The Open University

Professional biography

Andrea Berardi has more than 20 years’ experience in teaching, researching and building capacity for enabling sustainable communities. After achieving qualifications in ecology (BSc), nature conservation (MSc) and environmental science (PhD), he has taught at the London School of Economics, University College London, Royal Holloway, and The Open University. His work has engaged communities from the Borneo and Amazonian rainforests; the floodplains of the Mekong and the Guianas; the savannas of East Africa and Latin America; and the coastal regions of southern Italy and Wales.

His main interests lie in facilitating grass roots approaches to ecological sustainability and social justice using an action research and learning process. The aim is to enable communities to collaboratively learn from their own practical experiences using local resources.

His work has pioneered the development and application of the concept of ‘community owned solutions’: practices that are conceived, developed and successfully implemented within communities, by communities, and without major influence from external stakeholders. As part of this, Andrea is the co-director of the Cobra Collective - a UK-based social enterprise launched in 2016 aimed at translating academic research into practical interventions for directly supporting communities in facing up to current and emerging challenges. The Collective blends environmental science, accessible information and communication technologies, and traditional knowledge using highly participatory methodologies and action learning, ultimately aimed at building local capacities so that communities can implement their own solutions with minimal ongoing external assistance. Since its launch, the Collective raised over £780,000 for community-based projects.

Research interests

Andrea’s role at The Open University is now entirely focused on research and project delivery in community development, environmental management and systems thinking. His approach uses holistic, accessible, visual and participatory methodologies. Andrea’s transdisciplinary research activities develop socio-technological systems for supporting and promoting ecological sustainability, social justice and community development. Notable funded research projects include:

Co-Investigator, Increasing the resilience of biodiversity and livelihoods in Colombo’s wetlands, Sri Lanka (£344k) Darwin Initiative, DEFRA/FCDO, 2020-2023: The project aims to sustain and restore Colombo's wetlands, which are fundamental to the well-being of 2.3 million people, particularly urban poor.
Principal Investigator, Landscape Sensor-based Monitoring Assessment using Remote Technologies – SMART Project (£399k) UK Space Agency, 2021-2022: aimed at launching a new global service aimed at providing accessible surface water monitoring tools using remote sensing technologies.
Principal Investigator, Integrated Space Technology Vector Control for Enhancing Community Health and Resilience Against Escalating Climatic Disruptions – DETECT Project (£381k), UK Space Agency, 2020-2021: The project co-designed, through participatory action research, a community-based vector control service with Indigenous communities in Guyana.
Co-investigator, Co-producing a community-based mental health improvement programme in Guyana through interdisciplinary participatory action research (£50k), British Academy, 2019-2020: In collaboration with Guyanese communities and stakeholders, the participatory action research project developed, implemented and evaluated a capacity building and intervention programme for strengthening community mental health resilience.
Co-investigator, Community Owned Best practice for sustainable Resource Adaptive management in the Guiana Shield, South America - COBRA Project (€1.9 million) EU FP7, 2011-2015: COBRA studied the impact of new funding sources aimed at addressing emerging challenges, such as climate change, on Indigenous communities in Colombia, Guyana, Venezuela, Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil, and investigated how civil society organisations are able to work with marginalised communities in order to respond more effectively to these new funding opportunities.

Teaching interests

Andrea has been involved in capacity building activities and courses in Guyana, Brazil, Italy (linked to research projects) and the UK (for The Open University, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and students at Schumacher College). This includes developing materials, organising and implementing training courses in participatory methods, community engagement, systems thinking and practice, ecological and social indicator development, ecological monitoring techniques, participatory video, GIS, data analysis, and stakeholder engagement. He has extensive experience as a course facilitator for local communities, mature students, institutional staff and scientists, and government officials.

Andrea has supervised several PhD students whose work examines participatory methods and community engagement to achieve environmental and developmental outcomes.

Until July 2021, Andrea held significant responsibilities in the development, production and presentation of OU Environmental Management and Systems Thinking modules.

