The preliminary outcomes of the program GUNi International Call to Action (GUN-ICA, 2024–2026) have been included in the report Higher Education for Sustainability: Leadership, Learning and the Development of Senior Teams. This analytical report examines higher education for sustainability, with a particular focus on the learning and development of senior leadership teams within the sector. The study explores the complex terrain that senior leaders must navigate in responding to urgent global challenges.

This milestone marks the culmination of work that began in December 2024 and includes GUNI-ICA as a great example of good practice for senior HE leaders in sustainability, among other case studies. Based on its findings, the study proposes a sustainability leadership competence framework for managers, encompassing essential capabilities such as strategic and systems thinking, emotional intelligence, and collaboration. The framework is structured around four key dimensions: learning to know, learning to be, learning to change, and learning to work with others. It is intended to guide the development of the abilities required to lead transformative change.

The study also includes 16 strategic recommendations to strengthen sustainability leadership capacity across European HEIs, supporting stakeholders such as the European Commission and national authorities in embedding a culture of leadership for sustainability and contributing to the wider goals of the green transition and sustainable development.

Professor Daniella Tilbury, Honorary Fellow at St Catharine’s College (University of Cambridge), Chair of the Network for Institutions and Leaders for Future Generations, and member of the Group of Experts of the GUNi-ICA program, is the author of this report, which has been promoted by the European Expert Network on Economics of Education (EENEE). Sponsored by the Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission (EC), the network aimed to contribute to the improvement of decision-making and policy development in education and training in Europe by advising and supporting the EC in the analysis of economic aspects of educational policies and reforms. 

The GUNi-ICA program, and the 19 universities involved, continue working to explore new ways of managing and leading higher education institutions and to foster their transformation into more sustainable, innovative and socially engaged institutions.