Transition As a New Participatory Approach for Achieving the Sustainability of the University

Transition as a new participatory approach for achieving the sustainability of the university system

Francesca Cappellaroa,b, Alessandra Bonolia

aDICAM, Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering, University of Bologna, Italy

bENEA - Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Via Martiri di Monte Sole 4, 40129 Bologna, Italy

Abstract –Sustainability transitions (ST) have been recognized as promising frameworks for innovation in structures, cultures and practices towards sustainability. Applied in the university domain, ST could stimulate a successful transformation in higher education institutionsfor adopting sustainability. In order to demonstrate the potential of the STapproach, this paper describes the adoption ofone of Transitionsinstruments in the university domain. The Transition Management process for the entire system of university has been investigated. In the framework of ST, the importance of implementing transition experiments has emerged. Accordingly, the paper presents transition experiments in the University of Bologna,where both the educational and the organizational rolesare investigated. The experiment has been conducted at the School of Engineering and Architecture in Bologna and Transition Management provides a valid opportunity both for successful initiation and long-term maintenance of university sustainability programs.As a result, a living laboratory of sustainability has been created. The living-labnot only promotesthe implementation ofsustainability best practices within the campus, but also enhances the engagement of staff and students in the creation of the sustainability process. Therefore Transition Managementis a valid instrument to emphasize the essential role that the university plays in the improvement of sustainability culture. In conclusion, the paper encourages the adoption ofST within the university system as an engine of innovation for research, design and showcasing for sustainability.

1. Introduction

Education is one of most important drivers to achieve sustainable production and consumption patterns. Because universities are a model for a formal and organized education, they can define and also become models of sustainability. Actually, universities have the possibility to teach, to operate and to contribute to the global knowledge of sustainability (Rotmans, 2012). Higher Educational Institutions (HEI), universities have a special responsibility to provide leadership on education for sustainable development (Lozano, 2013). The university can certainly have the multiple role of being a promoter of sustainable activities, creating a place where virtuous operations can be realized. In addition, through specific teaching and learning methods, laboratories and internships, the university can provide future generations with knowledge and awareness to create a new model of life. In 2014, the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, DESD (2005-2014) is ended. DESD has identified several elements which characterized the education for sustainability, such as: interdisciplinary, values-driven, multi-method, participatory decision-making, applicability, locally relevant, critical thinking and problem solving. Since 2010, the Conference of European Roundtable of Sustainable Consumption and Production (ERSCP) and the Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities (EMSU) concluded that “formal research and interactive methods are helpful, but not sufficient for achieving changed behavior among users” (Quist and Tukker, 2013). In spite of the development of a variety of agreements, declarations and charters among regional and international higher education associations and intergovernmental organisations (Grindsted, 2011, Lozano, 2011), several resistance to engage with sustainability still emerges (Lozano, 2013). Consequently, in order to overcome resistance and to engage the university with sustainability, a new perspective is needed. A university is a complex system, characterized by multi-actor and multi-process with different organisational cultures, traditions and concerns (Sharp, 2002). Therefore becoming sustainable university requires a systemic transformation which means the adoption of a ‘whole-systems’ approach (Sharp,2002, Koester, 2006). This paper presents the adoption in the university domain of an emerging approach in the field of sustainable system innovation: Sustainability Transitions (ST) (Markard, Raven and Truffer, 2012). These Sustainability Transitions have been recognized as promising frameworks for innovation in structures, cultures and practices towards sustainability [ref.]. In order to demonstrate the potential of sustainability transitions approach in establishing sustainability in the university domain, the paper analyses university sustainability issues through the lens of transition. According to Lozano et al. (2013), in order to ensure that sustainability involves the entire university system, several inter-linked elements are crucial: education; research; campus operations; on-campus experiences; community outreach and collaboration; assessment and reporting. Correspondingly, the paper explains how a transition perspective helps to inter-connect the different elements of the HEI system and to enhance a participative process. The final aim is to prove that applying transition in the university domain could stimulate a successful transformation of higher education institution into place of sustainability.

2.Method: Transition Theories and Experiments for systemic transformation

According to Rip and Kemp (1998) and Geels (2002), transitions can be defined as a “socio-technical” transformation in the fulfillment of social needs. Considering the recent systemic problems as systemic lock-ins, the market failure and the growing pressures on our environment, there is the growing urgency of a systemic transformation towards Sustainable Development (SDND, 2013). In this context, Sustainability Transitions (ST) is an emerging research field, provides a support to move towards more sustainable systems of production and consumption (Markard, Raven and Truffer, 2012). Thus, ST are directed to redesigning entire systems of practice and provisions. ST research aims to develop a co-evolutionary approaches that highlights the multi-dimensional inter-connection of actors and socio-technical regimes (Rotmans, 2011). In the framework of ST research, one of instruments implemented for steering transitions towards socially needed directions, is Transition Management (TM) (Kemp et al., 1998; Kemp and Loorbach, 2006, Loorbach and Rotmans, 2010). According with Loorbach and Rotmans, (2009), the Transition Management approach proposes a cyclic process with the 4 phases implemented at different levels, see Figure 1. Actually, TM is broadly applied to stimulate sustainability transitions on the scale of regions, cities and communities as well as to initiate transformations in socio-technological systems (Rotmans and Loorbach, 2008).

