Unveiling the role of higher education institutions in regional sustainability transitions: a systematic literature review and research agenda

Due to pressing sustainability challenges, our society is in urgent need for innovations and new knowledge. Higher education
institutions (HEIs) as institutions of education and knowledge production are attributed a leading role in the sustainability
endeavor. In recent years, the topic of the contributions of HEIs to regional sustainability transitions (RST) has received
increasing attention, resulting in rising numbers of literature published. However, due to its position at the interface of
diferent research felds, the knowledge on the role of HEIs in RST is heterogeneous and scattered. This paper provides a
systematic review of the literature on HEIs’ role in RST from 2007 onwards. The purpose of the paper is to identify how
this role is conceptualized and empirically investigated and to understand better which challenges HEIs are facing and what
kinds of drivers enable them to take over this role. The results are aligned along with role characteristics (actors, activities,
drivers, challenges, and impacts), which provide in-depth insights into how this role is conceptualized. The authors deduced
one role of HEIs in RST with three dimensions from the existing literature: Sustainable Regional Operations, Community
Empowerment, and Regional Sustainability Policy. HEI students, faculty, leadership and management as well as a diverse
range of regional actors are engaged in the enactment of this role and its three dimensions through educational, research,
and outreach activities. However, these activities are rarely institutionalized and therefore depend on the engagement of
individuals and the support of the HEI leadership. Based on these results, the authors propose further avenues of research
which have the potential to better characterize the role of HEIs in RST including the perspective of who decides within HEIs
on the role and the evolution of this role over time.