Application of Knowledge Management for Sustainable Development in Institutions of Higher Education

Authors

  • Rebecca McNeil

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5931/djim.v7i1.82

Keywords:

Management without Borders, Knowledge Management

Abstract

Campus sustainability is an increasingly popular notion for universities around the world in light of increasingly serious global environmental problems. Yet the very concept of “sustainability” itself is a complex, or “wicked”, problem that makes managing this transition complex and difficult. The scope of a sustainable campus could include anything from greening facilities, increasing environmental education, integrating sustainability priorities into purchasing policies, and an endless list of other considerations.

 

Given the breadth that sustainability could have on a university campus, employing tools to help manage this goal will create more effective and immediate change. One possible tool is Knowledge Management (KM), the practice of “capturing, organizing and storing information” (“Imperial College London,” 2010, para. 25). Specifically, a framework by Allen et al is applied to the sustainability in higher education (SHE) problem to help universities take steps towards creating sustainable campus.

Author Biography

Rebecca McNeil

Rebecca McNeil is a first year Masters of Environmental Studies (MES) student working with Dr. Tarah Wright on conceptualizations of sustainability in higher education. She wrote this piece in December 2010 for the Management Without Borders class. Prior to Dalhousie, Rebecca received her Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo and worked in Toronto at the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation. Most recently, Rebecca worked as a Project Manager at Environmental Defence Canada where she worked on a variety of issues. Previous writing includes a column for This Magazine on climate change and an award-winning Annual Report.

References

Allen, W., Bosch, O., Gibson, R. &amp; Jopp, A. (1998). Co-learning our way to sustainability: An integrated and community-based research approach to support natural resource management decision-making. Boston: Lewis Publishers.<br /> <br /> Bellinger, G. (2004). Knowledge management: emerging perspectives [online discussion group]. Retrieved from http://www.systems-thinking.org/kmgmt/kmgmt.htm<br /> <br /> Bennet, A. &amp; Bennet, D. (2004). Organizational survival in the new world: the intelligent complex adaptive system. Boston: Elsevier.<br /> <br /> Clarke, A. (2006). The campus environmental management system cycle in practice: 15 years of environmental management, education and research at Dalhousie University. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 7 (4), 374-389.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370610702181" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370610702181</a><br /> <br /> Comm, C. (2003). Less is more: A framework for a sustainable university. International Journal for Sustainability in Higher Education, 4 (4), 314-323.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370310497543" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370310497543</a><br /> <br /> Cranfield, D., &amp; Taylor, J. (2008). Knowledge management and higher education: a UK case study. Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management, 6, 1-116.<br /> <br /> Creighton, S. (1998). Greening the ivory tower: Improving the environmental track record of universities, colleges and other institutions. Cambridge: MIT Press.<br /> <br /> Dahle, M., &amp; Neumayer, E. (2001). Overcoming barriers to campus greening: A survey among higher educational institutions in London, UK. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 2 (2), 139-160.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370110388363" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370110388363</a><br /> <br /> Fien, J. (2002). Advancing sustainability in higher education: Issues and opportunities for research. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 3 (3), 243-253.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370210434705" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370210434705</a><br /> <br /> Graedel, T.E. (2002). Quantitative sustainability in a college or university setting. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 3 (4), 346-358.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370210442382" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370210442382</a><br /> <br /> Imperial College London. (2010). Information and Communication Technologies. Retrieved from http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/ict/services/teachingandresearchservices/elearning/aboutelearning/elearningglossary<br /> <br /> Kok, A. (2007). Intellectual capital management as part of knowledge management initiatives at institutions of higher learning. International Conferences on Intellectual Capital, Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning, 5 (2), 131-254.<br /> <br /> Learning for Sustainability. (2010). Knowledge management and information. Retrieved from http://learningforsustainability.net/social_learning/knowledgemanagement.php<br /> <br /> M&rsquo;Gonigle, M., &amp; Starke, J. (2006). Planet U: sustaining the world, reinventing the university. Gabriola Island: New Society Publishers.<br /> <br /> Noeke, J. (2000). Environmental management systems for universities &ndash; A case study. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 1 (1), 20-34.<br /> <br /> Rittel, Horst W.J., &amp; Webber, Melvin M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences (4), 155-169.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01405730" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01405730</a><br /> <br /> The OD Practitioner. (2000). Knowledge networks and communities of practice. Retrieved from http://www.vernaallee.com/value_networks/KnowledgeNetworksAndCommunitiesOfPractice-28Jan07.pdf<br /> <br /> United Nations. (2010). Review of contexts and structures for education for sustainable development. Retrieved from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001849/184944e.pdf<br /> <br /> Van Weenen, H. (2000). Towards a sustainable university. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 1 (1), 20-34.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/1467%20630010307075" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/1467 630010307075</a><br /> <br /> Velazquez, L., Munguia, N, Sanchez, M. (2005). Deterring sustainability in higher education institutions: an appraisal of the factors that influence sustainability in higher education institutions. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 6 (4), 383-391.<br /> <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370510623865" target="_blank">http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/14676370510623865</a><br />

Downloads

Published

2011-03-20

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2011)

Section

Articles

License

Papers published in the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management must be the original, unpublished work of the author. Contributors are responsible for obtaining any copyright clearances required in relation to their work.

Authors submitting a paper to the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management automatically agree to grant a limited license to DJIM if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication. This license gives permission for DJIM to publish the paper in a given issue and to maintain the work in the electronic journal archive. DJIM also submits issues to institutional repositories and Open Access repositories.

Contributors agree to each reader accessing, downloading, or printing one copy of their article for their own personal use or research. All other copyrights remain with the author, subject to the requirements that any republication of the work be accompanied by an acknowledgement that the work was first published in the Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management and that the DJIM Editorial Chair must be notified of any republication of a work first published in DJIM.

Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management
c/o School of Information Management
Faculty of Management
Dalhousie University
Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building
6100 University Avenue
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3J5
Canada

Email: djim@dal.ca

Authors should recognize that, because of the nature of the Internet, the publisher has no control over unauthorized copying or editing of protected works.