Mission
Our mission is: Responsible Governance for Sustainable Societies. At Nijmegen School of Management (NSM), we train students and professionals to become critical thinkers, leaders and decision-makers who analyse, shape and assess responsible governance of and in public, private and hybrid organisations. Our teaching is firmly rooted in leading disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. Working closely with civil society partners and students, we develop new scientific insights and contribute to the development of practical solutions to pressing challenges in the transition to sustainable societies.
In research, teaching and impact activities, our faculty focuses on responsible governance, composed of three dimensions that reflect the faculty’s fundamental areas of expertise and disciplines:
- Politics & Democracy: how citizens, politicians and interest groups exert influence, engage in co-production processes and deal with power dynamics;
- Government & Policy: how values, institutions and rules on different scales structure societies and can reinforce each other;
- Management & Organisation: how societal challenges are addressed through strategy, design, leadership and coordination, both within and between organisations.
On the subject of responsible governance, we conduct research into three interrelated themes around sustainable societies:
- Social economy: We examine the impact of economic choices on inequality and future societies. We analyse how economies can become more sustainable by doing business responsibly, organising inclusively and working together from shared values. Think of initiatives relating to social enterprises, equitable distribution, values-driven deployment of AI and digitisation, and sustainable business models.
- Resilient society: We examine which institutions, forms of organisation and collaboration, and processes make our societies more resilient to crises, social tensions and polarisation, injustice and the increasing concentration of influence and power in large corporations (including in the tech sector). Themes include inequality, emancipation, sustainable democracy, equitable institutions and safe societies.
- Sustainable and Healthy Living Environment: We focus on a healthy and liveable ecosystem, addressing issues of governance, organisation, citizen engagement, the design of a healthy living environment and climate change, looking at climate mitigation and climate adaptation. We work on issues relating to sustainable water management, energy transition, biodiversity restoration and sustainable care systems.
