Loading...
2 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
- The INDICARE-model: measuring and caring about participation in higher education's sustainability assessmentPublication . Disterheft, Antje; Caeiro, Sandra; Leal Filho, Walter; Azeiteiro, UlissesThe implementation of sustainability in higher education has been advanced over at least the last twodecades and brought sustainability assessment on the research agenda of Education for Sustainable Devel-opment (ESD) and sustainability science. Participatory approaches have gained increasing attention inthese endeavours, but remain often vague and less addressed in sustainability assessment procedures.To fill in this gap, an indicator-based model, INDICARE, was developed that can assist in assessing par-ticipatory processes within higher education’s sustainability initiatives. The objective of this paper is tointroduce and discuss the model’s theoretical background, its structure, applicability, and how it canbroaden the perspectives on participation and sustainability assessment in the university context.Embedded in a cross-sectional qualitative research design, the model was developed in iterative stagesand was presented and adjusted along six feedback loops, having been presented to 98 persons duringconferences, workshops and university meetings. Inspired by biophilic ideas, transformative learning the-ories and participatory evaluation, INDICARE follows an ecocentric and integrative perspective that placesthe earth and its community at the centre of attention. A preliminary set of thirty indicators and prac-tices, grouped in three categories of context, process, and transformation, is proposed. The assessmentprocess itself is considered as a thought-provoking exercise rather than as a control tool and empha-sizes the interplay of personal reflection and action-oriented outreach. INDICARE intends to invigoratethe sustainability debate in higher education, in particular by proposing a more holistic approach toassessment that underlines experiencing the interconnectedness of human–nature relationships, com-bined with reflective exercises that can respond better to the call for transformation on individual andinstitutional level.
- Sustainable universities: a study of critical success factors for participatory approachesPublication . Disterheft, Antje; Caeiro, Sandra; Azeiteiro, Ulisses; Filho, Walter LealParticipatory approaches can be seen as a requirement, but also as a benefit to the overall paradigm change towards sustainable development and contribute towards the integration of sustainability concept into the university culture. So far, there have been comparatively few research studies on participation within sustainability implementation at university level, and a more differentiated understanding of these processes is still missing, both in the practice of conducting a participatory process and in the sustainability assessment. This paper addresses some of the failures and successes experienced within participatory approaches in campus sustainability initiatives, and deduces a set of critical success factors and emergent clusters that can help to integrate the dimensions of participation more inclusively into sustainability assessment. Following a qualitative approach and inspired by the Delphimethod, semi-structured expert interviews (N ¼ 15) and four focus group discussions (N ¼ 36), with participants coming from twenty different countries in total, were conducted and compared according to qualitative content analysis. Findings give empirical evidence to some of the characteristics related to stakeholder engagement, and associate higher education for sustainable development to empowerment and capacity building, shifting away from a previous focus on environmental sustainability. The success of participatory approaches is interdependent with structural institutional conditions and the persons engaged, highlighting the importance of specific skills and participatory competencies. A better integration of the dimensions of participation into sustainability assessment practices can help in defining and establishing participatory approaches on institutional level and fostering a culture of participation in the transition to sustainable universities.