Our methodology
Robust, relevant and widely used
Our tools are co-designed by academic experts and sustainability practitioners, for higher education and beyond.
Conceptualizing "Sustainability Knowledge"
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We define sustainability knowledge as the knowledge and understanding of Earth’s planetary boundaries, the social foundations of human welfare, the action-based levers of opportunity that inform and influence our ability to build a sustainable future, and the systemic interlinkages existing between and across all these factors.
As such, sustainability knowledge relates to our shared sustainability challenges as well as ways to create solutions to these challenges.
Inspired by and aligned with established frameworks
To develop our model, we conducted an extensive literature review of the many existing reports, tools, frameworks for sustainability and for Education for Sustainability (EfS). Three main references were particularly inspiring:
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are now a well-known and widely-used framework, so it was important for us to align ourselves in part with this framework.
Developed by the Stockholm Resilience Institute, this framework identifies nine planetary boundaries that govern the stability and resilience of the Earth system. This approach falls under the school of thought that the role of humanity, society, and the economy must fit within the Earth's systems and its physical boundaries.
The Doughnut model is based on the planetary boundaries framework and consists of two concentric rings: a social foundation, to ensure that no one lacks the essentials of life, and an ecological ceiling, to ensure that humanity does not collectively exceed the planetary boundaries that protect Earth's life support systems.
Framework alignment
By design, TASK™ aims to be consistent with existing frameworks in the field of education for sustainability. We produced referential alignment documents highlighting TASK™'s harmonization with recognized frameworks, such as the European GreenComp, ensuring the assessment of relevant knowledge while acknowledging the need for complementary methods to address broader sustainability skills.
Discover how TASK aligns with the following frameworks:
- Education for Sustainable Development Goals: Learning Objectives. UNESCO, 2017
- GreenComp — European Sustainability Competence Framework. European Union, 2022
- Referential of Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility knowledge and skills (“Référentiel de connaissance et de compétence en DD et RSO”). IAE France, 2023
- Referential of Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility skills (“Référentiel de compétences DD&RS”). CDEFM, 2023
A psychometric assessment
Our algorithm models the relationship between the respondent's ability and the parameters associated with each question. The measure generated by the model is then geometrically transformed to a score between 0 and 100.
As such, a TASK™ score depends on:
- the total number of questions answered by the candidate;
- whether or not each question was answered correctly;
- the parameters associated with each question (difficulty level, ability to discriminate, place in the matrix).
