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, and frameworks for both sustainability and Education for Sustainability (EfS). Three main references provided particular inspiration:
As the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have become a well-known and widely-used framework, it was important for us to align TASK™ to the SDG framework.
Developed by the Stockholm Resilience Center, this framework identifies nine planetary boundaries that govern the stability and resilience of Earth's natural systems. This framework affirms that humanity, society, and the economy must function within these physical planetary 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™ was conceived to align with existing competencies frameworks in the field of education for sustainability. We produced referential alignment documents highlighting TASK™'s harmonization with recognized frameworks, such as UNESCO's eight key competencies and European GreenComp. This helps demonstrate the importance of designing knowledge assessment tools that align to complementary frameworks and methods that articulate broader sustainability skills.
Discover how TASK™ aligns to the following competency 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
The TASK™ algorithm models the relationship between the respondent's ability and the parameters associated with each question. The measurement generated by the model is then geometrically transformed into a score between 0 and 100.
As such, a TASK™ score depends on:
- the total number of questions answered by the candidate;
- whether each question was answered correctly, and;
- the parameters associated with each question (difficulty level, ability to discriminate, location in the matrix).
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