Our 2023 wrapped up

We have had an incredibly busy year at the GRLI.

We have continued to communicate key pathways and actions related to our work through a publicly available dashboard that enables the core team to advocate, convene and facilitate on behalf of initiatives which the Partners and Associates of the Foundation prioritised. We are proud to share some of our activities and successes from this year here and give a flavour of what’s coming up for us in 2024.

During 2023, the GRLI was involved in a range of external advocacy actions, including:

GRLI Executive Director John North was a keynote speaker at Stellenbosch Business School’s Academic Opening on 24 January. View session.
GRLI Executive Director, John North, participated in advocacy initiatives at both EFMD Deans and Directors General Conference from 30-31 January and AACSB’s Deans Conference from 8-10 February.
In February GRLI continued the “Courageous Conversations” initiative with the first event of 2023 titled “Perspectives from the global south on global responsibility” co-hosted with Woxsen University in India. Chris Taylor and Lana Jelenjev acted as co-hosts for the remaining three conversations, the second of which, “Decolonisation,” took place on 18 April, while the third instalment “Is sustainability a sham?” was held on 19 September and the fourth event “Degrowth – panacea or pipedream?” on 31 October.

A second intake of the Globally Responsible Leadership for Sustainable Transformation collaborative online course was successfully co-presented by seven GRLI Partner and Associate Partner institutions during March to May.

On 28 March, a virtual gathering of the Deans & Directors Cohort was co-hosted with Exeter Business School. PVC and Executive Dean Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, Alexandra Gerbassi, led the discussion about “Using structure to create value.”

During May, GRLI Executive Director, John North, contributed at the HESI meeting for the Joint Task Force on Outcomes and Impacts.

A Globally Responsible Leadership Webinar was held on 1 June in collaboration with the International Leadership Association. Kathleen Curren of ILA and John North of GRLI set the scene for conversation starters Thomas Maak and two of the GRLI’s Guardians, Vanessa Duckenfield and Nicola Pless helped participants explore globally responsible leadership in an inquiry based and interactive format.

The RRBM Conference hosted by INSEAD France during June, provided a platform for in-person connection with a number of thought leaders and key figures in GRLI’s development including Henri-Claude DeBettignies (INSEAD, GRLI Fellow), Pierre Tapie (Paris, former GRLI Chair), Anders Aspling (founding Secretary General), Claire Maxwell (immediate past Chair), Matthew Wood (EFMD), JC Carteron (Sulitest) and many more.

On 27 June, GRLI Executive Director John North participated in the keynote panel discussion at the PRME UK and Ireland 10th Anniversary Conference, alongside Sheila Killian and Carole Parkes.

The GRLI Board gathered three times throughout the year: February, June and November. At the Board meeting of 29 June, the appointment of Peter Møllgaard, Dean at the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences at the University of Southern Denmark, as Chair of the Board, was ratified by the Board Members. Peter replaced Claire Maxwell, who has served in the role since 2017. Also ratified, were the appointment of two partner representatives to serve on the Board from November: Hanna-Leena Pesonen – Dean, Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics and Amanda Gudmundsson, Executive Dean, Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Business and Law. At the final Board meeting of 2023 the following Strategic Partners representatives were confirmed: Alfons Sauquet (EFMD Global), Lily Bi and Stephanie Bryant (AACSB), Michael Winter (oikos international).

Global Agenda for RME : Also at our June meeting, the GRLI Board approved an initiative to invite influential and critical voices in the RME landscape to the setting and continual reviewing of a Global Agenda for Responsible Management Education. The intent to establish a Collaborative agenda offers an opportunity for stakeholders to be a co-owner, an architect, and a driving force behind a movement that will transform education, business, and society on a global scale.

At our second Deans & Directors Cohort on 1 August, Vice President of Woxsen University, Dr Raul V. Rodriguez, with other key stakeholders in Woxsen’s ecosystem, explored the topic: ‘Future proofing yourself: from Success to Significance in an ever-changing world.’

Executive Director, John North, acted as judge for the Green Gown Awards with EAUC, as well as for the Financial Times Responsible Business Education Awards which will be announced in January 2024.

John North contributed to various books. He wrote the foreword to “Doing Good Business” by Sheila Killian, contributed a chapter entitled “Sustainable Leadership” to the 2nd ed. of “Leading Beyond the Logo” by Duncan Enright, as well as collaborating with Julia Wolny on a chapter about the GRLI in her book “Collaborative Initiatives for Positive Impact in HE.”

Four editions of the Journal of Global Responsibility, of which the GRLI is a founding partner, were published throughout the year.

While the GRLI’s number of full institutional Partners remained steady at 23 throughout 2023, one more institution, The Miller College of Business, Ball State University, joined as Associate Partner. At least two more institutions are set to join in January 2024.
On 30 November the Annual General Meeting , or All Gathering Momentum as it is known, took place with updates from around the globe on present and upcoming initiatives.

2024

Looking ahead to 2024, the GRLI will continue to advocate, convene and facilitate on behalf of initiatives that our Partners and Associates prioritise. Some of the activities already underway or planned for 2024 include:

6-7 February – EFMD Conference for Deans & Directors General in Amsterdam, Netherlands
20-22 February – AACSB Deans meeting in Barcelona, Spain
A Second intake of the collaborative course GRL4ST “Globally Responsible Leadership for Sustainable Transformation” runs from 19 February 2023 to 1 May 2023.
13-16 March – in-person GRLI Deans Cohort hosted by Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa
Throughout 2024 we shall continue the “Courageous Conversation” series, facilitated by Chris Taylor and Lana Jelenjev and hosted by a GRLI partner or associate.
October 2024 – GRLI Deans Cohort, hosted by Colorado State University
During Q1 the Global Agenda for RME initiative will be made public and an invitation letter sent to various key stakeholders and networks.
Continue inquiry into the “30 for 30” initiative to recruit 5 additional Partner seats from business or civil society into the GRLI Partnership by 2030.
Throughout 2024, the GRLI Partnership will continue to build alliances and demonstrate the power of relational innovation through innovative forms of governance and collaborative alliance building.

We look forward to our continued work with Partners and Associates next year.