Consultation on Further and Higher Education and the Sustainable Development Goals Report

The 2022 SDG Accord Progress Report was launched at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

On 25th-26th January 2022 stakeholders from around the UK and beyond met at St George's House to discuss to discuss Further and Higher Education and the SDGs. Rebecca Petford (EAUC-Scotland Programme Manager) was invited as a stakeholder to contribute on behalf of EAUC.
 

>> Download the report HERE << 

Summary

"We established the space for a Consultation at which we invited stakeholders from different parts of the sector to come together and discuss the role of Further and Higher Education (FHE) at this time. This 24-hour consultation (25th-26th January 2018) was convened at St George’s House, situated within Windsor Castle, as part of the regular programme of consultations organised on matters of public interest. St George's House is "a physical and intellectual space set in the narrative of history but focused firmly on the future". For each consultation, invited key representatives are hosted together over 24 hours to discuss, debate and reflect on the consultation topic.

"Academics, students, senior managers, employers, funders and policy makers shared experiences, knowledges and expectations. The overarching aim of the Consultation was to explore how we can best equip tertiary education students with the capacities to address real world local and global challenges, within the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The questions we addressed were

1. Why and how might we deepen sustainability education in the tertiary sector?
2. How might tertiary institutions engage with the SDGs?
3. What might possible consequences be, in relation to graduate capacities and wider outcomes?

Key findings

• 102 Institutions submitted reporting, 28% of which for the first time.
• 75% of Institutions publicly reported their activities on SDGs, an increase since 2021.
• There is a trend of most respondents (62% average) having an overall strategic approach that is emerging at the four institutional stages, while fewer (27% average) stated theirs as being established.
• Whilst a positive increase in integration is visible since 2021, the findings also reveal the limitations institutions face and seek to improve. Reporting has notably highlighted staff capacity (23%), budget (21%), and training (13%) as limiting factors.
• The SDGs that institutions have most impacted are SDG 4 (Quality Education) 44%, SDG 13 (Climate Action) 36%, and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) 36%. This responds to last year's reporting, when the need to link SDG integration into an institutional area was raised.
• At the institutional level, respondents reported budgets (30%) as the primary need, followed by training (25%), and then senior management support (9%). Advocating for a budget at an institutional level has long been an issue and shows the extent to which SDGs are a priority to senior management.