Implementing Sustainability Co-Creation between Universities and Society: A Typology-Based Understanding

Abstract

Universities are under mounting pressure to partner with societal stakeholders and organizations to collaboratively create and implement sustainability-advancing knowledge, tools, and societal transformations. Simultaneously, an increasing number of societal organizations are reaching out to partner with universities to achieve organizational objectives and increase the effectiveness of strategies to further societal sustainability. Using a conceptual framework of "sustainability co-creation", this study empirically examines the historical and ongoing experiences of five organizations in Japan that actively partner with universities to enhance sustainability activities and strategies to transform society. We examine motivations for partnering with universities, innovative models of practice, factors hampering the co-creative potential of the university, and desired changes to overcome these. Our empirical study leads to the proposal of a typology that might assist in categorizing and understanding key attributes of differing types of sustainability co-creation. We build our typology from two perspectives: First, in terms of the primary objective of the co-creation (ranging from knowledge production to the transformation of society), and second, in terms of the approach taken (ranging from either socially or technologically-centered). We then reflect on the organizations' experiences to offer several strategies that could increase the effectiveness of the university when partnering with stakeholders in sustainability co-creation. We also highlight several factors effecting the university's capacity to move beyond knowledge production towards implementation measures to transform society with external stakeholders.

Fashion Trendsetting, Creative Traits and Behaviors, and Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Comparing Korean and U.S. College Students

“…Creativity may affect the degree to which pro-environmental messages and behaviors emerge [61]. Trencher et al [62] conceptualized 'sustainability co-creation' to encourage sustainability activities as a means of transforming society. Tran and Park [63] proposed a co-creative framework for redesigning a product service system.…”

“…Therefore, individuals who were not trendsetters in the current study (which measured fashion trendsetting) might be trendsetters in a study that measured, for example, mobile internet trendsetting. Recent innovative concepts, such as ecopreneurship, ecopreneurs, and sustainable entrepreneurship, illustrate how environmental issues can be progressively integrated into entrepreneurship [62][63][64], but the links among them are unclear, especially in terms of institutional and cultural contexts across various countries. Trendsetters, as compared to later adopters, are likely candidates to provide creative thinking to environmental challenges facing business, industry, and civic sectors.…”

Sustainability Assessment and Benchmarking in Higher Education Institutions—A Critical Reflection

“…In this context, Kapitulcinová [9] introduced the model from a "business-as-usual university" to a "sustainable university" where sustainability has been fully integrated under three degrees, initiation/awakening, implementation/pioneering and institutionalization/transformation, including in this last stage a consolidation of changes. Thus, the HEIs are under mounting pressure to partner with societal stakeholders and organizations to collaboratively create and implement sustainability-advancing knowledge, tools and societal transformations [10]. So, in recent years, an increasing number of institutions have begun the adjustment and restructuring of education, research, campus operations and community outreach towards sustainability [8,11,12].…”

Literature Review on Relationship Building for Community-academic Collaboration in Health Research and Innovation

“…In response to European Commission Horizon 2020's call for 'science-for-and-with-community', academia have recognized the need to conduct 'responsible research and innovation' via engaging with communities to combat today's complex health challenges (Jacob, 2013). Hence, universities have given higher priority to community engagement in the aim of better aligning health research and innovation development to meet the societal values, needs and expectations (Trencher et al, 2017;van Hove and Wickson, 2017).…”