Local as well as global challenges including financial crises, climate change, poverty, social inequalities and loss of biodiversity can only be addressed successfully through initiatives and innovations that take a long-term perspective and are developed and implemented holistically and inclusively. This requires taking into account a variety of values and perspectives, and figuring out how best to link the disciplines and create relevant and feasible scenarios for sustainable development. This, in turn, requires people with systems thinking, interpersonal, anticipatory, strategic as well as normative competences (Wiek et al., 2011). As higher education institutions (HEIs) are the incubators of innovation and the producers of future decision-makers, they have the potential to become transformational institutions for society as a whole — to address not only the needs of today but the needs of tomorrow and the development of a sustainable future. But to do this they need to transform themselves (Rio+20 Treaty on Higher Education, 2014). And this poses a major change agenda as it requires them to develop a ‘fit for purpose’ institutional management, shared leadership through inclusive governance and open processes and education and learning programmes that enable people to take agency and undertake innovation through transdisciplinary research.