Transferring Sustainability Solutions across Contexts through City–University Partnerships

Lauren Withycombe Keeler, Fletcher D. Beaudoin, Amy M. Lerner, Beatrice John, Richard Beecroft, Kaidi Tamm, Arnim Wiek and Daniel J. Lang
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Lauren Withycombe Keeler: School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
Fletcher D. Beaudoin: Institute for Sustainable Solutions, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97201, USA
Amy M. Lerner: Laboratorio Nacional de Ciencias de la Sostenibilidad, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México 04510, CDMX, México
Beatrice John: Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, D-21335 Lüneburg, Germany
Richard Beecroft: Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, D-21335 Lüneburg, Germany
Kaidi Tamm: Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Arnim Wiek: Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, D-21335 Lüneburg, Germany
Daniel J. Lang: Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, D-21335 Lüneburg, Germany

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: The urgency of climate change and other sustainability challenges makes transferring and scaling solutions between cities a necessity. However, solutions are deeply contextual. To accelerate solution efforts, there is a need to understand how context shapes the development of solutions. Universities are well positioned to work with cities on transferring solutions from and to other cities. This paper analyses five case studies of city–university partnerships in three countries on transferring solutions. Our analysis suggests that understanding the interest, the action on sustainability, and the individual and collective sustainability competences on the part of the city administration and the university can help facilitate the transfer of sustainability solutions across contexts. We conclude that the nature of the city–university partnership is essential to solution transfer and that new and existing networks can be used to accelerate progress on the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Keywords: sustainability; cities; universities; city–university partnerships; sustainability solutions; capacity-building (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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