Design for Sustainability

October 22-27, 2009

Deadline: August 15, 2009

The PhD Sustainability Academy is hosted by the Richard Ivey School of Business at The University of Western Ontario and the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability, in collaboration with the Network for Business Sustainability and the oikos Foundation for Economy and Ecology.

The PhD Sustainability Academy immerses participants in a multidimensional understanding of sustainability issues through interactive dialogue with leading faculty and leading practitioners and accomplished teachers grappling with sustainability issues. The academy stimulates crosspollination among a diversity of theoretical and methodological traditions through intensive workshops on participants’ research-in-progress; it creates a stronger community of sustainability scholarship through close interactions with terrific faculty; and it forges bridges between academe, teaching and practice by engaging provocative thought leaders and promoting innovative approaches to sustainability education.

“I have learned more in 3 days than in a year”

“the academy was an amazing mix of paper development, case study discussion, real time cases, social and field/practitioner interaction”

“insightful, helpful and relevant comments … constructive and helpful without ever avoiding any of the difficult issues that needed to be addressed”

“the group was terrific and I look forward to continuing the professional relationships I established at the academy”

The theme of the 2009 PhD Sustainability Academy is Design for Sustainability – we will be exploring how issues, capabilities, practices, organizations, markets and institutions can be (re)designed to promote more socially and environmentally responsible practices.

Four faculty members will engage the participants’ research-in-progress in several intensive 3-hour workshops:

Oana Branzei, (Host) Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario
Johanna Mair, IESE Business School, University of Navarra
Saras Sarasvathy, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia
Jim Walsh, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

Seminars and fire-side chats, site visits and panels with lead designers will further engage the participants in multiple roles, as collaborators, thought-leaders, and teachers, in ways that increase the timeliness, relevance, and impact of their academic work. Here are a couple of highlights from our 2009 program:

Fireside chats with Tima Bansal, Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario and Executive Director of the Network for Business Sustainability and Mike Lenox, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia and Founding Member, Alliance for Research in Corporate Sustainability

Design for Sustainability workshop with Arlene Gould, Strategic Director for Ontario’s Design Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC) and Executive Board Member for Sustainable Buildings Canada.

We invite submissions based on emergent ideas and working manuscripts, or more advanced manuscripts that may already be under review but have not currently been accepted for publication. All applicants must be currently enrolled in a doctoral program. Submissions on this year’s theme are welcome, but we also welcome submissions on sustainability issues in strategy and policy, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics, environmental studies, and international business and international development. We are interested in different theoretical lenses, including management, economics, psychology, arts, philosophy, political studies, geography and sociology and diverse methodologies.

Submission can follow one of two formats: a full manuscript option (following the AMR style guide for theoretical papers and the AMJ style guide for empirical work), and an emergent ideas track (an extended abstract format of 3000-6000 words excluding references and exhibits that outlines the research contribution, context, method and preliminary findings). The doctoral student should be the lead author on co-authored manuscript submissions.

Please also attach a 150 word abstract of your manuscript submission, a short vita, a 150 word bio, and a recent photo and email your submission to the 2009 PhD Sustainability Academy conveners Oana Branzei and Marlene J. Le Ber by August 15th, 2009.

All submissions will be evaluated through a double-blind review process. Participants will be invited based on the relevance, timeliness and quality of the proposed research and the clarity of research description. The selection committee includes the 2009 PhD Sustainability Academy faculty and members of the Alliance for Research on Corporate Sustainability. Invitations will be sent out by September 15th, 2009.

A Best Paper Award and a $500 cash prize sponsored by the Network for Business Sustainability will be announced on October 27, 2009.

"I went to the 2008 PhD Sustainability Academy with the expectation to have a little feedback on my paper. Initially I did not get what I was hoping for. However at the end I left with clear ideas for a paper, a book, a case, new teaching insights and last but not least a bunch of new friends. How this has happened is impossible for me to describe but it was definitely one of the best academic experiences of my life. I therefore can only encourage you to experience it yourself."
Christoph Beuttler, PhD Candidate, Management,
Birkbeck College, University of London

The academy is funded by a Great-West Life, London Life and Canada Life grant.