Impact and engagement

From September 2016 to March 2021 Andrea was the lead for Research Impact in The Open University’s Development Studies Research Excellence Framework (REF) Unit of Assessment. This involved coordinating the development of REF impact case studies, including a case study based on his own research impact activities.

External collaborations

Member, UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship Panel College, 2020 - present: A £900 million fund aimed at attracting talented early-career individuals in order to ensure a vibrant environment for research and innovation in the UK.

Awarding panel member, ESRC Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), 2019 - 2021: Making decisions on funding for a wide range of Knowledge Exchange activities in order to enhance the impact of excellent social science research within universities.

Member, ‘Learning from Consortia’ Academic Advisory Board, 2020 - 2021: The ‘Learning from Consortia’ programme was an initiative designed to learn from £142 million UK Aid Connect programme funding and the consortia delivering these programmes. The Academic Advisory Board provided expert input, advice and validation of the research process throughout the duration of the programme. Andrea's focus was on community engagement, which culminated in the publication of this resource.

Andrea also acted as the external examiner for Schumacher College's MSc in Holistic Science.

Research groups

Name	Type	Parent Unit
Open Systems Research Group	Group	Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology

Externally funded projects

Research partnership for an agroecology-based solidarity economy in Bolivia and Brazil

Role	Start date	End date	Funding source
Co-investigator	31 Dec 2019	31 Mar 2022	AHRC Arts & Humanities Research Council
Agroecology-based Solidarity Economy in Bolivia and Brazil (AgroEcos) https://projetoagroecos.wixsite.com/meusite Funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), 2020-2021 Over the past decade, Latin America has had a greater convergence between solidarity economy (economia solidaria) and agroecology, here called EcoSol-agroecology as a short name. This convergence builds short food-supply chains (circuitos curtos) bringing agroecological producers closer to consumers, thus building solidaristic relationships. The various means include: public procurement for school meals, farmers’ markets and regular box schemes, sometimes organized as Community-Supported Agriculture. Research questions The project originally planned to investigate two main questions: • How do EcoSol-agroecology networks develop collective capacities for solidaristic circuitos curtos? • How can participatory action-research help to identify and strengthen those capacities? We had planned to investigate our research questions through in-person workshops using various cultural methods (e.g. narratives, art, social cartography, music, etc.). Given the Covid-19 pandemic and its hygiene restrictions, we had to postpone that plan. Moreover, EcoSol-agroecology networks faced new obstacles to their close relationships with consumers. So we added more research questions, for example: • How do these networks extend their previous practices and capacities? • How do they convert difficulties into opportunities? • How do they overcome obstacles, construct learning and conceive new strategies? To explore those questions, we have used online methods, especially webinars here. Partners and their case studies Open University, UK, coordinates the project. Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), São Paulo, investigates two territories: • Baixada Santista, in partnership with the Fórum de Economia Solidária da Baixada Santista (FESBS). • Bocaina (Costa Verde), in partnership with the Observatório de Territórios Sustentáveis e Saudáveis da Bocaina (OTSS) and the Fórum de Comunidades Tradicionais (FCT). Comunidad de Estudio Jaina, Tarija, Bolivia, investigates the Valle Central in partnership with the Bioferia agroecological producers. English-language outputs Pandemic context AgroEcos Boletim no.1 (trilingual bulletin) December 2020 ‘Return to normal’ from the COVID-19 crisis? , May 2020 Participatory Action Research during the Covid-19 pandemic: methodological aspects (March 2021), Pre-pandemic context Agroecological innovation constructing socionatural order: Two case studies in Brazil, Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society 4(1): 1-29 Socio-environmental justice: traditional communities renewing musical cultures in the Bocaina, Brazil

Developing a community-based mental health improvement programme in Guyana through inter-disciplinary participatory action research

