Chedrak Chembessi

Assistant professor at the research centre, I completed my doctoral thesis under the joint supervision of Aménagement du Territoire et Développement Régional (Université Laval) and Géographique Économique (Université de Limoges, France). I also hold a bachelor's and master's degree in Economic Analysis and Policy (University of Parakou, Benin) and a master's degree in Construction and Management of Sustainable Territories (University of Limoges, France).

My research interests concern the implementation processes of new economic models (industrial ecology, circular economy, social economy) and their contribution to territorial development and the ecological transition.

My recent work offers a socio-political analysis of local circular economy experiments. They focus on the mechanisms for activating different forms of proximity (geographical, relational and institutional) between local players with a view to implementing the circular economy and creating broader value for the territory. They illustrate the territorial engineering approach used to engage local players in a process of collective territorialized action around the circular economy and territorial development. They question the different forms of territorial intermediation in local circular economy experiments, and articulate the fundamental characteristics of territorialized collective action (actors, strategies and resource skills) to highlight the challenges and opportunities in building and coordinating local socio-economic networks for circular economy development.