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17 ROOMS

The 17 Rooms exercise was a series of brainstorming sessions about how Concordia can have an even greater impact impact in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Overview

From February to June 2022, Concordia hosted a weekly series of sessions called the 17 Rooms. Each consecutive session focused on one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goal of the exercise was to engage the Concordia community in strategizing about how to coordinate activities and achieve greater impact related to the SDGs.

Participants were invited by the 17 Rooms team based on individuals’ interests, expertise and demonstrated commitment to impact- and engagement-oriented work.

8 key takeaways

Eight key takeaways emerged from the sessions. Under each item below, the SDG icon indicates in which rooms the idea was discussed.

1. Build an "impact agenda"

Articulate clear goals, targets and roadmaps to help define where and how we should focus our SDG-related efforts on our own campuses and communities.

UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
UN Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible production and consumption
UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate action
UN Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

2. Assess and track progress on SDGs

Rigorously assess and track progress on institutional commitments to SDG-aligned efforts around decolonization, EDI, sustainability and good governance practices in order to have a clear understanding of our strengths and weaknesses and uphold accountability.

UN Sustainable Development Goal 1: No poverty
UN Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender equality
UN Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
UN Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
UN Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
UN Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

3. Foster interdisciplinary research to enhance impact

Use the SDGs as a mechanism to foster interdisciplinary research collaborations with a focus on enhanced social impact by finding effective ways to engage and align various researchers and research units around a common set of challenges and objectives.

UN Sustainable Development Goal 1: No poverty
UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero hunger
UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
UN Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
UN Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible production and consumption
UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate action
UN Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on land
UN Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals

4. Create co-teaching opportunities and cross-disciplinary courses

Use the SDGs as a basis for creating co-teaching opportunities and cross-disciplinary course offerings, with a focus on providing students with immersive forms of experiential learning that builds skills in complex problem-solving and sustainable innovation.

UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero hunger
UN Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender equality
UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
UN Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible production and consumption

5. Use the 'campus as a living lab' model

Expand the use of the "campus as a living lab" model to facilitate SDG-inspired initiatives that integrate research, teaching, operations, services and community engagement, testing and modeling new practices on our own campuses.

UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good health and well-being
UN Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
UN Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
UN Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible production and consumption
UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate action
UN Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on land

6. Provide training, support and recognition for social impact work

Provide training, support and appropriate forms of recognition for faculty, staff and students who want to influence public policy, do advocacy work and pursue other forms of social impact.

UN Sustainable Development Goal 1: No poverty
UN Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender equality
UN Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
UN Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate action
UN Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on land

7. Extend efforts providing leadership and guidance

Develop or extend efforts to provide leadership and guidance to businesses, governments and communities undertaking sustainability—and equity-related transitions, building on faculty expertise, student initiatives and know-how developed through efforts on our own campuses.

UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy
UN Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
UN Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate action
UN Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

8. Build multi-stakeholder partnerships

Find additional ways to build and contribute to multi-stakeholder partnerships at all levels to maximize Concordia’s reach and impact in relation to the SDGs and provide a range of learning opportunities and supports related to developing and managing partnerships. 

UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero hunger
UN Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good health and well-being
UN Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate action
UN Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
UN Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals

Background

The 17 Rooms format was developed by the Brookings Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation in 2018, on the eve of the UN General Assembly in New York City, as a way to stimulate collaboration and advance the SDGs.

Brookings and Rockefeller convened participants from disparate organizations and communities to meet in their own “Rooms,” or working groups, to identify actions that could be undertaken over the 12-18 months. Emerging ideas were then shared between Rooms to identify opportunities for collaboration across different SDGs.

According to Brookings, there are three key principles behind the 17 Rooms format:

  • All SDGs get a seat at the table.
  • Take a next step, not the perfect step.
  • Conversations, not presentations.

17 Rooms team

  • Jason Ens – Co-facilitator
    Executive Director, Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic
  • Monica Mulrennan – Co-facilitator
    Associate Vice-President, Research Development and Outreach, Office of the Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies
  • Anna Waclawek
    Manager, 4th Space
  • Doug Moffat
    Production Coordinator, 4th Space
  • Prem Sooriyakumar
    Knowledge Broker, Office of Research
  • David Ward
    Knowledge Broker, Office of Research
  • Johanne Pelletier
    Director, Projects and Initiatives, University Communications Services
  • Rebecca Tittler
    Research Administration Coordinator / Loyola College for Diversity and Sustainability 
  • Cassandra Lamontagne
    Sustainability Coordinator, Office of Sustainability
  • Peter Graham
    Part-time faculty member
  • Amy Nguyen​
    Program Coordinator, JMEC Sustainability Ecosystem and Concordia SDG Coordinator, SDSN Canada​

17 Rooms events

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals logo
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