This is the second in our series of blog posts showcasing work presented at ESD Exchange. Alina’s talk takes place on day one of the ESD Exchange conference on April 16th 2026
Across the sector, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is no longer a marginal activity. It is increasingly positioned within whole-institution strategies, linked to graduate attributes, and expected to demonstrate meaningful impact. And yet, a familiar challenge persists.
Many ESD initiatives remain relatively localised, sustained through committed individuals and short-term funding, rather than becoming embedded features of institutional practice. The question is not simply how to design effective interventions, but how to ensure they take hold. This blog introduces a simple, research-informed framework developed through applied work on higher education change projects, designed to support more systematic thinking about embedding.
The challenge: from project-based innovation to institutional change
There is a substantial body of literature on change in higher education that highlights the difficulty of moving from innovation to institutionalisation. Research on change in higher education (for example, the work of Adrianna Kezar on organisational change and leadership) highlights that successful initiatives tend to align across multiple dimensions, including leadership, culture, structures and incentives. Similarly, implementation research suggests that innovations are more likely to persist where they are integrated into formal systems, rather than operating at their edges.
Within ESD, this challenge is particularly acute. The field is:
- inherently interdisciplinary
- often values-led
- frequently delivered through pilots, partnerships, or co-curricular activity
These characteristics are strengths, but they can also make embedding more complex. In practice, many initiatives are designed with a strong pedagogical and conceptual foundation, but less explicit attention to the institutional conditions required for their continuation.
A framework for embedding (a preview)
In my workshop at ESD Exchange 2026, I’ll be sharing a short, practice-tested framework developed through work on institutional change in higher education. Rather than offering a model of what ESD should look like, it focuses on a different question:
How do ideas gain traction within institutions?
The framework brings together a small number of prompts that help surface things we often leave implicit when developing ESD initiatives, for example:
- how we frame the problem we are trying to solve
- what kinds of evidence or arguments different stakeholders find persuasive
- who needs to be involved for something to move beyond a single project
- where an initiative might sit so that it becomes part of “how things are done”
It’s deliberately simple, but in practice it tends to shift conversations quite quickly from enthusiasm about an idea to more strategic thinking about how it might land.
Why this matters now
For many institutions, ESD is moving into a more strategic phase. This brings both opportunity and expectation.
There is growing emphasis on:
- whole-institution approaches
- evidencing impact and value
- aligning ESD with wider agendas (employability, wellbeing, civic engagement, estates and operations)
In this context, the ability to position and embed ESD initiatives becomes as important as their design. For those leading ESD in institutions, this raises practical questions about how we design for longevity from the outset, thinking not just about educational value(s), but about alignment, ownership and institutional fit.
In the session: working with a shared case
The session at ESD Exchange will be practical and discussion-based.
Rather than focusing on abstract models, or putting participants on the spot about their own institutional contexts, we’ll work with a shared case study. This creates a bit of critical distance, allowing us to explore the framework more openly and test different approaches to embedding.
We’ll use the case to:
- surface where initiatives tend to gain or lose traction
- explore how different institutional contexts shape what is possible
- compare alternative ways of framing, positioning and embedding similar ideas
There will also be space to connect this back to your own context, alongside creating a shared, collegiate space for analysis and discussion. The aim is to offer a structured way of thinking about embedding, and to prompt reflection on how this might translate into your own institutional setting.
A closing reflection
ESD operates at the intersection of values, knowledge, and institutional systems. Its transformative potential is widely recognised, but realising that potential depends, in part, on how effectively it becomes embedded within those systems. Developing a more explicit approach to embedding may therefore be a key part of the next phase of ESD in higher education.
This blog is based on my workshop at ESD Exchange 2026 (De Montfort University), where I will introduce and work with an “Embedding Pathway Framework” developed through applied higher education projects focused on institutional change.
With thanks to Vitae for their support and for the rich intellectual discussions that helped shape this work. The framework itself was developed through work undertaken with Vitae, and is shared here with their support for use in this non-commercial educational context.
Slides and resources will be shared during the session.
Contact
Alina Congreve
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alina-congreve-builtenvironmentresearchsustainability/
