Overcoming ‘departmentalism’ to facilitate SDG achievement: evidence from Italian state universities

Lucia Giovanelli, Federico Rotondo and Alberto Ezza

Public Money & Management, 2025, vol. 45, issue 7, 712-723

Abstract: The UN’s 2030 Agenda, which set out the sustainable development goals (SDGs), emphasized the role of public sector entities, particularly those involved in higher education, in building a more sustainable world. However, a major barrier to a holistic integration of sustainability in universities is that organizational structures are often fragmented in specialized scientific fields. This article examines the relationship between actions taken to overcome departmentalism in Italian state universities in order to focus on the sustainability of their value proposition. The findings provide a roadmap for policy-makers and university managers to lead the sustainability transition of society. The authors highlight departmental composition in terms of size and multidisciplinarity, establishment of effective horizontal co-ordination mechanisms and development of incentives linked to goals of collaboration between departments and across disciplines.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/09540962.2025.2462778

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