Abstract
Improving sustainability knowledge is crucial to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article highlights the role of multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) in fostering sustainable development knowledge in higher education institutions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of collaboration and stakeholder engagement for the adoption and impact of an MSP. The method is based on the case-study of Sulitest: an international MSP developing open online tools to raise and map sustainability literacy. Sulitest engages different stakeholders to co-develop and disseminate online tools according to the stakeholder context. Sulitest is also a data-provider for academic research investigating the advancement of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This study uses a sample of 61,376 students in 33 countries having taken the Sustainability Literacy Test between September 2016 and December 2018 to estimate the advancement of students’ knowledge and understanding of the 17 SDGs and their systemic nature. Factorial analysis allows to map the dimensions of sustainability literacy related to the level of engagement and collaboration in this MSP. The results show that active collaboration, stakeholder engagement, and membership in international networks act as important factors of adoption of this initiative. The analysis also highlights the role of exposure to education in order to enhance sustainability literacy and to develop a systemic perspective of sustainability.
Highlights
IntroductionEnhancing sustainable development knowledge and building the capacity to address the complex challenges of the 21st century is a keystone of any sustainable economy or global governance system
The data come from the case study of Sulitest. This initiative is an multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) using collaboration through institutional networks and engagement of different stakeholders to contribute to the 2030 Agenda by enhancing sustainability knowledge
The results contribute to the literature on education for sustainable development by providing insight into the impact of the adoption of an MSP on the student’s sustainability knowledge, rather than the effort put in place to integrate sustainability into the curriculum
Summary
Enhancing sustainable development knowledge and building the capacity to address the complex challenges of the 21st century is a keystone of any sustainable economy or global governance system. The role of multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) in addressing the complex challenges and even “wicked” problems such as those embedded in sustainable development figure increasingly in a growing body of literature [1,2,3]. Building on the literature highlighting the importance of cross-sector partnerships to initiate deep and systemic change [5,6], MSPs develop collaborative arrangements between multiple stakeholders where collective action can provide innovative ways of conducting systemic change. The adoption of the 2030 Agenda’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 and the systemic nature of the goals reinforce the expectation for MSPs to address these challenges and their multiple interlinkages. SDG 17, in particular, is a transversal objective aiming to enhance “Partnerships for the Goals”
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