Toward a Metauniversity for Sustainable Development: Responsible Agriculture Investment and Food Systems

Abstract

The sustainable development of agrifood systems is a pressing global challenge, highlighting the need for frameworks that guide responsible investment and community engagement. The Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CSA-IRA), approved by the Food Security Council in 2014, provide such a framework. Recognizing this opportunity, the FAO selected the Gesplan Research Group of the Polytechnic University of Madrid in 2016 to promote these principles in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain, leveraging the expertise of PhD graduates in Projects and Planning for Sustainable Rural Development. The main objective of this research was to explore how teaching, research, and civil society engagement can be integrated to operationalize CSA-IRA principles and foster sustainable development. To achieve this, the study applied the “Working with People” model across multiple countries and contexts, using university–business collaborations to implement practical, socially responsible initiatives. Over nine years, the approach generated a network of 46 universities and 52 agrifood companies across 12 countries, demonstrating effective multi-stakeholder collaboration. The accumulated experience led to the proposal of the Metauniversity—a “university of universities”—as an innovative instrument to scale knowledge transfer, research, and community engagement. These findings highlight that structured, collaborative networks can translate CSA-IRA principles into tangible actions, offering a replicable model for sustainable agrifood development globally