Figure 1 – Transition Management Cycle (Rotmans and Loorbach, 2008)

As Table 1 shows, TM presents different phases acting a different levels: strategic, tactical, operational and reflexive. Mainly, TM steps as Transition Teams and Transition Arenas are effective instruments to shape a participatory process. On one hand the Transition Team is the core team that manages and facilitates the TM process in a multifunctional and transdisciplinary way (Lang et al., 2012, Yarime et al., 2012). On the other hand, the Transition Arena is one of the main results of the TM process and provides the framework to put into practice transition experiments. Finally, a reflexive phase is required in order to evaluate all the process, to identify new problems and challenges and to define future trajectories and actions. All the things considered, the TM processes can be adopted as a valid support for implementing transition process towards sustainability.

Level / Phase / Process step / Actions
Strategic / Problem structuring,
Organizing a transition arena / Transition Team
Investigating the context
Community engagement / visioning,
strategic discussions, long-term goal formulation
Tactical / Framing the transition challenge
Development of long-term visions / negotiating,
networking,
coalition building / agenda-building,
backcasting
Operational / Experiments and
mobilizing actors / processes of experimenting, implementation / Operational activities
Experiments
Projects development
Reflexive / Monitoring and
evaluation / Analysis and interpretation of results
imagine and understand
alternative trajectories for future action / Evaluating experiments
Learning

Table 1–Description of the Transition Management Process

Owing to their potential for system innovation change, several ST research fields underline the importance of transition experiments, also called niche experiments. The concept of niche is wide-spread. In the transition perspective, niches are small-scale protected space that could be a beginning of radical innovation (Kemp et al., 1998, Raven et al., 2010). Especially, niches have specific application domains such as buildings, energy supply, transport, food production. Consequently, the implementation of transition experiments in a new application domain can constitute a crucial issue in order to support the emerging need to make sustainability transitions happen. In view of that, this paper has considered TM as a valid method for the definition of a concept and a roadmap of sustainable initiatives in the university domain. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of ST in the integration of HEI elements, the role of a transition experiment is investigated.

3.Experimenting Transition Management in the university domain

According with Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN, 2010), emerging future lines will focus on deepening the empirical basis for Sustainability Transitions research and also expanding the application domains of transitions into new problems such as education, health care, welfare state, etc. This paper shows the implementation of an ST instrument in the application domain of a university. With the aim to adopt a holistic approach, the Transition Management has been chosen as the instrument for guiding the sustainability process in the university domain. A description followsregarding the adoption of TM phases within the university domain are provided with a special focus on a TM experience implemented at the University of Bologna, Italy.

3.1 University system analysis, problem structuring

According to the sustainability issues, risks and associated challenges presented by the UNEP Greening University Toolkit (2013), HEI sustainability actions and initiatives are characterized by a structural separation of academic staff and campus management. In effect, campus structural issues are historically viewed as a distraction from the core mission of the university. Additionally, there are individual high quality initiatives, but they are fragmented and uncoordinated. As result, a lack of engagement of the whole university community, a lack of communication and real commitment including a lack of funding are emerging. All things considered, sustainability tends to remain a marginal part of university life. In order to structure the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats within university system, a SWOT-analysis has been used. The SWOT analysis provides a support for prioritizing actions and to identify which problems can be addressed. In Figure 1, Higher Education Institutions sustainability actions and initiatives have been evaluated by means of SWOT analysis.

Figure 2 - SWOT analysis of university sustainability issues

3.2 University challenges and vision

The SWOT analysis has emerged following a huge number of remarkable initiatives on sustainability at university level, several weaknesses still inhibit a real transformation of university in place of sustainability. There is the necessity of re-orienting the university trajectories for a long term perspective on sustainability. According with Sharp (2002), a crucial challenge for university system can be to “achieve mission alignment between teaching, research and campus operations, harnessing the vast collective learning process that is currently underway within its walls, to benefit its own systems”. Consequently, the final vision is the transformation of the whole university system into living laboratory of sustainability. A living laboratory aims to implement transitions processes in order to engage staff, students and the university stakeholders with the establishment and the co-creation of sustainability initiatives (Cappellaro et al., 2014a). In the context of university, the living-lab allows for a participatory process to be finalized at involving a university wide-community in making practical applications of the theory. According to UNEP (2013), there are several examples of HEI living-lab initiatives, such as: connecting research projects affecting the campus operations, providing new resources for learning and teaching and also using real sustainability problems as a context for students to learn critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In the context of Sustainability Transitions, the living laboratory can be seen as a transition niche.

3.3 Establishing and executing transition experiments

Due to the systemic approach, transition experiments can stimulate the implementation of living-labs of sustainability in an integrated way. In order to build coalitions, transition experiments can activate a participative processes among actors that recognize the benefit of joining forces in performing innovative experiments. A practical example of how transition experiments can work, is offered following the experience of the UNIBO Terracini Campus (Cappellaro et al., 2014b). Terracini is the place of the School of Engineering and Architecture located in via Terracini, Bologna. In Table 2, the activities of the adoption of transition approach in the Terracini Campus is described.

