Practices and Challenges on the Relationship to Support the Goals of Impact Ranked Universities in the Philippines

Greg Emmanuel Baniaga

doi:10.58870/berj.v9i1.72

Authors

Greg Emmanuel Baniaga College of Arts and Sciences, San Beda University, Manila, Philippines https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2054-6348

Keywords:

sustainability, partnerships, higher education, Philippines, relationship

Abstract

This study investigated the collaborative efforts of Philippine Higher Education Institutions (PHEIs) with NGOs, government agencies, and other stakeholders in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By leveraging their academic capabilities, PHEIs ranked by the Times Higher Education Impact Ranking played a crucial role in addressing global challenges through a multi-sectoral approach. This study emphasized the importance of collaborating with regional NGOs and government agencies for policy-making and multi-sectoral dialogue in promoting participatory decision-making. It also highlighted the significance of international collaborations in standardizing data gathering and sharing best practices, thus enhancing the quality and impact of research related to public policy and sustainable development. PHEIs' engagement with NGOs was pivotal in mobilizing resources for community-targeted projects, including disaster risk reduction, health and well-being, educational outreach, and environmental conservation. These initiatives contributed to immediate community needs and built long-term resilience and sustainability. Findings revealed that PHEIs were not only centers of learning but also key players in the global sustainable development agenda. Their ability to bridge knowledge gaps, coupled with the operational reach of NGOs and the policy influence of government bodies, formed a powerful force for societal transformation. As the world progressed towards the 2030 Agenda, it was essential for PHEIs to strengthen partnerships, expand research scope, and enhance community engagement practices. This would not only advance the SDGs but also shape an inclusive and resilient sustainable future. The study called for continued innovation in partnership models and inclusive strategies that engaged all societal sectors, ensuring substantial and measurable progress towards the SDGs. The ongoing commitment of PHEIs would be crucial in achieving a sustainable world for future generations.

References

SDG Report – ISU for Sustainability. (n.d.). Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://sdg.isu.edu.ph/2022-sdg-report/

Agapito, J. (2020). Challenges in financial management for partnerships in higher education. Journal of Financial Education, 45(2), 134-147.

Arbeiter, J., & Maja Bučar. (2019). Cross-sectoral cooperation. https://sloga-platform.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/3_cross-sectoral_cooperation.pdf

Archive - MSU-IIT News Mindanao State University -Iligan Institute of Technology. (n.d.). www.msuiit.edu.ph. Retrieved from July 25, 2024,

Baimenov, A., & Liverakos, P. (2019). Cooperation and partnerships for international development in the era of the SDGs. Public Service Excellence in the 21st Century, 319–339. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3215-9_10 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3215-9_10

Bautista, R., Santos, E., & Reyes, L. (2022). Issues in attaining SDG17 in the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Sustainable Development, 12(1), 77-89.

Benefits of Capacity Building. (2019). Memphis.edu. https://www.memphis.edu/ess/module5/page7.php

Cbsua partners with face for children protection, DRRM, CCA – CBSUA. (n.d.). Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://w3.cbsua.edu.ph/news/cbsua-partners-with-face-for-children-protection-drrm-cca/

Central Philippine University. (n.d.). SDG and Futures Thinking Initiatives.

CLSU, ULAB Collaboration in Academic, Research, Sustainable Development | Central Luzon State University. (2023). Clsu.edu.ph. https://clsu.edu.ph/news-and-updates/article/clsu-ulab-collaboration-in-academic-research-sustainable-development

Crisostomo, M., & Mendoza, J. (2021). Evaluating partnership practices in Philippine higher education. Asian Education Review, 14(3), 202-219.

Davis, A., & Reber, D. (2016). Advancing human rights and social and economic justice: developing competence in field education. Journal of Human Rights and Social Work, 1(3), 143–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-016-0016-x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-016-0016-x

De Los Reyes, E., & Abulon, E. (2019). Multi-sectoral collaboration in child protection services: A Philippine perspective. Journal of Social Work Education and Practice, 4(2), 12-20

Delos Santos, K., & Garcia, R. (2021). Language barriers in academic collaborations. International Journal of Linguistics, 10(1), 45-59.

DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147-160. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095101 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2095101

DLSU-D Sustainability Report. (2021). https://www.dlsud.edu.ph/sustain/doc/sr2021.pdf

Empowering Futures: Ateneo De Manila University’s Impact on Sustainable Development Goals: Progress Report on Ateneo’s Contribution to SDG. (2022).

