Universities' Contributions to Sustainable Development's Social Challenge

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Paulesky Juliani ◽  
Ania Silva ◽  
Jorge Cunha ◽  
Paul Benneworth
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Environmental Practices ◽  
Sources Of Knowledge ◽  
Recent Interest ◽  
Social Challenge ◽  
The Social

There is an increasing recognition that dealing with sustainable development need to address the social structures that encourage unsustainable economic and environmental practices. Universities represent important sources of knowledge for addressing sustainable development, but there has been relatively limited consideration of their contributions to these social elements. Drawing on recent interest in social innovation as to conceptualise social change and community development, this paper aims to understand universities' involvement in the process of social innovation, for the particular case of a Brazilian higher education institution. By exploring how universities can contribute to the different stages of the social innovation process, it highlights the capacities that universities have to address the social sustainable development challenge. The paper identifies five characteristics of universities contributions to social innovation and sets out an agenda for future research necessary to understand universities' wider contributions to sustainable development.

Universities' Contributions to Sustainable Development's Social Challenge

2019 ◽  
pp. 379-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Paulesky Juliani ◽  
Ania Silva ◽  
Jorge Cunha ◽  
Paul Benneworth
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Environmental Practices ◽  
Sources Of Knowledge ◽  
Social Challenge ◽  
The Social

There is an increasing recognition that dealing with sustainable development need to address the social structures that encourage unsustainable economic and environmental practices. Universities represent important sources of knowledge for addressing sustainable development, but there has been relatively limited consideration of their contributions to these social elements. Drawing on recent interest in social innovation as to conceptualise social change and community development, this paper aims to understand universities' involvement in the process of social innovation, for the particular case of a Brazilian higher education institution. By exploring how universities can contribute to the different stages of the social innovation process, it highlights the capacities that universities have to address the social sustainable development challenge. The paper identifies five characteristics of universities contributions to social innovation and sets out an agenda for future research necessary to understand universities' wider contributions to sustainable development.

scholarly journals Sustainability in Participatory Sports Events: The Development of a Research Instrument and Empirical Insights

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6034
Author(s):  
Ine Hugaerts ◽  
Jeroen Scheerder ◽  
Kobe Helsen ◽  
Joris Corthouts ◽  
Erik Thibaut ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Research Instrument ◽  
Sports Events ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals

The United Nations (UN) considers sports as an important enabler of sustainable development. The popular and fast-growing Participatory Sports Event (PSE) sector can play an important role in this regard, however, research that measures and reports sustainability in PSEs is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to construct and validate a research instrument based on the UN’s sustainable development goals, and to examine sustainability in PSEs. To this end, an online survey was administered among a representative sample of 303 PSE organisers, located in Flanders, Belgium. A confirmatory factor analysis affirmed the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the instrument and provided evidence for its validity and reliability. The results reveal significant discrepancies between the three dimensions, with a noticeable lower score for environmental sustainability compared to social and economic sustainability. Furthermore, challenges are highlighted in the field of the civil society sector and in walking sports events. The findings also indicate that large-sized events are more likely to be sustainable. The current study can act as a foundation for future research on sustainability in PSEs and can assist PSE organisers and policymakers to increase the sustainability-related performance of the sector.

Exploring the social innovation process in a large market based social enterprise

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 1399-1414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martine Vézina ◽  
Majdi Ben Selma ◽  
Marie Claire Malo
Keyword(s):  
Social Transformation ◽  
Dynamic Capabilities ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Investment Fund ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Large Market ◽  
The Social

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the organising of social innovation in a large market-based social enterprises from the perspective of dynamic capabilities and social transformation.Design/methodology/approachThis paper analyses the process by which Desjardins Group launched the Desjardins Environment Fund as the first investment fund in North America to integrate environmental screening. It uses longitudinal single case analysis and a theoretical framework based on Teece’s three dynamic capabilities.FindingsResults show that dynamic capabilities can be conceived as stages in the process of social innovation. Sensing refers to the capability to identify a societal demand for social transformation. Seizing capability is about shaping societal demand into a commercial offer. Reconfiguring concerns organisational innovation to integrate actual and new knowledge through innovative routines. Microprocesses of both path dependency and path building are in action at each of the three stages.Practical implicationsThis paper shows that managing dynamic capabilities is central to social innovation in the context of a large social business and provides genuine managerial input via an analysis of the microprocesses at work in the social innovation process.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the operationalization of Teece’s dynamic capabilities model. In mobilising a framework in the field of management of innovation, it contributes to the understanding of the process of social innovation and develops the organisational mechanism for multiscalarity of social innovation as a condition for social transformation.

