The Open University

Professional biography

Dr. Francesca Calo (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in Management at the Department of Public Leadership & Social Enterprise, where she brings academic experience from posts held in the UK and Italy. Prior to joining the Open University, she was a Post Doc Researcher at the Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health, working as researcher and project manager at the EU H2020 funded project SIRIUS and a Research fellow at CERGAS Bocconi University. She holds a PhD from Glasgow Caledonian University and a Double Degree MSc in International Management from Bocconi University and Fudan University.

Research interests

Dr Calo research interests include social enterprise and third sector organisation in health and social care, impact evaluation methods and social innovation. Some of the topics she is currently researching are: coproduction and relation between third sector and public sector; third sector as a facilitator of integration of migrants and refugees; methods for the evaluation of social enterprise and third sector contribution to health and well-being; social innovation processes in rural area. Her research was funded by European Commission, Scottish Government and Italian philanthropic foundations.

Teaching interests

Dr Calo teaching interests centre around the areas of third sector and social enterprise management. In the past she has taught undergraduate and postgraduate modules on social enterprise and social innovation at Glasgow Caledonian University and third sector management at Bocconi University.

Impact and engagement

Dr Calo has collaborated to the organisation of international policy dialogue workshops in Bruxelles. She has been invited to participate to the Scottish Government New Scots Refugees Integration Strategy Evidence Group and she was the main coordinator of the “Flash Mob for integration” during the Glasgow Science Festival 2018.

International links

She collaborates with the following research network:

EMES (International Research Network);

ISIRC (Social Innovation Research Conference);

ISTR (International Society for Third Sector Research)

Publications

Journal articles

Social enterprise and social entrepreneurship in the Public Administration (PA) scholar field: a bibliometric analysis and some conceptual considerations (2024)
Calò, Francesca; Sancino, Alessandro and Scognamiglio, Fulvio
Public Management Review ((Early Access))

Negotiating autonomy in the public sector and nonprofits "collaborations" in politically contested fields (2023-10-30)
Calò, Francesca; Numerato, Dino; Bontenbal, Ilona; Kourac, Nikos and Scognamiglio, Fulvio
Governance ((Early access))

How and with whom do educators learn in an online professional development microcredential (2023-07-14)
Rienties, Bart; Calò, Francesca; Corcoran, Suz; Chandler, Kathy; FitzGerald, Elizabeth; Haslam, Daniel; Harris, Claire A.; Perryman, Leigh-Anne; Sargent, Julia; Suttle, Martin and Wahga, Aqueel
Social Sciences and Humanities Open, 8, Article 100626(1)

Rurality and social innovation processes and outcomes: A realist evaluation of rural social enterprise activities (2023-04)
Steiner, Artur; Calò, Francesca and Shucksmith, Mark
Journal of Rural Studies, 99 (pp. 284-292)

The Public Sector and Co-Creation in Turbulent times: A Systematic Literature Review on Robust Governance in the Covid-19 emergency (2023-03)
Scognamiglio, Fulvio; Sancino, Alessandro; Calo, Francesca; Jacklin-Jarvis, Carol and Rees, James
Public Administration, 101(1) (pp. 53-70)

'You don’t realise they’re helping you until you realise they’re helping you’: reconceptualising adultism through community music (2023)
Sutherland, Callum; Calo, Francesca; Steiner, Artur and Vanderhoven, Ellen
Children's Geographies, 21(4) (pp. 579-593)

Rethinking the Role of Volunteering in the Labor Market Inclusion of Migrants (2023)
Bontenbal, Ilona; Calo, Francesca; Montgomery, Tom and Baglioni, Simone
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 53(1) (pp. 107-126)

Exploring Collaborative Governance Processes Involving Nonprofits (2023)
Calò, Francesca; Teasdale, Simon; Roy, Michael J.; Bellazzecca, Enrico and Mazzei, Micaela
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 53(1) (pp. 54-78)

Scaling Social Innovation: A Cross-Cultural Comparative Study of School-Based Mentoring Interventions (2023)
Bufali, Maria Vittori; Calò, Francesca; Morton, Alec and Connelly, Graham
Journal of Social Entrepreneurship ((Early access))

Social innovation during turbulent times: a systematic literature review and research agenda (2023)
Calò, Francesca; Scognamiglio, Fulvio; Bellazzecca, Enrico and Ongaro, Edoardo
Public Management Review (pp. 1-25)

The economic contribution of third sector initiatives for older people: a systematic review and development of a framework for evaluation (2023)
Calò, Francesca; Collins, Marissa; Donaldson, Cam and Roy, Michael
Voluntary Sector Review ([Early Access])

Marginal players? The Third Sector and Employability Services for Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the UK (2022-10)
Calo, Francesca; Montgomery, Thomas and Baglioni, Simone
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary Nonprofit Organizations, 33(5) (pp. 872-885)

The Role of Civil Society in the Labour Market Integration of Migrants in Europe: An Introduction (2022-10)
Baglioni, Simone; Calò, Francesca and Numerato, Dino
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 33(5) (pp. 851-861)

“You have to work…but you can’t!”: contradictions of the active labour market policies for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK (2022)
Calo, Francesca; Montgomery, Tom and Baglioni, Simone
Journal of Social Policy ((Early Access))

(Re)constructing a hostile environment: political claims making and the primary definers of a refugee “crisis” (2022)
Montgomery, Tom; Calo, Francesca and Baglioni, Simone
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 43(7/8) (pp. 661-676)

