Strategies for sustainable socio-economic development and mechanisms their implementation in the global dimension

The authors of the book have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to effectively use modern approaches to developing and implementation strategies of sustainable socio-economic development in order to increase efficiency and competitiveness of economic entities. Basic research focuses on economic diagnostics of socio-economic potential and financial results of economic entities, transition period in the economy of individual countries and ensuring their competitiveness, assessment of educational processes and knowledge management. The research results have been implemented in the different models and strategies of supply and logistics management, development of non-profit organizations, competitiveness of tourism and transport, financing strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises, cross-border cooperation. The results of the study can be used in decision-making at the level the economic entities in different areas of activity and organizational-legal forms of ownership, ministries and departments that promote of development the economic entities on the basis of models and strategies for sustainable socio-economic development. The results can also be used by students and young scientists in modern concepts and mechanisms for management of sustainable socio-economic development of economic entities in the condition of global economic transformations and challenges

The University-Commune

In this new book we return to the challenge of deepening the task to the point of imagining the university formed by commoner university students. It is a turn, a new place from which to name and reconsider community management and action from a sense of co-responsibility for the commons that we must guarantee so that the common project prevails and achieves long-term self-sustainability.This is what the seven articles in this book are about, which calls into question what it means for the university to be and act according to economic principles and logics (giving, receiving, undertaking), social (distribution of roles and benefits) and policies (agreements, consensus, participation and assignment of responsibilities) of the commune. The institutional dimension is important but the vitality, the sense of belonging and the profound strength of the Salesian university project depend much more on the commons logic. Feeling of the commons is not a possibility among many others. We are convinced that, in order to take on this project, it is necessary to transcend institutional, business logic and state regulations. Therefore, the university-commune is the way and, perhaps, the only one possible. University and Common Goods Research Group Universidad Politécnica Salesian

Transition UGent: a bottom-up initiative towards a more sustainable university

The vibrant think-tank ‘Transition UGent’ engaged over 250 academics, students and people from the university management in suggesting objectives and actions for the Sustainability Policy of Ghent University (Belgium). Founded in 2012, this bottom-up initiative succeeded to place sustainability high on the policy agenda of our university. Through discussions within 9 working groups and using the transition management method, Transition UGent developed system analyses, sustainability visions and transition paths on 9 fields of Ghent University: mobility, energy, food, waste, nature and green, water, art, education and research. At the moment, many visions and ideas find their way into concrete actions and policies. In our presentation we focused on the broad participative process, on the most remarkable structural results (e.g. a formal and ambitious Sustainability Vision and a student-led Sustainability Office) and on recent actions and experiments (e.g. a sustainability assessment on food supply in student restaurants, artistic COP21 activities, ambitious mobility plans, food leftovers projects, an education network on sustainability controversies, a transdisciplinary platform on Sustainable Cities). We concluded with some recommendations and reflections on this transition approach, on the important role of ‘policy entrepreneurs’ and student involvement, on lock-ins and bottlenecks, and on convincing skeptical leaders

Lifelong guidance policy and practice in the EU

A study on lifelong guidance (LLG) policy and practice in the EU focusing on trends, challenges and opportunities. Lifelong guidance aims to provide career development support for individuals of all ages, at all career stages. It includes careers information, advice, counselling, assessment of skills and mentoring

Соціальна відповідальність освітньої екосистеми закладу вищої освіти в умовах структурно-інноваційних перетворень

Проблеми соціальної відповідальності вищої школи набувають особливої актуальності в зв'язку не тільки зі зміною змісту та умов її функціонування, але і з трансформацією багатьох основоположних постулатів діяльності закладів вищої освіти. Тісний взаємозв'язок понять "корпоративна соціальна відповідальність" і "освітня організація" проявляється як відповідальність держави за стан системи освіти в країні та відповідальність освітньої організації за якість освіти перед її зацікавленими сторонами. Дослідження базувалося на принципах корпоративно-соціальної відповідальності, теорії сталого розвитку, теорії зацікавлених груп. Запропоновано модель інноваційної екосистеми закладу вищої освіти, що представляють собою нову організаційну цілісність і сучасний спосіб виробництва інновацій, що реалізується в рамках динамічного і адаптивного механізму, який створює, генерує і трансформує знання в інноваційні продукти при використанні учасниками системи загальної інноваційної інфраструктури та загальних правил, орієнтованих на отримання ними взаємних вигод. Виявлений тісний взаємозв'язок понять екосистеми, інноваційної екосистеми і бізнес-екосистеми дозволив запропонувати модель інноваційної освітньої екосистеми закладу вищої освіти як складної системи, яка самоорганізується, саморегулюється і саморозвивається. Обґрунтовано положення про необхідність інтеграції принципів корпоративної соціальної відповідальності і принципів функціонування інноваційних екосистем, впроваджуваних в закладах вищої освіти.Problems of social responsibility of higher education institution gain particular relevance not only due to changes in the content and conditions of its functioning, but also due to the transformation of many fundamental tenets of higher education institutions' activities. The close relationship between the concepts of "corporate social responsibility" and "educational organisation" manifests itself as the responsibility of the state for the state of the educational system in the country and the responsibility of the educational organisation for the quality of education to its stakeholders. The study was based on the principles of corporate social responsibility, sustainability theory and stakeholder theory. We propose an innovation ecosystem model for higher education institutions, which represents a new organisational integrity and modern way of producing innovation, implemented within a dynamic and adaptive mechanism that creates, consumes and transforms knowledge into innovative products, using a common innovation infrastructure and common rules among system participants, oriented towards their mutual benefit. The identified close relationship between the concepts of ecosystem, innovation ecosystem and business ecosystem made it possible to propose a model of innovative educational ecosystem of higher education institution as a complex self-organizing, self-regulating and self-developing system. The provisions on the need to integrate the principles of corporate social responsibility and the principles of innovative ecosystem functioning implemented in higher education institutions have been substantiated

