EDS Integrated Approach for Sustainability (EDS-IA) …
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5.4 Governance as an Integrating Element
The two years of implementation of the approach have shown that effective collaboration of stakeholders in sustainable development, even in the case of private actors
or in the academic community, requires the presence of effective institutions with
clear guidance and relevant and robust coordination and monitoring mechanisms.
In both universities experiences, proposals that emerged have put governance at the
core.
Thus, at Université Laval, the proposal of one of the teams specifically concerned
the creation of a vice-rectorate devoted specifically to sustainable development to
ensure the realization of the proposed projects. At UADB, the methodology planned
to articulate all the proposals by choosing SDG 11 (sustainable cities) as an integrating element. However, in the course of the exchanges, the integration tool proposed
by the participants was a participatory development plan. This leads to add SDGs 16
and 17 to highlight the importance of effective institutions and partnerships.
In both experiences, the process proved to be particularly relevant to inform and
raise awareness in a large number of participants who, despite their interest and
commitment to sustainable development, were not aware of the existence of the
SDGs or did not feel concerned by this framework. This bottom-up exercise oriented
to civil society is complementary to other existing capacity-building tools, must of
which have public administrations as the primary targets.
6 Conclusions
Although the growing scientific understanding of environmental challenges and the
multiplication of individual actions to redress the unsustainable trends, humanity still
lag behind in its quest for sustainable development. The SDGs provide a system of
key indicators that can be used as a dashboard of public decisions. However, the link
between individual actions and global impacts can only be achieved by improving
the effectiveness of collective action.
Knowledge sharing and collaborations between actors in all fields and sectors are
major drivers of change in society. Collective creative exercises promote teamwork
skills and the emergence of transformative initiatives. EDS-IA combines these elements to offer meaningful and inspiring meeting opportunities that can serve as a
trigger for a process of collective transformation towards a more sustainable society.
Universities can play an important role as drivers for the implementation of the
SDGs. Approaches considering universities as “living laboratories” as the EDS-IA
does, are proving to be effective tools for concrete and integrated intervention design
for sustainability.
The first two years of implementation of the EDS-IA allowed to identify the
relevance of this approach to facilitate linking stakeholders and disciplines and to
encourage collaborations and action. It should be noted, however, that the ideas
297
5.4 Governance as an Integrating Element
The two years of implementation of the approach have shown that effective collaboration of stakeholders in sustainable development, even in the case of private actors
or in the academic community, requires the presence of effective institutions with
clear guidance and relevant and robust coordination and monitoring mechanisms.
In both universities experiences, proposals that emerged have put governance at the
core.
Thus, at Université Laval, the proposal of one of the teams specifically concerned
the creation of a vice-rectorate devoted specifically to sustainable development to
ensure the realization of the proposed projects. At UADB, the methodology planned
to articulate all the proposals by choosing SDG 11 (sustainable cities) as an integrating element. However, in the course of the exchanges, the integration tool proposed
by the participants was a participatory development plan. This leads to add SDGs 16
and 17 to highlight the importance of effective institutions and partnerships.
In both experiences, the process proved to be particularly relevant to inform and
raise awareness in a large number of participants who, despite their interest and
commitment to sustainable development, were not aware of the existence of the
SDGs or did not feel concerned by this framework. This bottom-up exercise oriented
to civil society is complementary to other existing capacity-building tools, must of
which have public administrations as the primary targets.
6 Conclusions
Although the growing scientific understanding of environmental challenges and the
multiplication of individual actions to redress the unsustainable trends, humanity still
lag behind in its quest for sustainable development. The SDGs provide a system of
key indicators that can be used as a dashboard of public decisions. However, the link
between individual actions and global impacts can only be achieved by improving
the effectiveness of collective action.
Knowledge sharing and collaborations between actors in all fields and sectors are
major drivers of change in society. Collective creative exercises promote teamwork
skills and the emergence of transformative initiatives. EDS-IA combines these elements to offer meaningful and inspiring meeting opportunities that can serve as a
trigger for a process of collective transformation towards a more sustainable society.
Universities can play an important role as drivers for the implementation of the
SDGs. Approaches considering universities as “living laboratories” as the EDS-IA
does, are proving to be effective tools for concrete and integrated intervention design
for sustainability.
The first two years of implementation of the EDS-IA allowed to identify the
relevance of this approach to facilitate linking stakeholders and disciplines and to
encourage collaborations and action. It should be noted, however, that the ideas