RESOURCES
DECODE Empowerment Programme
Reflection and Impact Report
The DECODE Sustainability team organised in Barcelona a pilot of the Empowerment Program through a Learning Teaching Training Activity (LTTA) which served as a validation stage of the stand-alone online program from the 22nd until the 24th of March 2023.
The Empowerment Program, aimed to equip deans with the right knowledge, skills, and tools to embed sustainability in their academic units by designing a department-specific Impact Roadmap, was complemented with the digital provision of pre-program and post-program content on the DECODE Connect Platform. Each day of the program had a different focus: 1st day: Understanding challenges (status quo and needs of universities), 2nd day: Exploring DECODE concepts and tools (Impact tree and Pathways), and 3rd day: Applying the DECODE tools (Connect Platform, Self-evaluation survey, and Impact Roadmap).
These reports include how the exercises leading to the designing of Impact Roadmaps were facilitated, a summary of the feedback of the participants in the Empowerment Program and of the consortium of partners (collected through personal interviews and through an online satisfaction survey) and the reflections of the Catalan Association of Public Universities as LTTA host (collected through an internal evaluation form), together with a description of the experience, lessons learned and challenges.
DECODE Impact Pathways and Impact Roads
Framework Report
The ultimate purpose of the European Deans Council for Sustainable Development is to design a clear pathway towards improving sustainability contributions in and through higher education. In order to fulfill such an ambitious aim, the fourth intellectual outcome of the project was focused on the DECODE Impact Pathways and Impact Roadmaps Framework.
More specifically, efforts were made to create a framework for generic Impact Pathways that university units or departments can use to advance their contributions to sustainability, and a framework for the creation of department-specific Impact Roadmaps (based on each of the generic Pathways) which will outline the specific steps to be taken by departments to promote positive change.
DECODE Toolkit
Overview & Accessibility
The DECODE Toolbox provides more than 100+ tools on how to drive sustainability in your academic unit. As “tools” we understand (a) ideas, (b) instruments, and (c) good practice cases (instruments in practice).
The DECODE Toolkit is an online resource freely accessible on DECODE Connect. Users can either access the Impact Tree to identify instruments that they would like to implement, or undertake a quick self-assessment which will point them to the right tools.
Blueprint for Council Establishment
A practical Guide Based on Learnings from DECODE Sustainability Project
The DECODE Blueprint for Council Establishment is one of the transferrable results created in the second work package of the project “DECODE Deans Council and its Platform”.
The process taken and experiences gained by the DECODE Sustainability project team in establishing, promoting and launching the European Deans Council for Sustainable Development are summarized and adjusted as a general guide to establishing a council.
The Blueprint is not intended to be prescriptive as it has been designed as a flexible planning technique to prompt ideas and support strategic and long-term planning. Benefit from the learnings by downloading the Blueprint below.
DECODE HEI Sustainability Analysis: final Report
A report written by Ben Jongbloed & Anete Veidemane (Center for Higher Education Policy Studies)
This report summarizes the process, results and insights gained during the first work package of the DECODE Sustainability project. This evidence-based report is created with aim to shed more light on the question of how deans can embed sustainability and attention for sustainable development in their department’s education, research, and societal engagement portfolio.
DECODE HEI Sustainability Analysis: Deans and Academics Survey Reports
As part of the foundation work done for the project, the DECODE Sustainability consortium led by CHEPS ran two surveys aiming to identify the opportunities and
obstacles that deans and academic staff face when embedding ‘sustainability’ and ‘sustainable development’ into their academic units (e.g. faculties, schools, departments). Gain insights on what the results reveal.
Deans Survey Report
Embedding Sustainability in Academia: Deans as Change Makers - Survey of Deans
A report written by Ben Jongbloed, Anete Veidemane, Asif Bayezid (Center for Higher Education Policy Studies)
Academics Survey Report
Embedding Sustainability in Academia: Deans as Change Makers - Survey of Academics
A report written by Ben Jongbloed & Anete Veidemane (Center for Higher Education Policy Studies)
DECODE HEI Sustainability Analysis: Literature Review
A literature review written by Ben Jongbloed, Anete Veidemane, Di Hu at Center for Higher Education Policy Studies
Through the literature review, the DECODE Sustainability project presents its current knowledge about the strategies, policies and efforts undertaken by HEIs to embed sustainability and attention for sustainable development (SD) in their education, their research, and their societal engagement activities – the three missions of HEIs.