Evidencing the contribution of social enterprise to health and social care: approaches and considerations (2021-02-04)
Calo, Francesca; Roy, Michael; Donaldson, Cam; Teasdale, Simon and Baglioni, Simone
Social Enterprise Journal, 17(1) (pp. 140-155)

Can Public Venture Capital Support Sustainability in the Social Economy? Evidence from the Social Innovation Fund. (2020-06)
Vanderhoven, Ellen; Steiner, Artur; Calo, Francesca and Teasdale, Simon
Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 13, Article e00166

The Impact of a Community‐Based Music Intervention on the Health and Well‐Being of Young People: A Realist Evaluation (2020-04-01)
Calo, Francesca; Steiner, Artur; Millar, Stephen and Teasdale, Simon
Health and Social Care in the Community, 28(3) (pp. 988-997)

COOL Music: a ‘bottom-up’ music intervention for hard-to-reach young people in Scotland (2020-03)
Millar, Stephen; Steiner, Artur; Calo, Francesca and Teasdale, Simon
British Journal of Music Education, 37(1) (pp. 87-98)

Co-production and the third sector: conceptualising different approaches to service user involvement (2020)
Mazzei, Micaela; Teasdale, Simon; Calo, Francesca and Roy, Michael
Public Management Review, 22(9) (pp. 1265-1283)

Exploring the contribution of social enterprise to health and social care: A realist evaluation (2019)
Calo, Francesca; Roy, Michael; Donaldson, Cam; Teasdale, Simon and Baglioni, Simone
Social Science and Medicine, 222 (pp. 154-161)

Are foundations assessing their impact? Concepts, methods and barriers to social impact assessment in Italian foundations (2018-12)
Ricciuti, Elisa and Calo, Francesca
International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 15(4) (pp. 553-574)

Collaborator or competitor: assessing the evidence supporting the role of social enterprise in health and social care (2018)
Calò, Francesca; Teasdale, Simon; Donaldson, Cam; Roy, Michael J. and Baglioni, Simone
Public Management Review, 20(12) (pp. 1790-1814)

Further Limits to Institutional Isomorphism? Introducing the ‘Neo-contingency Approach’ to the Field of Community-Led Social Ventures (2015-12)
Roy, Michael; Katsunori, Sato and Calo, Francesca
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary Nonprofit Organizations, 26(6) (pp. 2536-2553)

Book chapters

Social partners: barriers and enablers (2023-01-20)
Baglioni, Simone; Montgomery, Tom and Calò, Francesca
In: Baglioni, Simone and Calò, Francesca eds. Migrants and Refugees in Europe (pp. 101-119)
ISBN : 9781447364535 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol

Introduction (2023-01-20)
Baglioni, Simone and Calò, Francesca
In: Baglioni, Simone and Calò, Francesca eds. Migrants and Refugees in Europe (pp. 1-11)
ISBN : 9781447364535 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol

Examining Non-EU Migrants and Refugees’ Agency When Navigating the British Labour Markets (2022-11-19)
Calo, Francesca and Baglioni, Simone
In: Isaakyan, Irina; Triandafyllidou, Anna and Baglioni, Simone eds. Immigrant and Asylum Seekers Labour Market Integration upon Arrival: NowHereLand. A Biographical Perspective. IMISCOE Research Series (pp. 55-73)
ISBN : 978-3-031-14008-2 | Publisher : Springer, Cham

Regulating Fortress Britain: Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Applicants in the British Labour Market (2021-04)
Calo, Francesca; Baglioni, Simone; Montgomery, Tom and Biosca, Olga
In: Federico, Veronica and Baglioni, Simone eds. Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers’ Integration in European Labour Markets: A Comparative Approach on Legal Barriers and Enablers. IMISCOE Research Series (pp. 235-258)
ISBN : 978-3-030-67284-3 | Publisher : Springer | Published : Cham

Governance and Social Enterprise (2018)
Baglioni, Simone and Calò, Francesca
In: Farazmand, Ali ed. Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance
ISBN : 978-3-319-20928-9 | Publisher : Springer International Publishing

NGOs and Governance (2017)
Ricciuti, Elisa and Calo, Francesca
In: Farazmand, Ali ed. Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy and Governance
ISBN : 978-3-319-20928-9 | Publisher : Springer International Publishing

Introduction—Food Security and Food Waste Reduction: A Social Innovation Approach to Current Social, Environmental, and Political Concerns (2017)
Baglioni, Simone; Calò, Francesca; Garrone, Paola and Molteni, Mario
In: Baglioni, Simone; Calò, Francesca; Garrone, Paola and Molteni, Mario eds. Foodsaving in Europe: At the Crossroad of Social Innovation (pp. 1-9)
ISBN : 978-3-319-56555-2 | Publisher : Palgrave MacMillan

Governing the zoo (2016-10-28)
Calò, Francesca and Teasdale, Simon
In: Young, Dennis R.; Searing, Elizabeth A.M. and Brewer, Cassady V. eds. The Social Enterprise Zoo: A Guide for Perplexed Scholars, Entrepreneurs, Philanthropists, Leaders, Investors and Policymakers (pp. 193-212)
ISBN : 9781784716059 | Publisher : Edward Elgar

Edited books

Migrants and Refugees in Europe – Work Integration in Comparative Perspective (2023-01-20)
Baglioni, Simone and Calò, Francesca eds.
ISBN : 9781447364535 | Publisher : Policy Press | Published : Bristol

Foodsaving in Europe. At the Crossroad of Social Innovation (2017)
Baglioni, Simone; Calò, Francesca; Garrone, Paola and Molteni, Mario eds.
ISBN : 978-3-319-56555-2 | Publisher : Palgrave MacMillan