65
as they feel. This has not only aggravated the level of discontent in research locations but has also resulted in the destruction of potential opportunities to foster
impact sustainability research and education initiatives, since stakeholders reap
very little benefit from collaborative endeavours in these circumstances. According
to the ESD Networks in Nigeria and Mexico, these contextual factors have been
exacerbated due to ‘high level of illiteracy among the local population at the local
level’ preventing communities from becoming active participants in available sustainability initiatives as well as a gender-biased culture ‘a genuine problem when
the primary researchers or project leaders are women’.
These limiting contextual factors have also been detrimental for the governance
environment and stakeholders’ interactions. Some participants in ESD Networks
from Germany, Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala describe the governance environment at HEIs as hierarchical, ‘closed’, ‘bureaucratic’ and charged by external misconceptions about being very theoretical. In addition, other stakeholders agree there
is a lack of institutional support, as the government does not provide a favourable
environment for sustainability research and education. According to the ESD
Network in Brazil, ‘it is not a government priority and therefore there is lack of funding’. Yet, evidence indicates that both the role of the government and a collaborative
approach to sustainability neither provide an adequate development of sustainability
initiatives nor provide for broader interactions amongst networks. According to participants from the ESD Networks in Brazil, Chile and Portugal, ‘individual interests’
and ‘competition between different actors’ have prevailed upon the ‘collaborative
capacity’ of stakeholder networks and their willingness to share. According to the
ESD Networks in the United States, Ecuador, Colombia and Nigeria, this has resulted
in increased workloads, difficulty in communicating and demonstrating the mutual
benefit (win-win) of sustainability initiatives, issues when establishing institutional
relationships and trust as well as unequal allocation of resources.
Stakeholder networks are active supporters of sustainability initiatives; however,
at times collaboration becomes difficult due to lack of resources: according to the
ESD Networks in Thailand and Indonesia, in some cases financial support is ‘unconsecutive’ or ‘unstable for longer time period’. Insufficient funding is becoming a
major issue in ESD Networks in Canada, Sweden and the United States. Limited
financial resources also compromise the expanding capacity of existing networks –
ESD Network in the United States adds. Likewise, ESD Network in Mexico argues
that dispersed funding and not funding at all are issues that have an impact on the
network itself. ESD Networks in the United States, India, Canada, Portugal and
Chile agree that lack of financial resources also compromises the availability of
other resources, such as time, information and institutional support.
Research approaches to sustainability science with a potential impact at the community level are two factors that require further attention. Regarding community
engagement, some participants acknowledge the fact that local communities find it
difficult to engage with the overall research process – at least this is the case of the
ESD Networks in Indonesia. This can be due to the fact that ‘researchers are in and
out, lacking in more permanence in the communities’, the ESD Network in Mexico
adds. In addition, ESD Networks in Nigeria, Uganda and Mexico agree that lack of
5 SDG 4 Quality Education
as they feel. This has not only aggravated the level of discontent in research locations but has also resulted in the destruction of potential opportunities to foster
impact sustainability research and education initiatives, since stakeholders reap
very little benefit from collaborative endeavours in these circumstances. According
to the ESD Networks in Nigeria and Mexico, these contextual factors have been
exacerbated due to ‘high level of illiteracy among the local population at the local
level’ preventing communities from becoming active participants in available sustainability initiatives as well as a gender-biased culture ‘a genuine problem when
the primary researchers or project leaders are women’.
These limiting contextual factors have also been detrimental for the governance
environment and stakeholders’ interactions. Some participants in ESD Networks
from Germany, Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala describe the governance environment at HEIs as hierarchical, ‘closed’, ‘bureaucratic’ and charged by external misconceptions about being very theoretical. In addition, other stakeholders agree there
is a lack of institutional support, as the government does not provide a favourable
environment for sustainability research and education. According to the ESD
Network in Brazil, ‘it is not a government priority and therefore there is lack of funding’. Yet, evidence indicates that both the role of the government and a collaborative
approach to sustainability neither provide an adequate development of sustainability
initiatives nor provide for broader interactions amongst networks. According to participants from the ESD Networks in Brazil, Chile and Portugal, ‘individual interests’
and ‘competition between different actors’ have prevailed upon the ‘collaborative
capacity’ of stakeholder networks and their willingness to share. According to the
ESD Networks in the United States, Ecuador, Colombia and Nigeria, this has resulted
in increased workloads, difficulty in communicating and demonstrating the mutual
benefit (win-win) of sustainability initiatives, issues when establishing institutional
relationships and trust as well as unequal allocation of resources.
Stakeholder networks are active supporters of sustainability initiatives; however,
at times collaboration becomes difficult due to lack of resources: according to the
ESD Networks in Thailand and Indonesia, in some cases financial support is ‘unconsecutive’ or ‘unstable for longer time period’. Insufficient funding is becoming a
major issue in ESD Networks in Canada, Sweden and the United States. Limited
financial resources also compromise the expanding capacity of existing networks –
ESD Network in the United States adds. Likewise, ESD Network in Mexico argues
that dispersed funding and not funding at all are issues that have an impact on the
network itself. ESD Networks in the United States, India, Canada, Portugal and
Chile agree that lack of financial resources also compromises the availability of
other resources, such as time, information and institutional support.
Research approaches to sustainability science with a potential impact at the community level are two factors that require further attention. Regarding community
engagement, some participants acknowledge the fact that local communities find it
difficult to engage with the overall research process – at least this is the case of the
ESD Networks in Indonesia. This can be due to the fact that ‘researchers are in and
out, lacking in more permanence in the communities’, the ESD Network in Mexico
adds. In addition, ESD Networks in Nigeria, Uganda and Mexico agree that lack of
5 SDG 4 Quality Education