Validating the ESGETC Sustainability Framework: Why We Are Building a Delphi Panel

The ESGETC framework is a new multidimensional SDS framework, it remains at an early stage of methodological validation. A structured expert-consensus process, such as a Delphi study [1, 2], can help assess the framework’s construct definitions, dimensional coverage, operational relevance, and applicability across sectors. We use the term “validation lag” to describe the interval between ESGETC’s conceptual development and this planned formal assessment. ImpactMatrix-SaaS applies the framework to SDG localization, including localized interventions such as Organic Waste Upcycling, which makes rigorous review especially important before broad claims of effectiveness are made.

A validated ESGETC framework could strengthen the credibility of its use in SDG localization, clarify the evidence supporting each dimension, improve confidence among organizations and consultants evaluating the ImpactMatrix-SaaS, the Freemium tier, and the B2B2B model, identify revisions needed before wider implementation, and reduce risks to communities by subjecting proposed interventions to structured multidisciplinary review.

To ensure methodological rigor, the Delphi panel should include experts whose combined knowledge covers ESGETC’s six dimensions, digital sustainability systems, and framework-validation methods. Candidates may come from academic, public-sector, nonprofit, community-based, or applied research settings. Selection should be based on demonstrated subject-matter or methodological expertise, relevant publications or equivalent professional contributions, and the panel’s overall disciplinary, sectoral, and geographic balance.

Doctoral degree (PhD, ScD, DrPH, DPhil) in one or more of the following:

• Sustainability Science
• Environmental Engineering or Environmental Policy
• Social Policy, Community Development, or Poverty Studies
• Governance, Public Administration, or Regulatory Science
• Economics (Development Economics, Ecological Economics, Circular Economy)
• Information Science, Human–Computer Interaction (HCI), or Technology Governance
• Cultural Anthropology or Sociology of Technology

Panelists must have peer‑reviewed publications in at least one of the following domains:

• Digital Equity & Inclusion
• Human‑Centered Technology Governance
• Algorithmic Justice / Responsible AI
• Circular Economy & Waste Systems
• SDG‑Localization or SDS Transitions
• Systems Engineering, Systems Thinking, or Complex Adaptive Systems
• Community‑based participatory research  
• Sociotechnical systems analysis

Panelists must demonstrate competence in:

• Delphi methodology or consensus‑building research
• Mixed‑methods evaluation
• Framework validation, construct development, or indicator design
• Systems mapping, influence mapping, or causal‑loop modeling

• Experience advising governments, NGOs, or multilateral institutions
• Experience with sustainability reporting frameworks (GRI, SASB, TCFD, SDG indicators)
• Experience with digital governance, AI ethics, or technology policy
• Experience working with marginalized or poor communities

These qualifications ensure that the ESGETC framework is validated by experts capable of evaluating its multidimensional structure, its operational logic, and its suitability for SDG‑Localization in poor communities.

While the Delphi panel is being assembled, the blog will serve as a transparent recruitment and information channel. Posts will explain the study’s purpose and design, introduce the questions the panel will examine, clarify eligibility and participation expectations, report nonconfidential recruitment and study milestones, and direct qualified readers to a consistent expression-of-interest process. Public discussion may help identify candidates and sharpen the study’s framing, but formal findings will come only from the documented Delphi process. Each post would:

• Demonstrate the intellectual seriousness of ESGETC.
• Show the methodological transparency of ImpactMatrix.
• Highlight the urgency of validating SDS frameworks used in poor communities.
• Inform and invite qualified researchers to join the Delphi panel.

What participation involves

Prospective panelists will receive a concise study brief describing the research questions, Delphi rounds, response format, anticipated schedule, confidentiality provisions, data-handling procedures, and approach to attribution or acknowledgment. Participation will be voluntary, and interested experts may request this information before deciding whether to join the panel.

Call to action

If your research or professional experience aligns with the qualifications described above and you are interested in contributing to the Delphi validation of the ESGETC framework, please contact ImpactMatrix at team@impactmatrix.io. In your message, briefly describe your relevant expertise, experience with Delphi or framework-validation methods, and potential contribution to the panel. We will respond with the study brief, participation expectations, and next steps for expressing interest.

1. Hsu, C.‑C., & Sandford, B. A. (2007). The Delphi technique: Making sense of consensus. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 12(10), 1–8.
2. Okoli, C., & Pawlowski, S. D. (2004). The Delphi method as a research tool: An example, design considerations and applications. Information & Management, 42(1), 15–29.