Our research will investigate if Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have adopted the United Nation's (UN's) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and what internet technologies are used to achieve these goals.
Project details
The inaugural Commonwealth of Australia Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Reference Committee 2019 Report on global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identified that many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have not adopted the United Nation's (UN’s) SDGs.
Recent studies identified that there is no evidence of SME contribution to the UN's 2030 Agenda. The studies attribute this to SMEs being challenged by the absence of “hands-on actional tools that link to SDGs with business processes.”1
Further studies show a lack of knowledge on how SMEs are adopting SDGs to foster sustainable responsible practices and what internet technologies are employed.2
There are two key stages to this project:
Stage one - Research
We will conduct robust research activities to investigate SME's efforts to understand, adopt and align with the SDGs. We will also investigate what internet technologies they use to achieve these goals.
The research activities include both quantitative and qualitative approach:
- Qualitative data will be collected via focus groups and individual interviews with SME stakeholders.
- Quantitative data will be collected from surveys distributed to SMEs across different industries in Melbourne West.
Stage two - Tailored education activities
We will design and deliver awareness training of SDGs and on utilizing internet technologies.
This includes a series of webinars on embedding SDGs into business strategy, and using technology to support efficient and sustainable processes and transparent accountability.
An online network hub will be created to enable a community of SME members to engage in peer-to-peer learning space. This space will be supported by Victoria University (VU) experts to develop sustainable solutions to contribute towards the global SDGs.
These will be conducted and hosted on VU’s website.
An analytical research report and industry report with success case stories will be produced and made public on the Victoria University and project partners' websites.
This project can lead to introduce innovative approaches to SME business strategies and models. This will help SMEs set their vision and strategy into the context of the SDG and use internet technologies that foster efficient business practice processes.
1 Jiménez, E., de la Cuesta-González, M. and Boronat-Navarro, M., 2021. How Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Can Uptake the Sustainable Development Goals through a Cluster Management Organization: A Case Study. Sustainability, 13(11), p.5939.
2 Ingram, G., McArthur, J.W. and Vora, P., 2022. How can digital public technologies accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals?.
Resources
So far the project has yielded many great findings and resources for our small businesses. Here are some of them:
Get involved
Are you a business in Melbourne West and want to be involved in this research?
Fill in our online questionnaire
You can get more information about the project by contacting the Chief Lead Investigator Dr. Selvi Kannan at selvi.kannan@vu.edu.au
