ABSTRACT
Evaluating university transnational-sustainable-development (TSD) performance is a complex and controversial undertaking. Based on a new and replicable synthesis of accumulated research findings, this chapter identifies and justifies core guiding principles that contribute to a meaningful framework for sustainable-development evaluation. The multidimensional nature of sustainable development necessitates an integrated transdisciplinary approach to evaluation. To provide additional practical guidance, the chapter also draws upon field experiences with evaluating international-development programs. Universities must be able to evaluate effectively where economic and social development and environmental protection meet. A holistic framework for evaluating higher-education TSD initiatives encompasses and integrates teaching, research, outreach, and partnering; treats environmental, economic, and social dimensions; and focuses on process, outcomes, and impacts. The chapter focuses on governance evaluation and on building evaluative capacity. Sustainable-development-capacity evaluations specifically address curricular and co-curricular outcomes. Evaluations of intended and unintended impacts integrate analysis of project interventions, institutional-capacity and human-capability outcomes, and contextual environmental influences.
