Designing for Social Impact is an approach of social sustainability that presents an alternative way to improve living conditions in low income communities, of low income countries, by providing solutions that will enable them to meet their basic needs. Some current methods and tools used by social designers are focused on specific social aspects and often fail to engage communities to participate actively in the design processes. A non-linear Design Research Method was used to engage experts from the Design for Social Impact sector, Product Service System “PSS”, and social designers. A case study based in Gambia was used to study if “PSS” could encourage social designers to co-design with these communities as a way to promote positive solutions. Thus, strategic actions were collected from the research findings as a way to promote co-designing with involved stakeholders in low income communities. / ING/School of Engineering +46 455 38 50 00

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) structures long-term plans for Europe's threatened water resources. Owning to the inherent and human-made complexities of the water cycle, stakeholders must move strategically to avoid crisis and restore sustainability. Yet, the reality of water resource management today is falling short on delivery. Stakeholders require strategic tools that will help them to build consensus and take action in the right direction. Using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), this study shows how Decision Support Systems can be strategically improved using a whole-systems approach grounded in basic Principles for Sustainability. In this way, stakeholders will be capable of making synchronized moves towards sustainability and thus more likely to realize the WFD’s goal of ‘good status’ for all European waterways by 2015.

The degradation of the ecological and social systems has largely resulted from human activities that deplete natural resources and undermine human needs in society. Traditional business culture, driven mainly by profit maximization, is a factor that has worsened this sustainability challenge. Social enterprises (SEs) are a form of business that hold the potential to help make the transition towards a sustainable society. The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it explores SE contributions to creating a sustainable social system. Second, it examines how SEs exhibit the dimensions of trustworthiness, leading to trusting relationships in society. Social sustainability principles (SSPs) define social sustainability and are drawn from the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. They are used as a foundation for identifying SE contributions. The researchers draw on experiences from social entrepreneurs and experts in the field of social entrepreneurship. SEs contribute at two levels: the individual level and the societal level. They break down barriers to the SSPs and provide opportunities to individuals with respect to the five principles. SEs operate based on a culture of impartiality and create opportunities for meaning for individuals in their target groups. They consistently take leaps of faith, believing in the trustworthiness of those who are otherwise deemed untrustworthy.

Abstract: This thesis argues that taking a strategic sustainable development (SSD) approach to conflict resolution in areas of the world in long-term intractable conflict with intermittent violence could support an effective process and lasting outcome. SSD proposes a holistic systems perspective and decision-making framework to address challenges and opportunities at the largest scale, including identifying root causes and drivers of the conflict as well as finding common ground internally and externally. The currently unbalanced dynamics between the two fundaments of sustainability, a robust ecosystem and social fabric, are the basis of deeply unsustainable patterns of behaviour which are often also at the heart of conflicts. Socio-ecological unsustainability can be both a threat, and an opportunity for resolution and social change. The framework offers a proven way of organizing, evaluating and using tools that can aid in dealing with sustainability issues constructively, and evidence is presented to suggest its usage can be extended to conflict issues. This thesis analyzes the links between sustainability, strategic sustainable development and conflict resolution work in the areas of conflict described, and proposes a set of guidelines for approaching conflict resolution with SSD.

One of the reasons, why it is difficult to implement the concept of social sustainability into organizations, is its inherent complexity and vagueness. The new Social Sustainability Principles (SSPs) within the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) offer a clear definition of success for the social system. This study aims to put the new SSPs into an organizational context. It investigates how people-related issues within organizations, discussed in six organizational and management journals, published between 2009 and 2014, are related to the SSPs. One fourth of the 3305 reviewed articles were found to relate to social sustainability. Most of the articles focused on improving performance through aspects related to social sustainability. The articles mainly discussed aspects related to barriers to the SSPs as problems, solutions or positive aspects that could remove barriers to the SSPs. The results show that for organizational research to be able to support organizations moving towards social sustainability, there is a need for a clear definition of success as well as a frame that takes the whole social system into consideration. The FSSD and the SSPs could help to structure the diverse topics, put research problems in a bigger context and discern relevant problems and solutions.

