Skip to content
National Resource Hub
Search
← Browse resources
Resource

HEA Enablers for Whole-of-Institution Education for Sustainable Development in Higher Education

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)HEA & National Forum Publications

Description

This resource sets out five strategic enablers that can support the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development across all areas of a higher education institution:

1. Collaboration and commitment
2. Holistic and transformational practice, scholarship and leadership
3. Capacity-building and professional development
4. Student partnership, engagement and leadership
5. Reciprocal learning communities

The Enablers translate national and international ESD commitments into shared language, strategic direction and practical prompts for higher education. They address curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, campus operations, governance, leadership, professional learning, student partnership, research and reciprocal engagement with communities.

The resource is designed to support institutional reflection, planning and enhancement rather than prescribe a single model. It recognises institutional autonomy, diversity of mission and disciplinary differences.

Benefit of this resource and how to make the best use of it

Use the Enablers to frame institutional direction and build agreement about the conditions required for whole-of-institution ESD. They are particularly useful for:

  • Strategic planning and policy development.
  • Cross-functional workshops involving academic, professional, operational and student representatives.
  • Establishing or reviewing ESD governance and coordination structures.
  • Connecting curriculum development with campus operations, research and civic engagement.
  • Planning professional development and communities of practice.
  • Strengthening student partnership, leadership and recognition.
  • Developing ethical, reciprocal and sustained partnerships with communities.
  • Reviewing resourcing, leadership responsibilities and institutional support for ESD.

Each Enabler includes practical areas for implementation. Institutions can use these prompts to identify existing strengths, gaps, responsibilities and priority actions before undertaking a more detailed self-evaluation.

People, communities and initiatives

Collaborators

Colin Lowry · Mark Kelly · Ross Woods · Tim Conlon

Communities

Initiatives

Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)

This work is licensed under a CC BY license, allowing sharing and adaptation with proper attribution.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Access this resource

Open resource file ↗

Links open in a new tab.

Additional files

Ancillary, supplementary or associated files…

Additional resource information

Resource details

Media format

Licence

Resource type

Resource created

20261018

Persistent identifier

File attachments

Share this resource

Report an issue
Further information and metadata

Topics

Disciplines

Keywords

Funding programmes

Learning resources

Organisations

Higher Education Authority · National Forum

Collaborators

Colin Lowry · Mark Kelly · Ross Woods · Tim Conlon

Date submitted

Submitted by

National Forum

Resource record ID

17139

Adapting this resource? Share your version!

If you have modified or adopted this resource, share your version here. Tracking adaptations helps us measure impact and connects others with useful updates.

Share your version →

More resources in these topics

Explore resources sharing the topics attached to this record.