Role	Start date	End date	Funding source
Co-investigator	01 Feb 2019	31 Aug 2020	BRITAC British Academy
In August 2018 a week long scoping exercise assessed the mental health training needs of multi-disciplinary health practitioners in Guyana. From this, we developed an innovative research strategy and commitment to develop a community-based mental health improvement programme capable of being adopted by Guyana and other Low- and Middle-Income Countries with similar socio-economic conditions. Our approach focuses on promoting community mental health resilience through participatory digital technologies that build on The Open University’s global leadership role in distance learning. The research and development phases will address embedded cultural attitudes and norms that frequently prevent healthcare practitioners implementing successful and sustainable interventions in such environments, while promoting existing positive practices. Our research will: 1. Establish a baseline of social, environmental and mental health status within three case study communities; 2. Co-design with community members, practitioners and agencies a capacity building programme for community-based mental health improvement in readiness for a period of engagement within the three case study communities focusing on improving mental health resilience through our ‘community owned solutions’ approach. 3. Support, through a process of action research, the practitioners as they apply and evaluate the resilience/‘community owned solutions’ approach within the case study communities, and monitor intervention impact with respect to baseline state. 4. Apply lessons learnt to strengthen the practitioner capacity building programme for major out scaling within Guyana (through the University of Guyana's BSc in Mental Health Nursing) and in other LMICs. By aiming to establish a BSc honours degree in Mental Health Nursing as an outcome the project, we have a clear exit strategy for our research which will enthuse and motivate engagement across Government, Public Health and Education sectors. It will build on and develop existing practices to create a pathway towards the aspiration that will excite both innovation and education amongst practitioners and policy formers.

Publications

Journal articles

How does community food growing build community bonds? Insights from grassroots visual storytelling (2023-09-07)
Levidow, Les; Berardi, Andrea and Jung, Julia
Local Environment ([Early Access])

A case study from Guyana of adapting engaged research design to promote ‘fairness in knowing’ (2022)
Holliman, Richard; Marino, Alessandra; Grand, Ann; Berardi, Andrea; Mistry, Jay; Jafferally, Deirdre; Thomas, Raquel; Roberts, Grace; Marcus, Carol-Ann; Roopsind, Indranee and Roberts, Anthony
Research for All, 6(1) (pp. 1-17)

Sharing Multiple Perspectives on Burning: Towards a Participatory and Intercultural Fire Management Policy in Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana (2019-09)
Bilbao, Bibiana; Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Millán, Adriana and Berardi, Andrea
Fire, 2, Article 39(3)

Teaching Environmental Management Competencies Online: Towards “Authentic” Collaboration? (2017)
Bell, Simon; Lane, Andy; Collins, Kevin; Berardi, Andrea and Slater, Rachel
European Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 20(1) (pp. 22-44)

Why are we doing it? Exploring participant motivations within a participatory video project (2016-12)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Bignante, Elisa and Berardi, Andrea
Area, 48(4) (pp. 412-418)

Feeling and acting ‘different’ emotions and shifting self-perceptions whilst facilitating a participatory video process (2016-11)
Bignante, Elisa; Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea and Tschirhart, Céline
Emotion, Space and Society, 21 (pp. 5-12)

Bridging indigenous and scientific knowledge (2016-06-10)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi and Berardi, Andrea
Science, 352(6291) (pp. 1274-1275)

Community owned solutions for fire management in tropical ecosystems: case studies from Indigenous communities of South America (2016-05-23)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Bilbao, Bibiana and Berardi, Andrea
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371, Article 20150174(1696)

Book review of 'Amazonian Roots: Indigenous Mobility and Colonial Communities in Northern Brazil' by Roller, Heather (2016-04-01)
Berardi, Andrea
Bulletin of Latin American Research, 35(2) (pp. 250-252)

Learning from one another: evaluating the impact of horizontal knowledge exchange for environmental management and governance (2016)
Tschirhart, Céline; Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea; Bignante, Elisa; Simpson, Matthew; Haynes, Lakeram; Benjamin, Ryan; Albert, Grace; Xavier, Rebecca; Robertson, Bernie; Davis, Odacy; Verwer, Caspar; de Ville, Géraud and Jafferally, Deirdre
Ecology and Society, 21, Article 41(2)

