Profile

Dr Patricia Prado is a Lecturer in Sustainable and Responsible Business at 缅北禁地 Business School (NUBS). Her research examines how businesses, governments and communities can contribute to more sustainable and equitable food systems. Working at the intersection of sustainability governance, innovation and responsible business, she focuses particularly on agri-food global value chains, sustainable innovation, circular bioeconomy and emerging forms of enterprise in Brazil and the Amazon region.

Patricia’s research also addresses household food waste, citizen engagement and local food policy in the UK. She works collaboratively across disciplines and with external partners, including Insights North East and 缅北禁地 City Council. Her research is informed by experience working with businesses, policymakers, civil-society organisations and local communities in Brazil and the UK.

Before joining 缅北禁地, Patricia held academic and research positions at Northumbria University, the University of York and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). As a Research Associate on the UKRI-funded IKnowFood programme at the University of York, she contributed to interdisciplinary research on UK food system resilience and the governance of sustainable agri-food global value chains. Patricia is a Collaborating Professor and formal academic affiliate at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), Brazil, contributing to doctoral viva examinations.

Patricia has international teaching experience in Brazil, Colombia and the UK, across undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA programmes. Her teaching is research-led and focuses on sustainability management, the role of business in society, responsible business, corporate social responsibility, innovation and business ethics.

She is a Fellow of Advance HE and Vice-Chair of the British Academy of Management Innovation Special Interest Group. At NUBS, she is a member of the Strategy, International Business and Society research community.

Qualifications and Certificates

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy FHEA. Advanced HE, UK.
Ph.D., Information Science. Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil. Doctoral Visiting Student (Studentship from CAPES) at the Centre for Research in Innovation Management (CENTRIM), University of Brighton, UK.
M. A., Applied Linguistics. UFRJ, Brazil.
B. A., Language and Literature (English & Portuguese) with additional Teaching Degree (Licentiate), UFRJ, Brazil.

Previous positions

Assistant Professor in Business Ethics. 缅北禁地 Business School. Northumbria University, UK.
Postdoctoral Research Associate. Project: ‘IKnowFood – Integrating Knowledge for Food Systems Resilience’, GFS Programme. The York Management School & Department of Politics. University of York, UK.
Lecturer in Management. Business School. Castelo Branco University (UCB), Brazil.
Visiting Lecturer. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana – Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Administrativas, Colombia.
Associate Research Fellow. UFRJ Innovation Agency, Brazil.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Postgraduate Programme on Information Science, UFRJ, Brazil.

Memberships

British Academy of Management (BAM): Innovation Special Interest Group (SIG); Sustainable and Responsible SIG.
BAM Innovation SIG Committee - Vice Chair.

Languages

Portuguese (native)
Spanish (fluent)

Research

Current work

My current research examines how governance and innovation can support more sustainable and equitable food systems. It is organised around three connected areas: sustainability governance in agri-food global value chains; sustainable innovation and circular bioeconomy in the Brazilian Amazon; and food waste, citizen engagement and local policy.

Sustainability governance in agri-food global value chains - I investigate how power, regulation and sustainability standards shape agri-food production and trade, with particular attention to soy, organic and agroecological production, and emerging food commodities in Brazil. My research examines interactions among firms, governments, civil-society organisations, producers and communities, and considers how public, private and hybrid governance arrangements address deforestation and wider social and environmental risks. My recent article in Review of International Political Economy, co-authored with Paulina Flores-Martínez, Tony Heron and Chris West, develops a multipolar framework for understanding power and hybrid sustainability governance in the Brazil-EU/UK soy-animal protein global value chain. It demonstrates how firms, states, NGOs and regulatory arrangements interact to shape sustainability requirements across the chain.

Sustainable innovation and the Amazon bioeconomy - I examine how businesses and communities in the Brazilian Amazon develop forest-compatible products, regenerative production systems and sustainable value chains. I am particularly interested in the dynamic capabilities, partnerships and forms of local and traditional knowledge that support innovation while preserving the rainforest and its socio-biodiversity. My research on circular bioeconomy has examined local organisations and identified the importance of local knowledge, sustainable Amazonian ingredients, non-deforestation value chains and business-ecosystem orchestration as enablers of sustainable innovation. This study was published as a chapter in the Research Handbook of Innovation in the Circular Bioeconomy, co-authored with Wladmir Motta. Current collaborative projects extend this agenda through research on community-led and people-centred innovation in Amazonian agroecological food systems, open innovation, organic-food governance and sustainable supply chains. Some of these studies were presented at the British Academy of Management (BAM) Conference 2025 and at the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) Conference 2026.