Utilization of Online Platforms by Social Entrepreneurs for Social Sustainable Development

2019 ◽  
pp. 75-102
Author(s):  
Anja Herrmann-Fankhänel
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Market Orientation ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Resource Dependence ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
The Social ◽  
Start Ups

Socially sustainable development can be driven by individuals, entrepreneurs, growing start-ups, and international companies. As social entrepreneurs, people opt for a form of organization that contributes to social improvement through entrepreneurial means. The question is: How do they do it? The resource dependence approach (RDA) assumes that all decisions and activities of a (social) enterprise are based on information about its environment. Therefore, the four key components of the social enterprise (individual, organization, social innovation, market orientation) must be appropriate. In this chapter, therefore, social enterprises are outlined as active participants and shapers of the economy and society. Since an active improvement with regard to socially sustainable development is focused by the social enterprises in Africa, a description of the social enterprise's environment is also given within the framework of topical focuses. The goal is to derive recommendations about action for social enterprises to achieve their goals.

The Role of Societal Culture in Social Innovation

2021 ◽  
pp. 86-101
Author(s):  
Gaye Karacay
Keyword(s):  
Social Innovation ◽  
Development Stage ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Societal Culture ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Value Creation ◽  
Research Propositions

Being at a development stage, the social innovation literature needs further contributions that would help to comprehensively find out the enablers of social innovation especially within macro level. Since the nature of social innovation is cumulative as well as interactive, the micro level practices of individual social innovation initiatives add up to the general patterns at the macro-level. On account of the fact that shared values among members of a society bring about similar expectations, perceptions, and behavioral patterns, it is essential to explore how various societal cultural attributes contribute to social innovation capacities of countries. This study aims to explore an evidence of the influence of societal culture on social innovation, specifically by shaping the perceptions of social entrepreneurs for social value creation. By discussing the relationship between societal culture and social innovation in a conceptual manner along with developing research propositions, this study offers a new direction for future research.

scholarly journals Building Inter-Personal Competence in Architecture and Urban Design Students through Smart Cities at a Higher Education Institution

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 7179
Author(s):  
Daniel S. Oh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Personal Competence ◽  
Interdisciplinary Design ◽  
Design Workshop

As the smart city concept and applications continue to evolve, traditional architects and urban designers are facing an increasingly uncertain future. This paper outlines an innovative educational format to bolster and perpetuate the interdisciplinary nature of architects and urban designers that resonates with both sustainable development (SD) and smart cities (SCs). By applying ‘connective knowledge’ to the concept of interdisciplinarity education, a method was established that uses the SC concept to expand upon and create a bridge between distant disciplines in the context of higher education sustainable development (HESD). As a complementary educational pedagogy to the ‘whole institution approach’ to reduce barriers in higher education institutions (HEIs), this paper highlights an opportunity to apply the SC concept as a basis to construct an interdisciplinary design workshop to focus on building inter-personal competence, targeting university-level students majoring in architecture and urban design. The design workshop used microcontrollers and sensors as these are scalable and easily learnt building blocks of the Internet of Things and SCs. The inter-disciplinary workshop ran for 16 weeks with 14 students majoring in architecture and urban design and electrical engineering. Based on interviews and course evaluations, the experiment was vetted using capacities of inter-personal competence in sustainable development. A series of insights and findings from the design workshop indicated positive initial outcomes that were used to form a set of working criteria for the interdisciplinary design workshop. Future work will include structuring empirical data collection and analysis and expanding collaborations with other distant disciplines such as public administration and social innovation, as delineated by the SC concept.