Our unsustainable way of living has created a precondition for the emergence of more and new illnesses, jeopardizing the overall health of society. The Swedish healthcare system faces complex challenges that threaten its ability to live up to its obligations as stated in the law. It is proven that leaders in public organisations can have a substantial function in leading towards sustainability. Leadership competencies have a big role to play in that journey.This thesis explores the complex challenges administration leaders in the healthcare sector of two Swedish public organisations – Region Blekinge and Västra Götalandsregionen face when it comes to sustainability. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development is used to analyse the complexity and the sustainability within the study’s context. The Framework of Sustainability Research and Problem-solving Competence is utilized to understand the application, the relevance of the key competencies in sustainability in leadership, as well as the barriers in applying them, to deal with challenges. The conclusions are based on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The results show the need for all key competencies, with biggest emphasis being put on systems thinking, interpersonal, intrapersonal and implementation. The findings reveal potential enablers and barriers for the organisations in moving society towards sustainability.

As sustainability challenges increase in both frequency and magnitude, there is a growing need for leaders who can deal with such complexity. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) develops knowledge,skills, and attitudes to enable the development of such leaders. This thesis focuses on the elusive “attitude” piece, more widely referred to as the affective domain. The research team interviewed experts on affective learning in either higher education or ESD contexts. Additionally, staff members from the case study organisation, Teach for Austria (TFA) were interviewed to determine how affective learning can be further developed within their fellow program. The five-level model (5LM) was employed to frame the findings of each interview set to provide recommendations for TFA. A feature of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, the 5LM provides a strategic planning approach that allows for easier adaptation and implementation of the findings for other programs that wish to learn from this research. Therefore, this thesis serves to provide recommendations for developing affective learning in sustainability leadership programs. Making affective learning explicit and empowering one to reflect their own affective domain and their perspective on the world can have a positive impact on their life, as well as on their environment.

The purpose of this thesis is to find out what it takes for entrepreneurs to negotiate strategically in order to ultimately influence systemic change towards sustainability. It focuses on the challenges sustainability entrepreneurs face as they negotiate their twin objectives of social mission and positive cashflow during their collaborative processes. To answer this purpose, I conducted a participatory action research with the entrepreneurs at Hubs Westminster, King’s Cross and Islington in London. The Hub is a global community of people from every profession, background and culture working to tackle the world's most pressing social, cultural and environmental challenges. The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) was used as a lens for the overall research while the Seven Elements Theory of Negotiation targeted the negotiation process. The thesis demonstrates that some core challenges need to be addressed in the entrepreneur’s preparation for their negotiation; and that entrepreneurs can intentionally favourably position themselves through their strategic actions in their attempt to meet the need to combine economic objectives with concerns about social responsibility and environmentalism. The implication of the thesis lies in better awareness on how to aim at creative outcomes during collaborations. Its originality lies in shedding light in this niche and rarely touched combination of sustainability, entrepreneurship and negotiation.

Describing novel ideas and solutions that more effectively meet people’s needs than existing products, processes, or structures, social innovation (SI) is a promising concept to address the pressing issues of the sustainability challenge that society faces. Social innovation education (SIE) is a recent field in higher education that has gained attention regarding its potential contribution to sustainable development (SD); as such, SIE is nested within the system of education for sustainable development (ESD). The Sustainability Competencies Framework (SCF) suggests key competencies that equip students for work in SD. This thesis assesses the presence of sustainability competencies in SIE programs to provide insights on how SIE can strategically contribute to SD. A global sample of ten SIE programs has been qualitatively investigated; the findings map the content and pedagogies within the programs and provide recommendations for curriculum design that successfully teaches key sustainability competencies. Following a strategic approach for SD, the researchers take the nested system of ESD into consideration and suggest a science-based definition of sustainability across the diversity of programs to facilitate a common discourse and mutual contributions for successful education. The research addresses both educators and institutions of SIE and ESD programs.

Cross-sector collaborations (CSCs) are crucial for addressing complex environmental, social, and economic challenges. Sustainability issues are multifaceted and require holistic solutions that leverage multiple stakeholders’ expertise, perspectives, resources, and networks. This research explores the effectiveness of CSCs for strategic sustainable development (SSD). It identifies conditions for effective sustainability-oriented CSCs, assesses the applicability of these findings to various contexts, and provides key considerations for newly forming CSCs and SSD practitioners. The research study was undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 examined cross-sector initiatives within the sustainable development field in Sweden and other parts of Europe. It explored how these CSCs operate effectively by examining their formation conditions, processes and structures, endemic tensions and conflicts, and accountabilities and outcomes using a conceptual framework. Data collection involved nine semi-structured interviews, which were analysed deductively to identify patterns based on these conditions. In phase 2, the findings from phase 1 were summarised and presented to SSD practitioners working with CSCs. This phase refined the nuances CSCs need to effectively apply a strategic sustainable development approach. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, and the findings were analysed inductively to pinpoint common themes. The research identified eight key considerations for SSD practitioners when working with CSCs toward sustainable development.