Food waste, citizen engagement and policy - I have undertaken interdisciplinary research on household food waste and citizen engagement, working with colleagues from 缅北禁地, Northumbria and Sunderland Universities, and in partnership with Insights North East and 缅北禁地 City Council. I led the qualitative phase of a project exploring residents’ experiences of food waste and the social, behavioural and communication factors affecting participation in household food-waste collection. This research was supported by a £15,000 Insights North East Catalyst Fund award. It also supported the recruitment and line management of a postgraduate research assistant and generated evidence to inform local policy and public engagement.

Main expertise

My principal areas of research expertise are:

sustainability governance & agri-food global value chains;
sustainable food systems;
soy and emerging food commodities;
hybrid public-private governance;
sustainable innovation and eco-innovation;
circular economy and circular bioeconomy;
Amazonian socio-biodiversity and sustainable enterprise;
organic and agroecological production;
food waste, citizen engagement and food policy; and
qualitative and organisational case-study research.

My work primarily focuses on Brazil and the Amazon region, while also examining connections between Global South production systems, international markets and UK and European governance. I am particularly interested in how businesses, governments, civil-society organisations, producers and communities interact to shape sustainable transitions.

I am part of the Strategy, International Business and Society (SIBS) research community at NUBS.

Other expertise

Other areas of expertise include:

business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR);
responsible management education;
critical and ecocentric approaches to climate and sustainability pedagogy;
the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Net Zero;
organisational knowledge creation and knowledge management;
innovation in project-based organisations;
intrafirm diffusion, adoption and adaptation of innovation;
dynamic capabilities and business-ecosystem orchestration;
stakeholder and community engagement; and
interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research.

My earlier research examined how innovations and organisational knowledge move across projects within large project-based organisations. This work developed the concept of the “anthropophagic organisation” to explain how organisations appropriate, adapt and recombine innovations developed elsewhere.

Funding received

My funded research has supported interdisciplinary collaboration, policy engagement, international mobility and research on food systems, sustainable supply chains and citizen participation.

Food Waste and Residents Engagement - Insights North East (INE) Catalyst Fund, £15,000 (2024-2025). Interdisciplinary research delivered with INE and 缅北禁地 City Council, involving researchers from 缅北禁地, Northumbria and Sunderland Universities. Lead for the qualitative phase and line manager of the project Research Assistant.

Effective sustainability governance of agrifood global value chains: from local knowledge to global chains in contemporary Amazonia - CONFAP/CNPq-UK Academies Research Mobility Grant, in partnership with the Newton Fund, £2,500 (2019-2020). Individual award holder; host institution: Federal University of Pará.

Promoting effective sustainability governance in global supply chains - University of York ESRC Impact Acceleration Account, £18,697, with £5,000 additional match funding (2019). Co-Investigator.

Promoting sustainable business supply chains for soy. University of York ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Business Boost Scheme, £4,910 (2018-2019). Co-Investigator.

Exploring the governance of ‘embedded’ commodities: the UK-Latin American soy connection - N8 AgriFood Local Pump Priming Award, £14,810 (2018–2019). Co-Investigator.

Future research

I am developing an interdisciplinary research programme on sustainable food-system transformation across global value chains, Amazonian business ecosystems and local communities.

Future research will extend my work on emerging food commodities and sustainable supply chains in the Global South, including the social and environmental risks associated with their production and trade and the opportunities they create for sustainable and responsible enterprises. I am particularly interested in community-led innovation, agroecological food systems, organic-market governance, non-deforestation value chains and the role of local and traditional knowledge in sustainability transitions.

In the UK, I am developing further research on household food waste, citizen engagement and local food policy, as well as innovation aimed at reducing avoidable food waste. I am also interested in expanding this agenda into sustainable consumer behaviour, gender and food production, and comparative research connecting Brazil, Latin America and the UK.

Postgraduate Supervision

Fiona Warigon. 'The Adaptation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Corporate Social Responsibility by Multinational Oil and Gas Companies'. PhD. Award: July 2026. 缅北禁地 Business School, Northumbria University.

Thi Van Tran. ‘The role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in promoting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices in Vietnam’. DBA. Award: March 2023. 缅北禁地 Business School, Northumbria University.