Community owned solutions: identifying local best practices for social-ecological sustainability (2016)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea; Tschirhart, Céline; Bignante, Elisa; Haynes, Lakeram; Benjamin, Ryan; Albert, Grace; Xavier, Rebecca; Robertson, Bernie; Davis, Odacy; Jafferally, Deirdre and de Ville, Géraud
Ecology and Society, 21, Article 42(2)

Indigenous identity and environmental governance in Guyana, South America (2015-10-01)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea; Tschirhart, Céline; Bignante, Elisa; Haynes, Lakeram; Benjamin, Ryan; Albert, Grace; Xavier, Rebecca; Jafferally, Deirdre and de Ville, Géraud
Cultural Geographies, 22(4) (pp. 689-712)

Between a rock and a hard place: ethical dilemmas of local community facilitators doing participatory research projects (2015-05)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea; Bignante, Elisa and Tschirhart, Céline
Geoforum, 61 (pp. 27-35)

Applying the system viability framework for cross-scalar governance of nested social-ecological systems in the Guiana Shield, South America (2015)
Berardi, Andrea; Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Tschirhart, Céline; Bignante, Elisa; Davis, Odacy; Haynes, Lakeram; Benjamin, Ryan; Albert, Grace; Xavier, Rebecca; Jafferally, Deirdre and de Ville, Géraud
Ecology and Society, 20, Article 42(3)

Our common future? Cross-scalar scenario analysis for social–ecological sustainability of the Guiana Shield, South America (2014-12)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Tschirhart, Céline; Verwer, Caspar; Glastra, Rob; Davis, Odacy; Jafferally, Deirdre; Haynes, Lakeram; Benjamin, Ryan; Albert, Grace; Xavier, Rebecca; Bovolo, Isabella and Berardi, Andrea
Environmental Science & Policy, 44 (pp. 126-148)

The role of social memory in natural resource management: insights from participatory video (2014-01)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea; Haynes, Lakeram; Davis, Delano; Xavier, Rebecca and Andries, Johnny
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 39(1) (pp. 115-127)

From resilience to viability: a case study of indigenous communities of the North Rupununi, Guyana (2013-07-10)
Berardi, Andrea; Tschirhart, Céline; Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Bignante, Elisa; Haynes, Lakeram; Albert, Grace; Benjamin, Ryan; Xavier, Rebecca and Jafferally, Deirdre
EchoGéo(24)

The challenges and opportunities of participatory video in geographical research: exploring collaboration with indigenous communities in the North Rupununi, Guyana (2012-03)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi and Berardi, Andrea
Area, 44(1) (pp. 110-116)

Capacity building for adaptive management: a problem-based learning approach (2011)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea; Roopsind, Indranee; Davis, Odacy; Haynes, Lakeram; Davis, Orville and Simpson, Matthew
Development in Practice, 21(2) (pp. 190-204)

The challenges of transformational learning at a distance: a year in the life of an Open University learning unit on the environment (2011)
Berardi, Andrea
Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (LATHE)(5) (pp. 135-142)

Using a systems viability approach to evaluate integrated conservation and development projects: assessing the impact of the North Rupununi Adaptive Management Process, Guyana (2010-09)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea; Simpson, Matthew; Davis, Odacy and Haynes, Lakeram
The Geographical Journal, 176(3) (pp. 241-252)

Skills at Master's level in Geography higher education: teaching, learning and applying (2009-07)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; White, Fiona and Berardi, Andrea
Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 33(1) (pp. 123-148)

Natural resource management and development discourses in the Caribbean: reflections on the Guyanese and Jamaican experience (2009-07)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea and McGregor, Duncan
Third World Quarterly, 30(5) (pp. 969-989)

