Module manager: Morgan Campbell
Email: M.F.Campbell@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module is intended to deliver learning and skills outcomes that enable you to better understand how sustainable change happens, with a particular emphasis on justice and participation. Understanding comes from both the theoretical and empirical; content is designed to enable students to develop a sense of their own agency as change-makers as they prepare to leave university. The module is structured to have three overarching sections: Problems, Process, and Putting into Practice Over the year, you will work through a ‘project cycle’ process widely used in sustainable development projects and policy development. This starts with identification of core sustainability problems, understanding different theories of change and change processes required to address the sustainability problem and then putting this knowledge into application by developing a research-based case study that can be drawn from a range of global socio-environmental and economic contexts. Guided by lecture/seminars, workshops and participatory group work, you will learn about change processes from two overarching perspectives: Social Change – how people’s actions are shaped by social structures such as identity, social relations, infrastructures, power and politics and how these relationships shape our ability to transitions to a more sustainable future. Organisational change – how business strategies, industry initiatives and innovation can contribute to sustainable development. The module is assessed with a portfolio (worth 70% of the module mark) and a group presentation (worth 30% of the module mark). The portfolio is composed of pieces of work that you complete individually and in groups, in seminars and in private study time, that engage with the core theories and concepts. In your group presentation, you present your work on addressing the problems within the case study.
The aim of this module is to give students a deeper understanding of change processes for sustainable development, and practice in the use of participative methods in change governance. This is taught through having students work in groups on sustainable development case studies throughout the module, and applying theories and concepts of social and organisational change to them. Students will thus gain an understanding of three core areas of sustainable change:
(1) Connect sustainability problems to deeper issues of power and injustice.
(2) Identify how social structures (e.g. identity, social relations, physical and social infrastructure, politics) shape how people act in relation to the environment.
(3) Understand different change processes; how different stakeholders/actors/organisations and institutes move toward sustainable change.
(4) how participatory methods can be used for inclusive and effective sustainable change.
In applying this knowledge to a case study, students will also gain key skills required to be an effective sustainability practitioner.
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes:
SSLO1: Identify and communicate a sustainability problem that is both context specific but connected to broader sustainability challenges.
SSLO2: Explain how theories of social change and concepts of social structures can be applied in specific situations to understand barriers to, and enablers of sustainability.
SSLO3: Analyse how theories of organisational and industrial change to aid the transition of an organisation towards sustainable development.
SSLO4: Develop strategies for sustainable change that take a systems-based approach and account for the complexity of a specific context.
SSLO5: Critically discuss how participatory processes can be used for more inclusive and effective sustainable development.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
SKLO1: Collaborative project management; working effectively in a team to design and deliver a sustainable development strategy for a case study. [Work Ready]
SKLO2: Using appropriate digital collaboration and communication tools to find and share information and communicate project outcomes. [Digital and Work Ready]
SKLO3: Think critically and in systems, understanding complex interconnections between social, environmental and economic dimensions of a problem and using evidence to evaluate different possible development strategies. [Sustainability]
SKLO4: Deliver effective and engaging presentations tailored to a specific audience. [Work Ready]
SKLO5: Leadership and self-management; be aware of the strengths or yourself and others, identify development needs, set goals and give constructive feedback. [Work Ready, Enterprise]
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Workshop | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Lectures | 17 | 2 | 34 |
| Private study hours | 154 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 46 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
The student portfolio is designed such that deadlines for formative feedback are throughout semester 1 and 2. Students then have the opportunity to receive formative feedback from staff and demonstrators on some pieces, and feedback from peers in workshop sessions for other pieces. Students can then use feedback to revise their portfolios before the final summative submission at the end of the module.
The module also has workshop sessions and activities in lectures where students share their ideas and receive oral feedback on their understanding of concepts.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Coursework | 70 |
| Coursework | Group work/ Oral assessment | 30 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Resits will consist of: (1) a simplified portfolio consisting of only individual pieces that cover the same learning outcomes of the portfolio, and (2) an individual recorded presentation that covers the same learning outcomes as the group presentation, with an additional reflection on collaboration to cover SKLO5.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
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