Drivers and barriers of University Social Responsibility: integration into strategic plans

Abstract

The implementation of University Social Responsibility (USR) in its strategic plans is a subject of great social interest. However, the lack of understanding produces deficient stakeholder's engagement, obstructing USR applications and potential benefits. USR in a formal context and as part of strategy should be a path that leads to its fulfilment. A Delphi method was used and several experts have participated in it. Results show that USR is related to student's issues, among main drivers are to work under a code of ethics and acquire civic competences as a part of their vocational training. Among barriers to be involved in social responsibility activities is the lack of engagement of university community. The insufficient communication into the university community is mentioned as one of the main obstacles to incorporate USR into strategic planning. Relevance of this work relies on the holistic points of views of the results.

Analysis of the actions of Ibero-American universities to achieve social responsibility by promoting responsible competences

“…It was achieved by identifying key initiatives like programs for institutional self-evaluation, development of strategic plans, programs for teaching evaluation, administrative performance, and programs or subjects to promote teamwork. The results in this work agrees with previous research (Ramos-Monge et al 2017a). The second objective was to identify the Ibero-American initiatives with a greater lag to achieve social responsibility; it was completed by identifying sustainable transport programs and economic aid for entrepreneurs as the two initiatives with a greater lag.…”

“…(2) When the database was completed, the next step was to include recent actions that were unmentioned (either in the literature or by any organism). In this step, the Delphi method was employed to evaluate and achieve a complete database of USR actions (Ramos-Monge et al 2017a). At the same time, a group of experts (academic authorities) was asked about key USR actions, being able to add or modify those recorded on the previous step.…”

“…et al (2009),Rice et al (2014),Palalić et al (2017), Ramos-Monge et al (2017a,Ratten (2017) Graduates employment Job bank for graduatesGnyawali and Fogel (1994), Ratten and Welpe (2011), Williams et al (2016), Ferreira et al (2017), Palalić et al (2017), Ratten et al (2017), Red UniRSE (2018) Programs or projects for entrepreneurship Networks with companies to promote entrepreneurship Economic aid for entrepreneurs Training on issues related to entrepreneurship Extracurricular courses for the improvement of the English language Sánchez et al (2014)…”

¿Son las universidades socialmente responsables?

“…En primer lugar, para lograr una correcta implementación de la RSU, es necesario que esta sea entendida como una estrategia de dirección (Vasilescu et al, 2010). Esta afirmación queda confirmada con los resultados de la Fase 3, los cuales revelan que si la RSU se ve reflejada en los instrumentos de dirección estratégica (misión, visión y valores; Karwowska, 2019) y planes estratégicos (Ramos-Monge et al, 2019), es altamente probable que los otros canales a través de los cuales se comunican las acciones de RSU sean también altos y, por lo tanto, se obtengan señales de que la institución está comprometida con esta política.…”

The Extent of Higher Education Institutions Commitment in Serving Community According to Its Social Responsibility

“…In addition, the dimension of networking, accountability, and ethics should also be integrated as guiding principles for the role of universities in society (Dima, Vasilache, Chinea, & Agoston, 2013). Monge et al (2019) summarized the role of universities in achieving social responsibility as follows:…”