Qasab: Kutch Craftswomen’s Producer Co. Ltd.

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (02) ◽  
pp. 255-277
Author(s):  
Shweta Mittal ◽  
Vishal Gupta ◽  
Manoj Motiani
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Social Entrepreneur ◽  
Ethnic Communities ◽  
Traditional Art ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Venture ◽  
The Impact

The ‘Qasab’ case is designed to teach students about the characteristics of social entrepreneurship and the impact it has on the society. It also describes how sustainable development and social innovation are interlinked. ‘Qasab’ was an organization whose main focus was to preserve the traditional art of the Kutch region. The case describes the genesis and the journey of ‘Qasab,’ how it preserved the traditional art forms, and the personality traits of Pankaj Shah (the social entrepreneur who started ‘Qasab’). The case talks about the problems faced by the artisans in the region, which led to the formation of this social venture. Also, it touches upon the HR challenges faced by a social entrepreneur. At the time this case was written, ‘Qasab’ had become a collective enterprise comprising 1,200 rural master craftswomen from 11 ethnic communities spread across 62 villages in the arid interiors of Kutch and has been formally structured and registered as a ‘Producer Company’ owned by traditional craftswomen. ‘Qasab’ included different communities such as — ‘Mutwa’, ‘Sodha Rajput’, ‘Jat-Daneta’, ‘Meghwal’, ‘Sindhi Memon’, ‘DhebariyaRabari’, ‘KacchiRabari’, ‘Ahir’, ‘Halepotra’, ‘Sumra,’‘Hingorja’ and ‘Pathan’ — that had distinct embroidery styles and emphasized maintaining these styles (since the embroideries were an integral part of their cultural identity) — to preserve their unique identities. ‘Qasab’ was known for its outstanding quality of authentic Kutch embroidery, appliqué and patchwork products, its hallmark being traditional motifs reflecting the cultural identity of each community in contemporary designs through items of premium quality. ‘Qasab’ had made artisans stakeholders in the organization and was able to preserve the distinct art of each community. The case is based on the theme of social entrepreneurship and analyzes the process of the emergence of such enterprises, their importance and the factors that lead to their success and sustainability. Students can assess how these organizations are different from other types of organizations. The case should help students to find the parameters that show that social innovation and sustainable development are interlinked. The case can be used to study the business model of social innovation.

scholarly journals Using Visualization to Build Transparency in a Healthcare Blockchain Application

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 6768
Author(s):  
Jesús Peral ◽  
Eduardo Gallego ◽  
David Gil ◽  
Mohan Tanniru ◽  
Prashant Khambekar
Keyword(s):  
Patient Data ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Multiple Stakeholders ◽  
Technical Challenge ◽  
Digital Platform ◽  
Social Challenge ◽  
The Social ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Pilot Implementation

With patients demanding services to control their own health conditions, hospitals are looking to build agility in delivering care by extending their reach into patient and partner ecosystems and sharing relevant patient data to support care continuity. However, sharing patient data with several external stakeholders outside a hospital network calls for the development of a digital platform that is trusted by both hospitals and stakeholders, given that there is often no single entity supporting such coordination. In this paper, we propose a methodology that uses a blockchain architecture to address the technical challenge of linking disparate systems used by multiple stakeholders and the social challenge of engendering trust by using visualization to bring about transparency in the way in which data are shared. We illustrate this methodology using a pilot implementation. The paper concludes with a discussion and directions for future research and makes some concluding comments.

