ORSIES

On December 14, 2016, at Teatro Thalia, in Lisbon, the National Meeting on Social Responsibility and Higher Education took place, with the participation of around 150 representatives from Universities and Polytechnics across the country, including ESSNorteCVP.
At this event, the challenge of creating a collaborative network of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) was launched, with the support of the State Secretariat for Science, Technology and Higher Education (SECTES): the Observatory of Social Responsibility and Higher Education Institutions ( ORSIES).
In January 2017, ESSNorteCVP and Portuguese HEIs were able to express their interest in joining the project. In February 2017, ORSIES began, integrating, as founding members, 28 HEIs from different regions of the country, including ESSNorteCVP.
ORSIES was born from the increasing relevance of social responsibility (RS), not only in the business and corporate area, but also in other organizations in our society. Over time, HEIs have been developing and implementing internal (social action, for example) and external (volunteering, for example) strategies and policies to support students, teachers and the community, going beyond their mission of transmitting knowledge and research development.
These activities have increasingly taken on social responsibility contours, although not all HEIs call it that or formalize it. In order for there to be visibility and a real impact of these activities, it is, in our view, important to develop a common strategy through the creation of a collaborative network that fosters the social dimension of the Institutions and promotes the exchange of experiences on health policies and practices. Social responsability.

Publications
Green Paper on Social Responsibility	The Green Book, published in 2018, resulted from collaborative work between 30 HEIs that are members of ORSIES. Dr. Ana Esgaio (ISCSP) and Dr. Sandra Gomes (IPAM) were the writers of the Green Book and Prof. Doctor François Vallaeys (Universidad del Pacifico, Peru) was the scientific consultant. In this way, ESSNorteCVP accepted the invitation to fulfill its effective commitment to the community it serves, integrating ORSIES as a founding member, seeking to respond, in an active and participatory way, to the challenges proposed by this network. This network, among thirty higher education institutions, aims to contribute to the reinforcement of active citizenship, social cohesion and personal fulfillment, in order to consolidate advances in different areas of knowledge to transform today's society into a true society of knowledge and participation , with a spirit of solidarity and social concerns.
Report on Social Responsibility Actions	This Report, presented in 2020, resulted from a survey of social responsibility initiatives implemented by higher education institutions during the period of the national state of emergency due to the covid-19 pandemic.
University Social Responsibility Manual	The University Social Responsibility Manual – URSULA RSU Model – is a document designed by Prof. François Vallaeys which comprises three chapters: Understanding RSU, the URSULA Model, Learning to change. This document is important for ORSIES in order to consolidate and deepen knowledge about social responsibility.
2021 Activity Report	During 2021, with the pandemic still active, ORSIES maintained its meetings in an online format since, in the previous year, it had been proven that this change, instead of being harmful, had facilitated the participation of members (extending the invitation to participate to other people on the team other than just the connection points) and facilitating the participation of national and international guest speakers who were able to share their experience and projects with the entire group 3 new member HEIs were integrated and personalized meetings were held to report on the work developed by ORSIES and the objectives and projects to be developed in the 2021/22 biennium.

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