Alessandra Lo Piccolo

Alessandra is a Research Fellow at the Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna. She is currently involved in the Horizon Europe-funded project RESPOND, which explores political corruption and undue influence in digital societies to propose solutions for combatting these issues. Previously, Alessandra has worked as a research fellow in the ERC-funded project BIT-ACT, Bottom-Up Initiatives and Anti-Corruption Technologies.

She attained her Ph.D. at the Scuola Normale Superiore, where she investigated the accountability consequences of grassroots anti-corruption mobilizations in Italy and Spain. Over the years, she has conducted research on the impact of civil society initiatives on governmental transparency, whistleblowers’ protection, and political monitoring. Her research interests include political sociology, political corruption, collective action, and relational sociology.

She has obtained a Master’s in Sociology and Social Research from the University of Trento and Tilburg (double degree) and a BA in Sociology from the University of Bologna.