Critical reflections on practice: the changing roles of three physical geographers carrying out research in a developing country (2009)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea and Simpson, Matthew
Area, 41(1) (pp. 82-93)

Birds as indicators of wetland status and change in the North Rupununi, Guyana (2008-09)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea and Simpson, Matthew
Biodiversity and Conservation, 17(10) (pp. 2383-2409)

Teaching geography for social transformation (2006-03)
Wellens, Jane; Berardi, Andrea; Chalkey, Brian; Chambers, Bill; Healey, Ruth; Monk, Janice and Vender, Jodi
Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 30(1) (pp. 117-131)

Book Review: Handbook of ecological indicators for assessment of ecosystem health, edited by S. E. Jørgensen, R. Costanza and F.-L. Xu. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, and London, 2005. ISBN 1 56670 665 3, xviii+439 pp (2006-03)
Berardi, Andrea
Land Degradation and Development, 17(2) (233 -233)

Assessing fire potential in a Brazilian savanna nature reserve (2005-09-01)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi and Berardi, Andrea
Biotropica, 37(3) (pp. 439-451)

Indigenous fire management in the cerrado of Brazil: the case of the Kraho of Tocantٍins (2005-06)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea; Andrade, Valeria; Kraho, Txicapro; Kraho, Phocrok and Leonardos, Othon
Human Ecology, 33(3) (pp. 365-386)

Effects of phorophyte determinants on lichen abundance in the cerrado of central Brazil (2005-05)
Mistry, J. and Berardi, A.
Plant Ecology, 178(1) (pp. 61-76)

Exploring the links between natural resource use and biophysical status in the waterways of the North Rupununi, Guyana (2004-09)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Simpson, Matthews; Berardi, Andrea and Sandy, Yung
Journal of Environmental Management, 72(3) (pp. 117-131)

ASTROMOD: a computer program integrating vegetation dynamics modelling, environmental modelling and spatial data visualisation in Microsoft Excel (2002)
Berardi, Andrea
Environmental Modelling and Software, 17(4) (pp. 403-412)

Authored books

Savannas and dry forests: linking people with nature (2006-03)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi and Berardi, Andrea
ISBN : 075464507X | Publisher : Ashgate | Published : UK

Book chapters

The lasting impact of peer research with Indigenous communities of Guyana, South America (2021)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Berardi, Andrea; Bignante, Elisa; Jafferally, Deirdre; Nuzzo, Claudia; Albert, Grace; Xavier, Rebecca; Robertson, Bernie; Haynes, Lakeram and Benjamin, Ryan
In: Bell, Stephen; Aggleton, Peter and Gibson, Ally eds. Peer Research in Health and Social Development: International Perspectives on Participatory Research (pp. 246-260)
ISBN : 9780429316920 | Publisher : Routledge

Using visual approaches with Indigenous communities (2017-09-06)
Berardi, Andrea; Mistry, Jay; Haynes, Lakeram; Jafferally, Deidre; Bignante, Elisa; Albert, Grace; Xavier, Rebecca; Benjamin, Ryan and de Ville, Geraud
In: Oreszczyn, Sue and Lane, Andy eds. Mapping environmental sustainability: reflecting on systemic practices for participatory research (pp. 103-128)
ISBN : 978-1447331575 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol

Experimenting with Media Education, Civic Engagement, and Sustainability in Brazilian Schools (2016-12-19)
Bujokas de Siqueira, Alexandra; Berardi, Andrea; Mistry, Jayalaxshmi and Rothberg, Danilo
In: Robinson, Laura; Schulz, Jeremy and Dunn, Hopeton S. eds. Communication and Information Technologies Annual: Digital Empowerment: Opportunities and Challenges of Inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean. Studies in Media and Communications
ISBN : 978-1-78635-482-2 | Publisher : Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Introduction (2006-03)
Mistry, Jayalaxshmi and Berardi, Andrea
In: Mistry, Jayalaxshmi and Berardi, Andrea eds. Savannas and dry forests: linking people with nature (pp. 1-18)
ISBN : 075464507X | Publisher : Ashgate | Published : UK