Edralin, D. & Pastrana, R. (2022). View of advancing the pursuit of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Initiatives of selected publicly listed companies in the Philippines. Bedan Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.58870/berj.v7i1.31 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58870/berj.v7i1.31

Encenzo, R. M., Asoque, R., Arceño, R., Aclao, J., Ramones, E., Orioque, J., Wenceslao, C., Atibing, N. M., & Ocampo, L. (2023). A comprehensive analytical framework for evaluating the similarity between organizations’ strategic directions and the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Decision Analytics Journal, 6, 100176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dajour.2023.100176 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dajour.2023.100176

Fiorani, G., & Di Gerio, C. (2022). Reporting university performance through the sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda: Lessons learned from Italian case study. Sustainability, 14(15), 9006. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159006

Garcia, A., & Cruz, M. (2022). Effectiveness of SDG-focused partnerships in higher education. Sustainability in Higher Education, 8(4), 321-335.

García López, J., Sisto, R., Lumbreras Martín, J., & Mataix Aldeanueva, C. (2021). A systematic study of sustainable development goal (SDG) interactions in the main Spanish Cities. Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions, 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57764-3_5 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57764-3_5

Hernandez, V., & Lee, S. (2021). Best partnership practices in THE Impact Ranked PHEIs. Journal of Educational Leadership, 19(2), 112-130.

Horan, P. (2022). The role of universities in sustainable development. International Journal of Educational Development, 29(4), 255-269.

Koff, H., Villada Canela, M., Maganda, C., Pérez-Maqueo, O., Molina González, Ma. X., González Herrera, J. A., Porras, D., Simms, S. R., Sotelo, O., del Rosario Morales Ramírez, M., Aguilar Cucurachi, M. del S., Lara-López, M. del S., Ros-Cuéllar, J., Challenger, A., & Aguilar Orea, R. (2022). Promoting participative policy coherence for sustainable development. Regions and Cohesion, 12(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.3167/reco.2022.120102 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3167/reco.2022.120102

Linkages – Cebu Technological University – Research. (2024). Ctu.edu.ph. https://www.ctu.edu.ph/research/about/linkages/

Mapua University Sustainability Report (2021-2022). (n.d.). Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://mapua.sgp1.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/modular-frame-resources/Fs7cfbYfAJbPcCpRyq6eNx2VgUwFU2ljlVOFIteo.pdf

Mariano Marcos State University. (n.d.). Www.mmsu.edu.ph. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://www.mmsu.edu.ph/resources/1v_3iqFF3PCIYRNXikkGifNC6R2n7AmS9/view

Mawonde, A. (2019). International collaboration in SDG data gathering. Global Sustainability Review, 14(1), 87-102.

Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 83(2), 340-363. https://doi.org/10.1086/226550 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/226550

Molina, R., Barredo, J., & Del Rosario, R. (2021). The role of educational institutions in promoting child welfare: Community outreach and advocacy. Journal of Child Welfare and Advocacy, 18(1), 45-59

Murphy, K., & Stott, N. (2021). Collaboration with NGOs for SDGs. NGO and Community Development Review, 9(2), 67-83.

Nakamura, H., Rask, M., & Kojo, M. (2023). An open dialogue culture and transformative policy process for sustainability: exploratory case study of Finland. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 14(1), 52–68. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-023-00858-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-023-00858-1

Nelles, W., Visetnoi, S., Middleton, C., & Orn-in, T. (2021). Higher education institutions, SDG2 and agri-food sustainability: lessons from Chulalongkorn University and Thailand. Environment, Development and Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01892-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01892-1

Nemeti, D., Supervisor, B., & Mathieu, C. (2021). Cross-sectoral partnerships for development & systemic change - beyond buzzwords tackling conceptual and methodological limitations of collaborative planning for systemic change through systems ontologies and epistemologies. https://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=9044022&fileOId=9048352

News / Obelisk. (n.d.). Visayas State University. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://www.vsu.edu.ph/sustainable-development-goals/partnership-for-the-goals

Partnership for the Goals. (n.d.). Leyte Normal University. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://www.lnu.edu.ph/sustainability/partnership-for-the-goals

Philippines SDG Report. (2023). Sustainable Development Goals in the Philippines: Annual Report 2022. Retrieved from https://www.sdgphilippines.org/report2022

Picardal, A. (2023). Regional disparities in partnership practices of PHEIs. Philippine Educational Research Journal, 17(1), 55-72.

