Background: In the broad scientific debate on the integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the strategic planning of universities and on the use of monitoring the results of the strategy of the indicators relating to the pursuit of sustainable development goals (SDGs), there is a lack of studies demonstrating the effective degree of institutionalization of CSR in universities. Methods: This analysis constitutes a pilot study relating to the Italian university context. The study was carried out through an analysis on the contents of the three-year strategic performance plans (2020–2022) drawn up by individual universities and compulsorily published on the national portal of the Public Function Department, as required by article 10, paragraph 1, letter (a) of Legislative Decree 150/2009. A matrix was made with the information extracted by the documents and relative to the presence of the SDGs in the strategic performance plan. Consequently, using a Likert scale, the different degrees of institutionalization of CSR in the strategic plan of the universities were coded. Results: The results of the pilot study highlighted that the strategic planning of Italian universities’ CSR practices and the challenges of sustainable development are hardly ever systematically addressed. Therefore, there is a low degree of institutionalization of CSR in the Italian university system, even though the literature shows a high cultural and scientific commitment to establish university and post-graduate study courses with corporate social responsibility and sustainable development content and an increasing trend in the use of the accountability tools such as the social report or the sustainability report. Conclusions: It is necessary to share the results of scientific research on CSR and SDGs with the government and governance bodies of universities in order to harmonize the CSR and sustainability culture of these bodies with that of academics.

Background: Studies have highlighted how public–private partnerships are characterized by a lack of transparency, low availability of data, low accountability, and, often, strong opportunism. All these factors do not allow potential interested parties to trust it. This undermines the possibility of good cooperation between the public and private sectors and has presented a great limit for the Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) diffusion. Several articles in the literature highlight, in general, the numerous advantages generated using the blockchain in different organizations. The adoption of blockchain in the operation of PPPs could be a solution to overcome the limitations encountered in public–private partnerships. The aim of this study is to propose a theoretical framework aimed at connecting two topics (PPPs and Blockchain)—analyzed separately by literature—to highlight how blockchain can correct the limitations inherent to the functioning of traditional PPPs. Methods: The authors applied a qualitative research method to examine the role of blockchain from a PPP perspective. The authors present a conceptual work in which they advance a theoretical framework by integrating and proposing new relationships between constructs and developing logical arguments for these associations. Through a problem-focused approach, besides presenting a solution to overcome the critical issues, the authors also put forward ideas to help fill a gap in the literature to date. Results: The study showed that blockchain can generate a major shift in the function of PPPs. On the one hand, it makes it possible to overcome many limitations that have hindered the development of partnerships, thus making it possible to spread them further, while on the other hand, it has a positive impact on the strategic role of PPPs in achieving sustainable development goals. Conclusions: Blockchain technology is considered very immature, probably because a single underlying standard does not exist and concepts are difficult to master. Based on state-of-the-art standards, blockchain has the potential to be considered a transformative or even disruptive innovation for PPPs.