Level / Key activities / Key Output
Strategic / - Process design
- Reframing challenge
- System analysis
- Actor identification / Transition team (TT)
Tactical / - Transition Arena formation
- Participatory context assessment
- Participatory vision process
- Selection of key priorities / Transition Lab for Students with the involvement of TT members.
Operational / - Translating the perspective into specific actions
- Agenda formulation
- Broadening the network
- Influencing regular policy
- Coalition forming
- Implement pilots / Environmental Sustainability Plan Measures as Transition experiments
Transition Network
Reflexive / - Learning
- Evaluation
- Reflection on vision and strategy
- Adaptation of strategy / Evaluation of key initiatives and sustainability indicators.
New issues and proposal for the Sustainability Plan.

Table 2 - Transition Management applied at Terracini Campus

4.Discussion

In order to prove the effectiveness of the transition approach in the achievement of systemic transformation of university system, the Transition Management process developed within the Terracini campus has been analyzed. Table 2 shows several activities and outputs that are crucial for the implementation of a systemic transition. Firstly, the creation of a Transition Team, a multifunctional and transdisciplinary teamwith the participation of different members of the university community: faculty, staff, administrators, students and transition management experts. The team was established through the support of a training course dedicated on Sustainability Transitions. During the course, the participants were involvedin problem identification and in the sharing of a common vision and the approach for sustainable campus. Several sustainability operational issues affecting the Terracini Campushavebeen identified. These aspects are mostly related to natural resources, water management, energy efficiency and saving, waste reduction and recycling. Since most of these issues are part of the measures included in the Environmental Sustainability Plan of University of Bologna, the engagement of the administrative staff together with students, researchers and academia have become crucial for the successful implementation of these measures. The training coursewas the foundationfor forming the Transition Team and for defining the Transition Arena in which the objective was for enhancing the involvement and the empowerment of the whole university community in the sustainability process. To achieve that, a decisive activity called Transition-Lab has been the organization of an educational course. The Transition-Lab has been devoted to engineering students who have been directly engaged in the design of the Environmental Sustainability Plan measures of the Terracini Campus. Adopting an experiential learning approach, the students have worked on “real world” problems with the support of the TT members as supervisors. In this manner, the Transition-Lab has provided a context for students to learn critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The solutions that have emerged are strictly connected to several university research lines such as green technologies, innovative techniques for water supply, water and groundwater saving, wastewater recovery, raw materials, solid waste treatment valorization and recycling. Finally, the laboratory has resulted in practical measures and actions developed for the Terracini Campus such as: experimental green roofs system, photovoltaic plant, flow controllers and timers for water consumption reduction, the introduction of water drinking fountainsin order to reduce plastic waste from bottled water, the creation of Informatics for the Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (IWEEE) Recovery Centre, design of some areas and spaces constructed with non-conventional building materials and for rainwater capture and reuse. The results are two-fold. The measures have contributed to enrich the measures of Environmental Sustainability Plan and transition experiments have enhanced the awareness of the university community in the sustainability process. TM has definitely promoted the development of participatory process not only within the campus of Terracini, but also outside the campus and the whole of the University of Bologna. In fact, the campus has been transforming as a platform for sustainability experimentation through collaboration and networking among the university stakeholders including external suppliers of goods and services, the local community, public and private sector funding bodies, students’ families, etc. Other favorable initiatives that have contributed to the network creation have been collaborations with other universities. Recently, a first exchange of transition experiences has been realized in the context of the European Programme Climate-KIC, within the Project Sustainable Campuses Launching Customers (SC/LC). In addition, Unibo has also began the process of taking part in the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN). Similarly in Italy, Unibo has been also promoted the creation of a National Network of Sustainable Universities.

5.Conclusions

Recognizing the urgency to adopt a systemic approach for achieving sustainability in a wider sense, this paper has presented the effectiveness of the Sustainability Transitions approach.The Transition Management instrument has been investigated and then applied in the university domain. The adoption of TMhas contributed to identify a holistic approach for the transformation of the entire university system. TMhas promoted the creation of the Transition Team and the Transition Arena which have been helpful to re-connect staff, student and faculties. Moreover, through the execution of transition experiments, the living laboratory concept has been introduced as an integral part of university sustainability plan. Consequently, learning and research outcomes have directly affected the campus operations and simultaneously the living laboratory experiments have provided new resources for learning and teaching into the future. As a result, transition experiments have facilitated the combination of individual building measures and campus-wide planning. The transition process has resulted in the creation of a Transition Network, a platform on which to exchange experiences and to influence each other. The main consequence is the broadening and the scaling up of transition experiments through the interaction with other experiments. Correspondingly, similar transition experiments shall be initiated in other contexts and favorable conditions for scaling up are generated.Finally, TM has been useful for integrating in a systemic way the HEI elements such as campus operations, education, research, community outreach, on-campus experiences,assessment and reporting. The main conclusion of this paper is the demonstration that Sustainability Transitions can support the implementation of a new paradigm for developing sustainability as an integral part of the university system.