Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IMP_ACT (Impact Assessment for Action Competence)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30
The IMP>ACT project seeks to advance understanding of how sustainability and climate change education (SCCE) influences learners’ mindsets and actions, and to provide practical recommendations for assessing these outcomes. Its main goal is to develop the IMP>ACT assessment framework, tailored to the needs of policymakers and practitioners, to measure what learners actually achieve in terms of action competence. This focus responds to EU priorities such as the GreenComp framework and the European Commission’s proposal on learning for environmental sustainability, which emphasise empowering citizens to act for sustainability. Despite the growing number of SCCE initiatives worldwide, robust evidence of their impact remains scarce, especially beyond formal education. Existing policies often lack tools to define learning goals, design curricula, or monitor outcomes effectively. By co-developing the assessment framework with national stakeholder groups (35 organisations), international experts, and throughout six case studies spanning different learning contexts, IMP>ACT addresses this gap. Our approach recognises that action competence—the ability to make informed and context-sensitive decisions for sustainability—is a key learning outcome and the foundation for systemic change in education and society.
In its first phase, IMP>ACT has laid the conceptual and methodological foundations for assessing SCCE impacts. The project defined two central concepts: action competence (the key learning outcome) and action orientation (teaching and learning approaches that foster it). These have guided both theory-driven interventions and case studies in diverse contexts. Together, they enable analysis of when and why SCCE is effective, and which measures are most promising. The project has advanced methods for impact assessment by designing a two-part framework: the assessment model, which identifies what to measure (inputs, context, processes, and outcomes), and the assessment methodology, which explains how and why to measure, ensuring stakeholder engagement and meaningful use of results. Innovative instruments to capture action competence and action orientation are being piloted and validated, forming the basis for robust indicators. In parallel, IMP>ACT has strengthens feedback loops between monitoring and policymaking by mapping relevant EU and national SCCE policies, analysing existing evaluation tools, and establishing national stakeholder groups. Targeted dissemination, such as brokerage events and tailored training, ensures that evidence generated supports decision-making.
Conventional SCCE research has often equated success with knowledge gains or predefined behaviours, but these indicators do not capture learners’ ability to act in complex, context-dependent sustainability challenges. The IMP>ACT project moves beyond this by framing action competence as the central outcome of SCCE. This aligns with GreenComp and international declarations that highlight action-taking as the most transformative learning goal. Until now, measurement of such outcomes has been limited, focusing mostly on formal education and small-scale qualitative studies. Existing monitoring efforts often target inputs (e.g. curricula) while neglecting processes and outcomes, leaving policymakers without the evidence needed for effective reforms. International large-scale assessments offer potential but lack coherence and focus on action competence. IMP>ACT addresses these shortcomings by developing validated instruments, integrating them into a coherent framework, and applying them across varied learning contexts. The project therefore advances SCCE beyond current practice by: (a) grounding its assessment in action competence, (b) linking learning processes with outcomes, and (c) generating scalable, reliable evidence that supports both research and policy.