Narjara Xavier Silva. ‘Eco-innovation in small businesses: a study of the agroecological segment from the Brazilian service of technical responses’. PhD. Award: March 2021. Postgraduate Programme on Information Science, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

Wladmir Henriques Motta. ‘Product Life Cycle and the Generation of Eco-innovations: challenges for Brazil.’ PhD. Award: March 2018. Postgraduate Programme on Information Science, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).

I welcome enquiries from prospective PhD candidates whose proposed projects align with my expertise in sustainability governance, sustainable food systems, agri-food global value chains, circular bioeconomy, sustainable innovation, responsible business, food waste and citizen engagement.

I am particularly interested in projects focusing on Brazil, Latin America and other Global South settings, as well as comparative and interdisciplinary research connecting these contexts with the UK. I welcome qualitative research drawing on organisational, governance, innovation and political-economy perspectives. I am open to informally discuss proposals with potential candidates.

Teaching

Pedagogical approach and Expertise

My pedagogical approach is based on socio‐cultural constructivist and critical pedagogies. It aims to support knowledge construction, critical thinking and the development of key intellectual and professional skills for students’ graduate careers. These include, for example, designing learning activities that engage students in interactive problem‐solving sessions based on real‐world situations. I also explore possibilities of a more ‘playful’ approach to create safe spaces for academic experimentation and exploration, as well as to promote reflective risk-taking, ideation and participation. Playing is an essential part of human experience and can facilitate learning while reducing stress and developing emotional resilience and problem-solving skills.

I started my international teaching experience in Brazil and Colombia. I taught at UG and PGR levels, and at MBAs, with modules on Innovation Management, Business Model Innovation, Management of Organisational Change, and Innovation and Sustainability. After moving to the UK, I have designed and led several UG modules in the area of Responsible Business. My research-led teaching and curriculum development are nurtured by the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).

Undergraduate Modules

BUS2038 Introduction to Sustainability - Theory and Practice (20 credits)

Postgraduate Modules

NBS8658 The International Business Environment (20 credits)
NBS8650 Introduction to Sustainability Management (10 credits)

Postgraduate Modules - Module Leader

NBS8493 Corporate Social Responsibility and the Challenge of Ethical Business (10 credits)
NBS8513 Role of Business in Society - Issues and Challenges (10 credits)
NBS8660 Advanced Sustainability Management Project (60 credits)

Publications

Articles
- Flores Martinez P, Heron T, West C, Prado P. . Review of International Political Economy 2026, 33(1), 223-252.
- Dallyn S, Checchi M, Prado P, Munro I. . Management Learning 2023, 55(1), 104-123.
- Doherty B, Sidhu Y, Heron T, West C, Seaton A, Gulec J, Prado P, Flores Martinez P. Citizen Participation in Food Systems Policy Making: A case study of a citizens’ assembly. Emerald Open Research 2020, 1(10).
- Doherty B, Ensor J, Heron T, Prado P. Food systems resilience: towards an interdisciplinary research agenda. Emerald Open Research 2019, 1(10).
- Motta W, Issberner LR, Prado P. Life cycle assessment and eco-innovations: what kind of convergence is possible?. Journal of Cleaner Production 2018, 187, 1103-1114.
- Heron T, Prado P, West C. Global Value Chains and the Governance of ‘Embedded’ Food Commodities: The Case of Soy. Global Policy 2018, 9, 29-37.
- Prado P, Sapsed J. . Organization Studies 2016, 37(12), 1793-1818.
Book Chapters
- Prado P, Motta W. . In: Molden L; Modic D; Rasmussen E; Jakobsen S; Vanhaverbeke W, ed. Research Handbook of Innovation in the Circular Bioeconomy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2025, pp.237-257.
- Prado P. . In: Issberner, LR, ed. Ecologia, Informação e Inovação: 15 anos de pesquisa. 2022, pp.109-127.
- Maruyama U, Prado P, Trigo A, Trigo J. Nurturing the Seeds of Sustainability Governance: Rio+ 25 Brazilian Higher Education Institution Case Study. In: Universities as Living Labs for Sustainable Development. Springer, 2020, pp.151-166.
Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstract)
- Prado P, Motta W, Pereira D. . In: XXXVII ISPIM Innovation Conference. 2026, Granada, Spain: ISPIM.
Report
- Albrecht N, Souza-Monteiro D, Prado P, Wilkie S, Censoro J. . 缅北禁地: Insights North East / 缅北禁地 / University of Sunderland / 缅北禁地 City Council, 2025.

缅北禁地

Dr Patricia Prado

Lecturer in Sustainable and Responsible Business