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Funding Programme
CoopPartnership - HED
Theme
Environment, Others
Target group
Higher Education
Project Reference
2026-1-ES01-KA220-HED-000459433
Date
01-10-2026 | 30-09-2028
Role of Pixel
Partner
Project Details
Project Title
Sustainability Boost from the Universities
Context
The Urban Sustainability project is motivated by a structural mismatch between the strategic potential of higher education institutions and their actual integration into the implementation of the UAEU, the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and SDG11 on sustainable cities and communities across European territories Empirical evidence collected through a multi actor needs assessment confirms persistent coordination deficits between universities, public authorities and societal actors. This project addresses that gap through an integrated and transnational approach. It combines analytical assessment, participatory experimentation and methodological consolidation.
Objectives
Given the aforementioned structural mismatch and the lack of inclusion of higher education institutions within the implementation of the UAEU, the project aims to strengthen the strategic role of universities in sustainable urban development by improving their structured alignment with Urban Agendas and reinforcing their contribution to European sustainability objectives.
• The specific objectives Urban Sustainability project would like to achieve are:
• Generate a shared and evidence-based understanding of how universities currently align their sustainability strategies with local and regional Urban Agendas.
• Operationalise university–city collaboration through structured experimentation and competence development.
• Consolidate analytical and experimental learning into a Replicable Alignment Framework and Operational Toolkit
Target Group
Target Groups are: University community Local and regional public authorities Civil society organisations
Results
The results Urban Sustainability project are:
• Comparative baseline study providing first systematic and replicable assessment of alignment between universities and Urban Agendas derived from UAEU
• Digital mapping platform supporting institutional self-assessment, policy learning and evidence-based dialogue between universities and urban authorities.
• City Labs Network as long-term spaces for experimentation, co creation and mutual learning.
• Transferable methodological framework and toolkit supporting strategic policy alignment between HEIs-UA