Higher Education Institutions and Sustainable Development Implementing a Whole-Institution Approach

• Other Authors: Rieckmann, Marco (Editor), Bormann, Inka (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
• Subjects: Humanities; Education; higher education institutions; implementation; organisational factors; sustainable development; interpretative structural modelling (ISM); higher education institutions (HEIs); cross-sector collaboration; multi-professional collaboration; transdisciplinary research; narrative analysis; sensemaking; whole institution approach; organizational networks; constant comparative analysis; athletic departments; higher education; sustainability; loose coupling; shared governance; United States; intellectual capital; performance; quality of life; sustainability assessment; environmental management performance; German-speaking countries; survey; whole-institution approach; competencies; knowledge; values; case study; discourse analysis; environment; Global South; Sustainable Development Goals; universities' transformation; sustainability assessment tool; sustainability governance; systems theory; governance equalizer; politics; profession; organization; public; organizational culture; Germany; sustainability in science; transformative science; grammar of responsibility; ethics of knowledge; universities as echo chambers of society; catalytic science; universities; organizational change; higher education for sustainable development (HESD); sustainability transitions; SD; alliances; university; transfer; practitioner-university partnership; societal impact; education for sustainable development; higher education development; sustainable university development; systemic development; inter-organizational networks; worldviews; societal transformation; systemic transformation
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

Sustainability is an urgent developmental task for our society and is attracting increasing attention. Therefore, higher education institutions (HEIs) are also called upon to deal theoretically, conceptually, methodically, critically, and reflectively with the associated challenges and the processes and conditions of transformation in order to contribute to sustainable development. How can complex organisations such as HEIs succeed in initiating and maintaining the process of sustainable development within their own institutions and make it a permanent responsibility? How can as many protagonists as possible be persuaded to get involved in sustainable development? This book deals with the promotion of sustainable university development and provides an overview of how universities can be organised sustainably and how sustainable development can be implemented in their various functional areas. In the sense of a "whole-institution approach", which encompasses entire HEIs, the focus is not only on the core areas of teaching (higher education for sustainable development) and research (sustainability in research) but, also, on the operational management of HEIs. In addition, this book focuses on sustainability governance and transfer for sustainable development at HEIs as cross-disciplinary issues.