The Gateway is built around 4 major pillars—Directory, Resources, Spotlight and Events.

1. The Directory provides a comprehensive listing of business schools and universities’ activities in the domains of corporate responsibility research, education and training in Europe and beyond. It features details on relevant educational programmes, modules, tracks, specializied research centres, academic experts and more.

2. The Resources section provides a searchable database of articles, cases, reports, websites, databases, video and audio materials relevant to business in society issues. Our database includes an overview of the material as well as links to the full resource. The material is contributed by members and visitors and is reviewed and approved by the Gateway Editorial Team to present only high-quality and high-impact resources.

3. The Spotlight section brings forward the latest thought leadership from the field of corporate social responsibility in Europe. Every month, an editorial theme highlights the topic of importance and profiles relevant resources, directory entries and events.

4. The Events section is a calendar of key meetings (conferences, workshops, trainings) in the area of business in society. There are both academic and practitioners’ events profiled.

The discussions around the Gateway started as early as 2003 at the European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS). In 2004, EABIS created an online directory as a follow-up activity to the first comprehensive “Survey on CSR Teaching and Research in Europe” (2003) conducted by the Nottingham University Business School’s International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility (ICCSR) in partnership with the EABIS and with the support of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). This directory presented results of the survey in a static format and was well received by key audiences.

With the increased demand for knowledge and learning opportunities around the business in society issues, EFMD and EABIS discussed the need to broaden the scope of the directory and move to the format that enables dynamic tracking of changes in the field. With the Gateway in mind, EFMD and EABIS conducted a 2nd European Survey on Corporate Responsibility in Management Research, Education and Training in 2007. With over 100 extended submissions, the survey data laid a foundation for the Gateway. The Gateway was being developed throughout 2007 and beginning of 2008 under the guidance of EABIS team and with strong EFMD support. The official launch is scheduled for March 2008.

This ambitious project was created as part of the strategic partnership between the European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS) and the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD).  

The European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS) is a unique alliance of companies, business schools and academic institutions, with the support of the European Commission, committed to integrating business in society issues into the heart of business theory and practice in Europe. EABIS was established in 2002 after CEOs and Deans across Europe agreed on the urgent need for more and better knowledge and skills on business in society issues. As of 2008, it has over 70 institutional members, including leading European business schools. Web site: http://www.eabis.org.

European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) is a global organisation devoted to the continuous improvement of management development. It brings together leading academics and senior executives from business schools and companies and provides them with unparalleled benchmarking and networking opportunities. The members who communicate through the array of network activities learn from each other and use this knowledge to manage more effectively and to increase their competitive edge. The EFMD head office is in Brussels, Belgium. EFMD has also established an office in Asia that is based in Shanghai, China. More than 15,000 management development professionals are actively involved in the network. EFMD has over 600 member organisations from academia, business, public service and consultancy in more than 65 countries. Web site: http://www.efmd.be.