Pomeroy, C., Bond, R., Mucha, P., & Cranner, S. (2020). Dynamics of social network emergence explain network evolution. Scientific Reports. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-78224-2

Reyes, C. M., Albert, J. R. G., Tabuga, A. D., Arboneda, A. A., Vizmanos, J. F. V., & Cabaero, C. C. (2019). The Philippines’ voluntary national review on the sustainable development goals. Www.econstor.eu. https://www.econstor.eu/handle/10419/211084

San Beda University. (2021). Sustainability Report 2021. https://www.sanbeda.edu.ph/uploads/files/1657866726_SBU_Sustainability_Report_2021_with_Page_Numbers_(font_changed).pdf

Saxena, A., Ramaswamy, M., Beale, J., Marciniuk, D., & Smith, P. (2021). Striving for the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): What Will It take? Discover Sustainability, 2(1). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43621-021-00029-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-021-00029-8

Schroeder-Moreno, M., Clark, S., Byker, C., & Zhao, X. (2012). Internationalizing sustainable agriculture education. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 55–68. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2012.023.007 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2012.023.007

Scott, W. R. (2008). Institutions and organizations: Ideas and interests. Sage Publications.

SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals. (n.d.). University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://www.ustp.edu.ph/sdg-initiatives/sdg-goal-17/

SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals Archives. (n.d.). University of Santo Tomas. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://www.ust.edu.ph/category/u-wide-news/sustainable-development-goals/sdg-17-partnerships-for-the-goals/page/4/

Serrano, A., & Almero, J. (2021). Challenges in academic partnerships in the Philippines. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 33(2), 101-118.

Sonesson, K., & Nordén, B. (2020). We learnt a lot: Challenges and learning experiences in a Southern African—North European Municipal partnership on education for sustainable development. Sustainability, 12(20), 8607. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208607 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208607

Stout, M., & Keast, R. L. (2021). Collaboration: what does it really mean? https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789901917.00012 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781789901917.00012

Stroupe, R. (2014). The language educator and globalization: How do we best prepare our learners? Language Education in Asia, 4(2), 110–121. https://doi.org/10.5746/leia/13/v4/i2/a02/stroupe DOI: https://doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/13/V4/I2/A02/Stroupe

Sustainable CPU. (n.d.). Central Philippine University. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://cpu.edu.ph/sustainable-cpu/

Sustainable Development Goals. (n.d.). Www.southernleytestateu.edu.ph. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://www.southernleytestateu.edu.ph/index.php/en/home-slsu/sustainable-development-goals

Sustainable Development Goals – Center for Sustainable Development – Batangas State University. (2023, September 21). https://sustainability.batstate-u.edu.ph/programs/sustainable-development-goals/

Tallontire, A., Mendoza, A., Justice, J., Kour, H., Kaiser, J., & Hastings, J. (2020). Towards a collaborative approach between practitioners and academics: insights from an academic–Fairtrade collaboration. Food Chain, 9(1), 58–77. https://doi.org/10.3362/2046-1887.19-00008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3362/2046-1887.00008

Tallontire, A., Nelson, V., & Lund-Thomsen, P. (2019). Collaborative research for sustainable development. Sustainable Development Journal, 18(3), 145-159

TAU-SDG Website - SDG 17: Partners for the Goal. (n.d.). Sites.google.com. Retrieved July 25, 2024, from https://sites.google.com/tau.edu.ph/tau-sdgwebsite/sdg-in-action-community-projects/sdg-17-partners-for-the-goal?authuser=

Tewksbury, J., & Wagner, G. (2014). The role of civil society in recalibrating conservation science incentives. Conservation Biology, 28(5), 1437–1439. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12288 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12288

Tewksbury, R., & Wagner, L. (2014). Academic insights influencing SDG policy. Policy Studies Journal, 12(4), 310-325.

Thompson, G., Smith, L., & Harris, M. (2020). Operationalizing SDG partnerships in higher education. Education for Sustainability Journal, 16(1), 55-70.

United Nations. (2023). Partnership Accelerator: Strengthening the means of implementation through partnerships. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/globalpartnerships/

United Nations. (2023). Partnerships for the goals: Sustainable Development Goal 17. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/globalpartnerships/

United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/development-agenda/

UNSDG Alignment - BulSU OVPREI. (2022, March 1). BulSU OVPREI - OVP for Research Extension and Innovation. https://bulsu-ovprei.com/unsdg-alignment/

UP and the Sustainable Development Goals. (2022, October 17). University of the Philippines. https://up.edu.ph/up-and-the-sdgs/

Viloria, R. (2022). View of sustainable practices of selected publicly listed higher educational institutions in ensuring good health and well-being. Bedan Research Journal. https://bedanjournal.org/index.php/berj/article/view/35/VOL7-2022-128-157 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58870/berj.v7i1.35

Wiedemann, R., & Ingold, K. (2021). Solving cross-sectoral policy problems: adding a cross-sectoral dimension to assess policy performance. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908x.2021.1960809 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1523908X.2021.1960809

World Bank. (2022). World Development Report 2022: Data for Better Lives. Retrieved from https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2022

Zucker, L. G. (1987). Institutional theories of organization. Annual Review of Sociology, 13(1), 443-464. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.13.080187.002303 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.13.1.443