María José Vañó is elected director of the IUDESCOOP

Professor María José Vañó has been reelected director of the University Research Institute in Social Economy, Cooperativism and Entrepreneurship (IUDESCOOP) by unanimous vote of the council of the research centre. She is currently a tenured University professor at the -Manuel Broseta Pont- Department of Market Law.

Professor Vañó became a member of the IUDESCOOP almost when the centre was founded. She was also the secretary of the centre for six years. Within her research history, her dedication to the study of social economy organisations and her participation in public-private collaborative projects can be highlighted. One of Vañó’s most important lines of research has been that of ICT, as well as safety in electronic transactions or formalisation of contracts.

María José Vañó’s first aim during her term is to establish the position of IUDESCOOP as a centre of reference at national and international level. Among her proposed objectives are: searching for promotion and support to the research coordinated by the interdisciplinary team of the Institute; defining an integrating strategy and boosting territorial development; and strengthening links between public administrations and the organisations that represent social economy, counting with the organisations that comprise it and reinforcing the link with the rest of the research centres in the Valencian universities that also carry out social economy research. Professor Vañó paid special attention to CIDEC, which turned thirty years old in 2020. It is considered to be the European centre of reference at national and international level for public and social economy information and documentation.