The past decade provides evidence that higher education and research contribute to the eradication of poverty, to sustainable development and to progress towards reaching the internationally agreed upon development goals, which include the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA). The global education agenda should reflect these realities (WCHE 2009, Final Communiqué).

Faced with the complexity of current and future global challenges, higher education has the social responsibility to advance our understanding of multifaceted issues, which involve social, economic, scientific and cultural dimensions and our ability to respond to them. It should lead society in generating global knowledge to address global challenges, inter alia food security, climate change, water management, intercultural dialogue, renewable energy and public health (WCHE 2009, Final Communiqué).

Institutions that generate socially relevant knowledge have a fundamental role to play in the construction of society. Linking research agendas to collective challenges and the global development agenda make evident connections between academic activity and societal needs.

Research should seek solutions to society’s problems and contribute to a great extent to describing, analysing and improving the emerging world. Higher education institutions are responsible for creating and spreading knowledge, and thus contributing to solutions to the global issues.

HEIs should move forward to couple scientific research and political decision making related to collective well-being to inform decisions that affect large segments of population.