UNIRE
UNIRE
Shaping regional transformations to sustainability together.
A project on the cooperation of universities and regional actors.
“UNIRE” is a three-year research project (October 2023 to September 2026), funded by the FWF – Austrian Science Fund. It deals with the role of universities in regional changes towards sustainability. These changes are highly complex processes that take place locally and must therefore take into account geographical, cultural and socio-economic conditions. There are also many different people and organizations involved. Universities are ascribed an important role in these regional sustainability transitions due to their long-term orientation and their social mission. This role will be examined in more detail in this research project.
Project goals
The aim of the project “UNIRE – Universities as institutional entrepreneurs in regional sustainability transitions” is to investigate how universities become drivers of regional sustainability transitions. In particular, it focuses on the role of individual actors or groups of actors within and outside universities in these processes. The main objectives are:
- Identification of relevant actors and actor groups and their characteristics
- Identification and visualization of central institutional and organizational changes of the last 35 years
- Allocation of these changes to the areas of research, teaching and public relations
- Analysis of the impact of these changes on the region
- Analysis of local influencing factors on the activities of stakeholders and stakeholder groups
- Development of possible scenarios for the future role of the university in regional sustainability transitions
Research design and methods
These objectives are addressed through case studies in the Alpine region. A mixed-methods approach will be used, employing qualitative and quantitative methods of empirical social research. For example, interviews and historical document analysis will be used to identify the main institutional and organizational changes of the last 35 years as well as the actors and groups of actors who have initiated these changes. In addition, we want to develop possible future development paths for the role of universities in regional sustainability transformations in the course of workshops.
Project flow and work packages
The focus of the case studies is on medium-sized cities (between 50,000 and 150,000 inhabitants) in the German-speaking Alpine region. The main selection criterion was that both the university located in the city and the region itself had activities relating to sustainability. The institutional environment in which the universities are located was chosen as a key distinguishing feature of the case study regions.
