Universities and sustainable regional development: introduction to the special issue

Blume, Lawrence E.; Brenner, Thomas; Buenstorf, Guido

doi:10.1007/s10037-017-0120-0

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…The capacity of universities to take a leading role in regional sustainable development is an under investigated area in the literature (Blume, et al, 2017, Horlings & Padt, 2013, and there is not a clear understanding of the best methods for maintaining equitable transfer of knowledge between universities and their local communities (Peer & Stoeglehner, 2013). More studies in this area are needed, especially concerning how to assess the impacts of university contribution outside its borders.…”

Section: Review Of the Literature On Higher Education And Sustainabilmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of higher education institutions in sustainability initiatives at the local level

Filho

Vargas

Salvia

et al. 2019

Journal of Cleaner Production

123

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Universities are central players and important economic actors in many regions, and many of them are, in general, nationally and internationally active in respect of matters related to sustainable development. But there is a paucity of research which examines their contributions towards sustainability efforts at the local level, i.e. in the places they are situated. This paper addresses this need, by reporting on a qualitative study deploying a Matrix, which allows an analysis and reporting of regional sustainable development initiatives of a set of 22 universities in industrialised and developing countries. Recommendations to enhance their role are provided, including the importance of pursuing partnerships and joint initiatives, understanding the need of local communities, and making their know-how more widely available. The scientific value of this research is related to the understanding of how the interaction between universities and local communities happens and by shedding light to this topic, it supports universities to improve their own actions. Its implications are twofold: it demonstrates the potential of universities as local players, and outlines the range of activities they may engage with, and which may allow them to act as pillars to local sustainability initiatives.

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Section: Review Of the Literature On Higher Education And Sustainabilmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of higher education institutions in sustainability initiatives at the local level

Filho

Vargas

Salvia

et al. 2019

Journal of Cleaner Production

123

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…They can only be achieved through the participation of a broad range of heterogeneous actors that contribute their specific knowledge, competencies, and perspectives [2,3]. Universities are seen as particularly relevant actors in these processes [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing Boundary-Spanning Capacity for Regional Sustainability Transitions—A Comparative Case Study of the Universities of Augsburg (Germany) and Linz (Austria)

Pflitsch

Radinger-Peer

2018

Sustainability

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Abstract:The potential of universities to become 'change agents' for sustainability has increasingly been highlighted in the literature. Some largely open questions are how universities get involved in regional sustainability transitions and how that affects their role in these processes. This paper argues that universities need to develop a boundary-spanning capacity, which enables them to transcend disciplinary as well as sectoral boundaries in order to adopt a developmental role in regional sustainability transitions. It is investigated how universities develop this capacity within a particular regional context, using the method of a transition topology. Comparing how the relationships of universities with their surrounding regions developed in Augsburg (Germany) and Linz (Austria), the paper shows why these processes are place-specific. A university's boundary-spanning capacity develops over time and differs according to the actors involved. The primarily bottom-up driven process in Augsburg was thematically quite broad and involved diverse actors. In Linz, the top-down initiated process was fragmented and more narrowly focused. Individual value-driven actors that made use of their personal networks played an important role in both regions.

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“…Systematic empirical research into the effects of HEIs on their host regions likewise has a long tradition. Initially, much of this research focused on how the expenditures of HEI, faculty, staff and students affect their host regions through direct and indirect "demand-side" effects of consumption and investment (Blume et al, 2017). Time and again, researchers estimated these effects to be substantial (Drucker and Goldstein, 2007).…”

Section: Theoretical Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While sustainability was originally a rather politically developed and propagated concept, it has become a central issue in many disciplines in the meantime. The political focus on this topic -expressed for example in the Global Sustainable Development Goals -has provided new impetus and new resources to this field (Blume et al, 2017).…”

Section: Theoretical Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of higher education institutions in ensuring integrated and sustainable regional development

Jekabsone¹

2019

Economic Science for Rural Development

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Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) impact the development of their host regions. Systematic empirical research into the effects of HEIs on their host regions likewise has a long tradition. Even more, countless studies demonstrate the positive impact of HEIs on their regional environment. Various politicians, administrators and researchers have emphasised the role of HEIs in developing of territory there HEIs are operating. In addition, the focus of practitioners and academics has been on role of HEIs in ensuring integrated and sustainable development of their administrative territory. Taking into account before mentioned, the aim of the paper is to analyse the role HEIs in ensuring integrated and sustainable regional development of the territory there HEIs are operating, especially in case of Latvia. The tasks are formulated as follows: 1) to review the theoretical background on the role of HEIs in ensuring integrated and sustainable regional development; 2) to analyse empirical research on importance of HEIs in ensuring integrated and sustainable regional development; 3) to analyse case of Latvia, namely how HEIs in regions ensure integrated and sustainable regional development. In order to achieve the aim, following research methods have been used: scientific literature studies, statistical data analysis and case study method. Main results and conclusions of the paper: the analysis of the scientific literature and empirical studies shows that HEIs matter the development of the host region and affect the integrated and sustainable regional development via channels of teaching, research and outreach activities. In case of Latvia, regional HEIs have dissimilar impact on integrated and sustainable development of the region through different teaching, research and outreach activities.

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Universities and sustainable regional development: introduction to the special issue

Cited by 17 publications

References 30 publications

The role of higher education institutions in sustainability initiatives at the local level

The role of higher education institutions in sustainability initiatives at the local level

Developing Boundary-Spanning Capacity for Regional Sustainability Transitions—A Comparative Case Study of the Universities of Augsburg (Germany) and Linz (Austria)

The role of higher education institutions in ensuring integrated and sustainable regional development

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