A multidisciplinary and participatory research approach in savannas and dry forests (2006-02-28)
Berardi, Andrea and Mistry, Jayalaxshmi
In: Mistry, Jayalaxshmi and Berardi, Andrea eds. Savannas and dry forests: linking people with nature (pp. 265-271)
ISBN : 075464507X | Publisher : Ashgate | Published : Aldershot, UK

Conference items

Transforming astrobiology research and innovation: embedding an ethos of engaged research (2021-05-25)
Holliman, Richard; Marino, Alessandra; Berardi, Andrea; Grand, Ann; Mistry, Jay; Jafferally, Deirdre; Thomas, Raquel; Roberts, Grace; Marcus, Carol-Ann; Roopsind, Indranee; Roberts, Anthony; Davies, Sarah-Jane; Pearson, Victoria; Cooper, Hannah and Olsson-Francis, Karen
In : Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference: Time, Technology and Transformation (24-27 May 2021, Online)

Characterization of Natural Wetlands with Cumulative Sums of Polarimetric Sar Timeseries (2021)
Ruiz-Ramos, Javier; Marino, Armando; Berardi, Andrea; Hardy, Andy and Simpson, Matthew
In : 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS (11-16 Jul 2021, Brussels, Belgium) (pp. 5899-5902)

Assessing Hydrological Dynamics of Guyana’s North Rupununi Wetlands Using Sentinel-1 Sar Imagery Change Detection Analysis on Google Earth Engine (2020)
Ruiz-Ramos, Javier; Berardi, Andrea; Marino, Armando; Bhowmik, Deepayan and Simpson, Matthew
In : 2020 IEEE India Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (InGARSS) (1-4 Dec . 2020, Ahmedabad, India) (pp. 5-8)

The COBRA Project: a community-based approach to public engagement in science. (2014)
Berardi, Andrea; Mistry, Jay; Tschirhart, Celine; Bignante, Elisa; Haynes, Lakeram and Jafferally, Deirdre
In : 13th International Public Communication of Science and Technology Conference (5-8 May 2014, Salvador, Brazil)

ECOSENSUS: developing collaborative learning systems for stakeholding development in environmental planning (2007-05-02)
Reynolds, Martin; Berardi, Andrea; Bachler, Michelle; Buckingham Shum, Simon; Bernard, Calvin; Mistry, Jay and Ulrich, Werner
In : OU Conference Curriculum, Teaching & Student Support Conference, The Open University (2 May 2007, Milton Keynes, UK)

The ECOSENSUS Project: Co-Evolving Tools, Practices and Open Content for Participatory Natural Resource Management (2006-06)
Berardi, Andrea; Bachler, Michelle; Bernard, Calvin; Buckingham Shum, Simon; Ganapathy, Savitha; Mistry, Jayalaxshmi; Reynolds, Martin and Ulrich, Werner
In : Second International Conference on e-Social Science (28-30 Jun 2006, Manchester, UK)

The potential of the GRID for small scale GIS use: a proposal from the UK (2004-09)
Swindell, J; Lee, J and Berardi, Andrea
In : Fourth European GIS Education Seminar (2-5 Sep 2004, Villach, Austria)

Other

Visual Storytelling about Community Food Growing: Participatory Action Research Methods, Processes, and Wider Implications (2022-09)
Levidow, Les; Berardi, Andrea; Jung, Julia; Richards, Dave; McAllister, Fiona; Scott, Beth; Burton, Kath; Nuzzo, Claudia and Forest-Briand, Victoria Emanuelle
Cobra Collective

How to find and share community owned solutions (2015)
Berardi, Andrea; Bignante, Elisa; Mistry, Jay; Simpson, Matthew; Tschirhart, Céline; Verwer, Caspar and de Ville, Géraud
Cobra Collective

Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

You are here

Dr Andrea Berardi

Skip to

Profile summary

Web links