IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i10p4288-d362240.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Drafting the Strategy for Sustainability in Universities: A Backcasting Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Roberta Sisto

    (Department of Economics, Management and Territory, University of Foggia, 71121 Foggia, Italy)

  • Edgardo Sica

    (Department of Economics, Management and Territory, University of Foggia, 71121 Foggia, Italy)

  • Giulio Mario Cappelletti

    (Department of Economics, Management and Territory, University of Foggia, 71121 Foggia, Italy)

Abstract

The contribution of universities to the sustainability challenge is nowadays crucial due to their role as centers of learning, innovation and research. However, universities can deal with sustainability matters in many different ways which should be accurately identified in their strategies. In this context, the present paper has tested the suitability of backcasting as a participatory approach to involve stakeholders in discussing the most effective actions to improve sustainability within universities’ strategic plan. The experiment—carried out at University of Foggia (UniFg-Italy)—has demonstrated the flexibility of the backcasting approach in identifying the actions required to reach the UniFg sustainability goals according to the 2030 Agenda, allowing the university governance bodies to reach a number of objectives in the design stage. Furthermore, backcasting enhanced the confidence of stakeholders involved with an overall improvement of their empowerment, enabling them to follow and keep track of the whole process of the university’s strategy definition.

Suggested Citation

  • Roberta Sisto & Edgardo Sica & Giulio Mario Cappelletti, 2020. "Drafting the Strategy for Sustainability in Universities: A Backcasting Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-12, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:10:p:4288-:d:362240
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/10/4288/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/10/4288/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robinson, John Bridger, 1982. "Energy backcasting A proposed method of policy analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 10(4), pages 337-344, December.
    2. Forstater, Mathew, 2004. "Visions and scenarios: Heilbroner's worldly philosophy, Lowe's political economics, and the methodology of ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 17-30, November.
    3. Munda, Giuseppe, 2004. "Social multi-criteria evaluation: Methodological foundations and operational consequences," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(3), pages 662-677, November.
    4. Lori Thrupp & Bruce Cabarle & Aaron Zazueta, 1994. "Participatory methods in planning & political processes: Linking the grassroots & policies for sustainable development," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 11(2), pages 77-84, March.
    5. Mathew Forstater, 2004. "Visions and Scenarios: Heilbroner's Worldly Philosophy, Lowe's Political Economics, and the Methodology of Ecological Economics," Method and Hist of Econ Thought 0411002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Rodrigo Lozano & Michelle Y. Merrill & Kaisu Sammalisto & Kim Ceulemans & Francisco J. Lozano, 2017. "Connecting Competences and Pedagogical Approaches for Sustainable Development in Higher Education: A Literature Review and Framework Proposal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-15, October.
    7. Mathew Forstater, 2004. "Visions and Scenarios: Heilbroner's Worldly Philosophy, Lowe's Political Economics, and the Methodology of Ecological Economics," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_413, Levy Economics Institute.
    8. Sisto, Roberta & Lopolito, Antonio & van Vliet, Mathijs, 2018. "Stakeholder participation in planning rural development strategies: Using backcasting to support Local Action Groups in complying with CLLD requirements," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 442-450.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Primiano Di Nauta & Enrica Iannuzzi & Michele Milone & Claudio Nigro, 2020. "The Impact of the Sustainability Principles on the Strategic Planning and Reporting of Universities. An Exploratory Study on a Qualified Italian Sample," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-21, September.
    2. Martina Blašková & Dominika Tumová & Rudolf Blaško & Justyna Majchrzak-Lepczyk, 2021. "Spirals of Sustainable Academic Motivation, Creativity, and Trust of Higher Education Staff," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-25, June.
    3. Ivan Paunović & Cathleen Müller & Klaus Deimel, 2022. "Building a Culture of Entrepreneurial Initiative in Rural Regions Based on Sustainable Development Goals: A Case Study of University of Applied Sciences–Municipality Innovation Partnership," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Gladys Merma-Molina & Mayra Urrea-Solano & Salvador Baena-Morales & Diego Gavilán-Martín, 2022. "The Satisfactions, Contributions, and Opportunities of Women Academics in the Framework of Sustainable Leadership: A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-23, July.
