Amherst College
AC-6: Sustainability Research

6.1 Percentage of academic departments engaged in sustainability research

An institution earns 8 points when 90 percent or more of its academic departments that are engaged in research are engaged in sustainability research. Incremental points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report on academic departments that are currently engaged in research or have produced or supervised research during the previous three years and academic staff members who are affiliated with those departments. Research conducted by individuals no longer affiliated with the institution does not qualify. 

To qualify as sustainability-focused, the research or scholarly work must explicitly address the concept of sustainability, further our understanding of the interdependence of ecological and social/cultural/economic systems, or have a primary and explicit focus on a sustainability challenge.

A comprehensive listing of each department’s sustainability research is welcome, but not required. Rather, an institution may identify one or more examples of sustainability research for each department for which it is claiming points. 

6.2 Incentives for sustainability research

An institution earns 2 points when it provides incentives for A) academic staff and B) students to conduct sustainability research. Partial points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report on the current status of the institution’s programs. 

To qualify, incentives must A) have a stated intent to support academic staff or students in conducting sustainability research, B) support participation in an ongoing sustainability research professional development or training program, or C) have resulted in the development of new instances of sustainability research during the previous three years.

Applicable to institutions where research is considered in academic staff promotion or tenure decisions as a matter of policy or standard practice.