UNSW Societal Impact Framework
In our 75-year history, UNSW has contributed immensely to society through a myriad of innovations and activities.
Our contributions include, but are not limited to, solar photovoltaics technology, infectious disease elimination and control, restoration of endangered species and habitat, transforming waste materials into value-added products, human rights and international refugee law, and improving access to justice, social and economic policy.
The inaugural UNSW Societal Impact Framework sets out to connect us to the most pressing challenges of our times and the areas in which UNSW can have unique and significant impact.
By concentrating our efforts in four Impact Focus Areas that reflect current public issues, we will strengthen our leadership as a local and global driver of positive societal change.
At its core, the Societal Impact Framework commits us to embed Indigenous peoples’ ways of knowing, being and doing in our activities to improve society across all our Impact Focus Areas.
Through this we demonstrate a significant commitment to Incorporate Indigenous Knowledges, and to leadership and advocacy for Indigenous rights, aspirations, self-governance, education, and community-led outcomes.
Indigenous knowledges provide a unique and holistic insight into land management and environmental resilience, health, community wellbeing, and more. Indigenous peoples have an immense understanding and knowledge that has the potential to change our approaches, enhance innovation, and drive advancements that benefit society.
The Framework also includes Cross-cutting themes that guide us, and like Indigenous Knowledges, are embedded across all our Impact Focus Areas. These are:
- Inclusion
- Integrity
- Social Justice
Societal Impact Goals
The Impact Focus Areas are four of the nine Strategic Pillars in the UNSW Strategy: Progress for All. The Impact Focus Areas have accompanying Societal Impact Goals that reflect the societal change we would like to see achieved locally and globally. These goals require multi-sector contribution, and we are ambitious in our intention for UNSW to make a significant contribution to these collective goals for major positive societal impact.
The goals are adopted from local and global targets including the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Strategic Pillar 6: Accelerate the transition to a sustainable society and planet
1. Achieve net-zero emissions by 2050
2. Restore 30% of ecosystems in areas of particular importance for biodiversity to improve planetary health
3. Reduce waste generation by 30% through prevention, recycling and reuse
Strategic Pillar 7: Advance economic and social prosperity
1. Reignite productivity growth in line with the national agenda
2. Reduce at least by half the proportion of all peoples of all ages living in poverty
3. Increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–64 who are employed to 62%
4. Increase low-SES participation in tertiary education to 20.2% and reach parity by 2050
Strategic Pillar 8: Enable healthy lives
1. Increase healthy lifespans of all Australians by two years, and those in underrepresented and minority populations in Australia and the region by three years
2. Reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases
3. Achieve health equity for priority populations
Strategic Pillar 9: Strengthen societal resilience, security, and cohesion
1. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
2. Ensure Australia’s sovereign capability by advancing expertise, new technologies, and sharing knowledge
3. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all; and ensure sustainable food production and resilient agricultural practices
How the SIF intersects with the UNSW Strategy: Progress for All
The UNSW Societal Impact Framework is intrinsically linked to the UNSW Strategy. This diagram outlines how we will work towards achieving our ambitions for positive societal impact through our UNSW Strategy: Progress for All. This is one example of how our Impact Focus Areas connect to our Strategic objectives. Full details can be found in the UNSW Strategy: Progress for All.
Evaluation: Impact Indicators
As outlined in the UNSW Strategy: Progress for All, we will evaluate and measure our contribution to societal impact through leveraging existing and capturing new insights on:
- The societal impact of our work in our four Impact Focus Areas, and
- The societal change in the areas described in our Societal Impact Goals over time.
We will use impact indicators such as the below to evaluate and showcase the overall societal impact of our work:
Quality of life:
individuals or communities impacted by our activities
Sustainability and sustainable development:
improvements to our environment or society
Policy and influence:
knowledge transfer and exchange, advocacy and engagement
Scholarly outputs:
traditional method of measuring impact from an academic standpoint
Commercialisation:
products, services and methodologies adopted by industry.
Top image: Wild Deserts, a 10-year initiative to reintroduce locally extinct mammals to Sturt National Park in north-west NSW. A partnership between UNSW Sydney, Ecological Horizons, Taronga Conservation Society and NSW National Parks.