustainable Cities? Conference organized by the Soil Association. Plymouth, 2011. Keynote speaker.
Local food and sustainable city-regions: The potential of public procurement. Seminar on “The development of a sustainable food supply chain as a factor in the integrated development of urban and rural areas”, organized and sponsored by the EU’s Committee of the Regions. Inowroclaw (Poland), 2010.
Sustainable City-Regions: The Role of Food. International Sociological Association World Congress. Organizer and chair of the session. Gothenburg (Sweden), 2010.
New Perspectives on Feeding Children: The School Food Revolution. Food and Behaviour Research Conference, Bristol, 2010.
From Green Procurement to Sustainable Consumption. Final Conference of the IPOPY European Project on Youth and Organic Catering. Funded by the EU. Bologna, 2010.
The Construcion of “Nested Markets”: The Case of Public Procurement. Seminar on Rural Development Processes and Policies in Brazil, China and the EU. Organised by College of Humanities and Development of China Agricultural University, the Post Graduação no Desenvolvimento Rural da Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande do Sol (Brazil), Wageningen University (the Netherlands) and the Italian Ministry of Agriculture. Rome, Italy, February 2010.
Urban Food and Public Spaces: Planning for Security and Sustainability. AESOP Sustainable Food Planning Conference. Almere, the Netherlands, 9 October, 2009.
Multifunctional Agriculture in the UK: The Role of the State and the Public Sector. International Conference and Expert Meeting on “Dynamics and Robustness of Multifunctional Agriculture: Lessons from Abroad”. Beesd, the Netherlands, 8 October, 2009.
Regions Feeding Cities: Strengthening Urban-Rural Links for Food Security and Vibrant Markets. UN Commission for Sustainable Development 17th Meeting, Side Event, United Nations, New York, 2009.
Urban-Rural Linkages for Food Security and Vibrant Markets: The Potential of Public Procurement. UN Commission for Sustainable Development 17th Meeting, Partnership Presentation, United Nations, New York, 2009.
Short Supply Chains: Local Networks and New Lifestyles. Conference sponsored by the Province of Ascoli Piceno, Italy, 3 April, 2009.
Short Supply Chains, Territories and Sustainable Development. Seminar sponsored by INRA (National Institute of Agricultural Research), Paris, 13 March, 2009. Keynote Speaker.
Organic Canteens: International Perspectives. AgroParisTech, Paris, 12 March, 2009.
Taking the Initiative: Public Food and Sustainable Development. Association for Public Sector Excellence (APSE) Annual Conference. Chester, 2009. Plenary Speaker.
Sustainable Food Chains. International Workshop on “Solutions for a Sustainable World”, organized and sponsored by SONY research lab (Tokyo and Paris). Cassis (France), 2008.
The School Food Revolution: Public Food and the Challenge of Sustainable Development. Baum Forum, Teachers College (Columbia University). New York City, 2008. Keynote Speaker.
Home-Grown: The School Feeding Revolution. Seminar given at the United Nations, Sustainable Development Commission. New York City, 2008.
Sustainable Public Food Procurement: The Italian Model. Presentation given at the conference “Organic Food in Catering: Putting Health and Sustainability on the Plate”. Brno (Czech Republic), 2008.
Teaching Profile
Roberta is currently responsible for the MSc-level module Local Food and Sustainable Development. In the past years she has also been responsible for the MSc-level module Environmental Policy and has contributed to the teaching of the 'Live' Project, Theories and Principles of Sustainable Development and Climate Change. At the BSc level, she has taught Environmental Policies and Planning.