Open laboratories for social innovation: A strategy for research and innovation in education for peace and sustainable developmentSustainable development is an issue of high relevance for all countries, and universities play a fundamental role in promotin

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela Georgina Gómez Zermeño ◽  
Lorena Yadira Alemán de la Garza
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Innovation In Education ◽  
The Social ◽  
Innovation Space

Purpose Sustainable development is an issue of high relevance for all countries and universities play a fundamental role in promoting the participation of society members in achieving this objective. This study aims to conduct an open laboratory of social innovation (OPENLAB_SI) inside a university with society stakeholders, as a research and innovation tool that facilitates addressing the complexity of social problems through the principles of openness, experimentation, inclusion, diversity, participation and collaboration. The aim was to encompass innovation with the active participation of citizens in processes of experimentation, exchange and creativity to impact their social reality through collective designs for more sustainable futures done by and for communities. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a case study conducted during an OPENLAB_SI, which applied innovative, socio-educational strategies intending to promote the social appropriation of renewable energies to help the sustainable development of urban, rural and marginalized areas. In our open lab, a total of 67 participants attended, including university students from various public and private institutions of higher education. Also, civil organizations participated, as well as consultants, teachers, government representatives and university professors. Experts from various disciplines who work in businesses, foundations, universities and government spoke on the topics that were addressed. Findings Among the notable principal findings is the collaborative work done voluntarily by all the participants who, instead of working with a proposal designed beforehand by one group or another, recognized that an OPENLAB_SI leads to the creation of links between society, academia, business and government. Originality/value In the OPENLAB_SI through the exchange of experiences and best practices, aimed at more robust networking and improvement in the acquisition of scientific and technological skills and abilities, the participants became actively involved in the generation of collective knowledge. The main contribution of this paper is to present an open laboratory into the social innovation space that can be replicated such a living lab model in other contexts to contribute to pursuit the sustainable development goals with education for sustainable development as a key catalyst for transformation.

scholarly journals INOVAÇÕES SOCIAIS E SEUS NÍVEIS DE ANÁLISE: O CASO PATAC – PB

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 157
Author(s):  
Suzanne Érica Nóbrega Correia ◽  
Verônica Macário de Oliveira ◽  
Carla Regina Pasa Goméz
Keyword(s):  
Social Transformation ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Learning Capacity ◽  
The Social

Este artigo tem como objetivo analisar as iniciativas de inovação social desenvolvidas pelo Programa de Articulação de Tecnologias Apropriadas às Comunidades (PATAC), a partir do modelo proposto por Lévesque (2002). Nesse sentido, foram observados os três níveis de análise apresentados no modelo: atores, organizacional e institucional. Realizou-se um estudo de caso descritivo e exploratório, a partir da realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas junto a gestores e técnicos do programa supracitado. Na análise dos atores, percebe-se envolvimento da comunidade pela valorização da cultura e da capacidade de aprendizado. No nível organizacional, observou-se que, nos projetos geridos, tem um caráter compartilhado, na busca do fortalecimento sociopolítico. Os resultados demonstram que, no nível institucional, o processo de inovação social tem como função coordenar os diferentes setores da sociedade, para manter redes de relacionamentos e cooperação para funcionamento dos projetos e programas sociais envolvidos. Assim, os níveis de análise da inovação social não devem ser entendidos apenas como mecanismo isolado de satisfação das necessidades sociais, mas também como um mecanismo de transformação social que busca mudanças na configuração da sociedade como meio de promover a sustentabilidade e a qualidade de vida.Palavras-chave: Inovação social. Níveis de análise da inovação social. Desenvolvimento local.ABSTRACTThis paper aims to analyze the social innovation initiatives developed by the Appropriate Technology Joint Program for Communities (PATAC) from the model proposed by Lévesque (2002). In this sense, the three levels of analysis presented in the model were observed: actors, organizational and institutional. We conducted a study of descriptive and exploratory case from conducting semi-structured interviews with managers and technicians of the aforementioned program. In the analysis of the actors, the community’s involvement is appreciated by the valorization of the culture and the learning capacity. At the organizational level, it was observed that in managed projects, it has a shared character, in the search for socio-political strengthening. The results demonstrate that at the institutional level the social innovation process has the function of coordinating the different sectors of society to maintain networks of relationships and cooperation for the operation of the social projects and programs involved. Thus, analysis of levels of social innovation should not be understood only as a single mechanism of satisfaction of social needs, but also as a social transformation engine that seeks changes in society setting as a means of promoting sustainability and quality of life.Keywords: Social innovation. Analysis of levels of social innovation. Local development.

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