    5. Luis Alberto Mejía-Manzano & Patricia Vázquez-Villegas & Anthony Smith & Alfredo Soeiro & Anikó Kálmán & Tamer Atabarut & Nicolás Otaduy-Rivera & Jorge Membrillo-Hernández & Patricia Caratozzolo, 2023. "An Exploratory Study Examining the Key Aspects and Actions for Universities to Achieve High Sustainability Rankings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-19, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Violeta Cabello Villarejo & Cristina Madrid Lopez, 2014. "Water use in arid rural systems and the integration of water and agricultural policies in Europe: the case of Andarax river basin," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 957-975, August.
    2. Kashwan, Prakash, 2017. "Inequality, democracy, and the environment: A cross-national analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 139-151.
    3. March, Hug & Therond, Olivier & Leenhardt, Delphine, 2012. "Water futures: Reviewing water-scenario analyses through an original interpretative framework," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 126-137.
    4. O'Hara, Phillip Anthony, 2009. "Political economy of climate change, ecological destruction and uneven development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 223-234, December.
    5. Daniyal Khan, 2014. "Economics as a Science, Economics as a Vocation: A Weberian Examination of Robert Heilbroner's Philosophy of Economics," Economic Thought, World Economics Association, vol. 3(1), pages 1-56, March.
    6. Sisto, Roberta & Fernández-Portillo, Luis A. & Yazdani, Morteza & Estepa-Mohedano, Lorenzo & Torkayesh, Ali Ebadi, 2022. "Strategic planning of rural areas: Integrating participatory backcasting and multiple criteria decision analysis tools," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    7. Margherita Pazzini & Rachele Corticelli & Claudio Lantieri & Cecilia Mazzoli, 2022. "Multi-Criteria Analysis and Decision-Making Approach for the Urban Regeneration: The Application to the Rimini Canal Port (Italy)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-28, December.
    8. Andrea Saltelli, 2007. "Composite Indicators between Analysis and Advocacy," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 81(1), pages 65-77, March.
    9. Rachele Corticelli & Margherita Pazzini & Cecilia Mazzoli & Claudio Lantieri & Annarita Ferrante & Valeria Vignali, 2022. "Urban Regeneration and Soft Mobility: The Case Study of the Rimini Canal Port in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-27, November.
    10. Rocío Valderrama-Hernández & Fermín Sánchez-Carracedo & Lucía Alcántara Rubio & Dolores Limón-Domínguez, 2019. "Methodology to Analyze the Effectiveness of ESD in a Higher Degree in Education. A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-27, December.
    11. Xiaodan Zhou & Ling-Hsiu Chen & Chin-Ling Chen, 2019. "Collaborative Learning by Teaching: A Pedagogy between Learner-Centered and Learner-Driven," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-14, February.
    12. Mander, Sarah. L. & Bows, Alice & Anderson, Kevin. L. & Shackley, Simon & Agnolucci, Paolo & Ekins, Paul, 2008. "The Tyndall decarbonisation scenarios--Part I: Development of a backcasting methodology with stakeholder participation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 3754-3763, October.
    13. Johann Audrain & Mateo Cordier & Sylvie Faucheux & Martin O’Connor, 2013. "Écologie territoriale et indicateurs pour un développement durable de la métropole parisienne," Revue d'économie régionale et urbaine, Armand Colin, vol. 0(3), pages 523-559.
    14. Werner Riess & Monika Martin & Christoph Mischo & Hans-Georg Kotthoff & Eva-Maria Waltner, 2022. "How Can Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Be Effectively Implemented in Teaching and Learning? An Analysis of Educational Science Recommendations of Methods and Procedures to Promote ESD Goa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-16, March.
    15. Hurmekoski, Elias & Hetemäki, Lauri, 2013. "Studying the future of the forest sector: Review and implications for long-term outlook studies," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 17-29.
    16. Baudry, Gino & Delrue, Florian & Legrand, Jack & Pruvost, Jérémy & Vallée, Thomas, 2017. "The challenge of measuring biofuel sustainability: A stakeholder-driven approach applied to the French case," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 933-947.
    17. Kifah Imara & Fahriye Altinay, 2021. "Integrating Education for Sustainable Development Competencies in Teacher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-17, November.
    18. Giuseppe Munda, 2005. "“Measuring Sustainability”: A Multi-Criterion Framework," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 117-134, January.
    19. White, Leroy & Lee, Gregory John, 2009. "Operational research and sustainable development: Tackling the social dimension," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 193(3), pages 683-692, March.
    20. Locatelli, Bruno & Rojas, Varinia & Salinas, Zenia, 2008. "Impacts of payments for environmental services on local development in northern Costa Rica: A fuzzy multi-criteria analysis," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(5), pages 275-285, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:10:p:4288-:d:362240. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.