THE DIVERSITY OF EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MODELS OF LATVIAN RURAL SCHOOLS

Theongoing changes that are connected with demographic, economic, social and eveneducational crises influence the action of Latvian rural schools and thereforeendanger their viability and sustainability in the future perspective. There ishappening the schools’ network optimization that affects Latvian rural schoolsthat is why they are reorganized or closed in rural areas of the country. Theauthors of the article have been researching Latvian rural schools’ fluctuationbased on the ecological approach and the following viewpoints that rural schoolis: 1) an educational environment; 2) a live organism that tries to survive inchanging conditions; 3) an educational environment as self-organising,self-developing, self-evaluating system of educational environment. The aim ofthe article is to popularize the results of empirical researches in theconnection with the diversity of educational environmental models of Latvianrural schools. KEYWORDS:educational environmental models, ecological approach, educational environment,rural schools, sustainability, viability

A Blueprint for Promoting Innovation, Interdisciplinary Teamwork, and Collaboration

In response to the myriad of pressures we are experiencing across the higher education landscape, many colleges and universities are exploring different ways to manage and drive change within their institutions. Centres for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) are well-positioned to be high-impact drivers of change in this evolving educational arena. With this comes the expectation that they will emulate and promote innovative practices and creative approaches when addressing many of our most complex academic challenges. Increased agility, cooperation, and strategic foresight within these centres are necessary to detect, respond, and adapt to anticipated future changes and disruptions. However, coordinating such a broad array of resources among CTL departments coupled with interpersonal implications often associated with organizational change and transformation can pose ongoing challenges for leadership. This Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) will address these issues within the context of a teaching and learning centre at a mid-sized college in Southern Alberta. It will focus specifically on the fluctuating demands and functionality of the centre and the need for increased agility, cooperation, and collaboration among CTL departments to respond more effectively to our continuously shifting circumstances. This is accomplished by exploring the relational and systemic nature of the problem through the lens of complexity leadership theory and its three entangled leadership models: adaptive leadership, enabling leadership, and administrative leadership. The outcome is a strategy theoretically grounded in social cognition theory and a leadership model for cultivating adaptive capacity and leadership competence in strategic foresight

From Ideas to Practice, Pilots to Strategy: Practical Solutions and Actionable Insights on How to Do Impact Investing

This report is the second publication in the World Economic Forum's Mainstreaming Impact Investing Initiative. The report takes a deeper look at why and how asset owners began to include impact investing in their portfolios and continue to do so today, and how they overcame operational and cultural constraints affecting capital flow. Given that impact investing expertise is spread among dozens if not hundreds of practitioners and academics, the report is a curation of some -- but certainly not all -- of those leading voices. The 15 articles are meant to provide investors, intermediaries and policy-makers with actionable insights on how to incorporate impact investing into their work.The report's goals are to show how mainstream investors and intermediaries have overcome the challenges in the impact investment sector, and to democratize the insights and expertise for anyone and everyone interested in the field. Divided into four main sections, the report contains lessons learned from practitioner's experience, and showcases best practices, organizational structures and innovative instruments that asset owners, asset managers, financial institutions and impact investors have successfully implemented

The State Education Agency: At the Helm, Not the Oar

Never before has more been asked of State Education Agencies (SEAs), commonly known as state departments of education. In recent years, policymakers at the state and federal level have viewed the SEA as the default entity for implementing new and sweeping K -- 12 initiatives -- everything from Race to the Top grants and ESEA waivers to teacher evaluation reform and digital learning. But SEAs were designed -- and evolved over decades -- to address a relatively narrow set of tasks: distributing state and federal dollars, monitoring the use of these funds, and overseeing the implementation of federal and state education programs. They were not created -- nor have they developed the core competencies -- to drive crucial reforms. Accordingly, we argue that despite the best efforts of talented, energetic leaders, SEAs will never be able to deliver the reform results we need. But there is an alternative. We should view the SEA through the lens of Reinventing Government (1993), the path-breaking book by David Osborne and Ted Gaebler. In short, Osborne and Gaebler call for state agencies to "steer" more and "row" less. Here, we call for federal and state leaders to apply their thesis to SEAs, scaling back the tasks SEAs perform and empowering nongovernmental organizations to take up the slack. We offer the "4Cs" model (control, contract, cleave, and create) for rethinking state-level K -- 12 reform work. In practice, this means pursuing activities on two parallel tracks. On one, we should make the SEA a far leaner organization, able to execute a narrow set of activities. On the other, we should foster the growth of a new state-level reform ecosystem composed of a range of entities -- primarily independent public entities or nonprofits -- able to carry out key reforms