Join proposal for Insider Social Change Agents Transforming Business Schools network and summit [🚨 short notice for 3rd research label call due on 2026-06-18]

INSIDE//OUT — Insider Social Change Agents Transforming Business Schools from the Inside Out

 

Business schools are increasingly expected to lead, not just teach, sustainability transformation — and much of the deepest change is driven from within, by "insider social change agents": researchers and educators who work reflexively to transform their own institutions, often using action research, engaged scholarship or transformation research. Across ENGAGE.EU these efforts are happening in parallel but remain siloed school by school; their insights are neither crystallized nor compared.

 

INSIDE//OUT is a cross-alliance network and summit to change that. We will (1) crystallize what is already known about the process of transforming a business school from within, (2) compare approaches across institutional contexts, and (3) build a standing collaborative network. Each partner team writes a short "change case" on its own institution; we meet for a compact 2-day summit at the University of St.Gallen (spring 2027); and we co-author a shared synthesis-and-intention document plus an MoU. The initiative links to SDG 4 and 17 and to the Strategic Agenda priorities Sustainability & Climate change and Strong Institutions.

 

Who is involved so far: A community from the University of St.Gallen (HSG) with Rachel Brooks (PhD, Head of Curriculum Development for Responsibility & Sustainability of HSG), Tobias Fehr-Bosshard (PhD, Lead St.Gallen Transformation Lab), Monica Barroso (Lead Executive Education at the Center for Leadership and Innovation in Society) and Clémentine Robert (PhD Candidate at RISE, Lead Curriculum Change).

 

Who we are looking for: researchers at other ENGAGE.EU universities — senior or early-career (PhD/postdoc) — who are active as change agents transforming their own business school, and would contribute a change case and join the summit. We are seeking 2–3 partner universities to join as initiative partners.

 

This is being submitted to the ENGAGE.EU Research Label 2026 (seed funding covers travel + hosting), with the ambition of an ongoing network beyond it. If you recognise your own work here, please get in touch: tobias.fehr@unisg.ch