From Fieldwork to Co-Creation:
Advancing the RIU Method Through Learning, Dialogue and Collaboration in 2025
Advancing El Método RIU through fieldwork, dialogue and co-creation
2025 was a year of movement, reflection and methodological evolution for the RIU x ESCP Professorship in Hospitality & CSR. Through fieldwork, collaborative diagnostics and applied research, the Professorship continued to strengthen and refine El Método RIU across different territorial and organizational contexts — from an extensive field work in Zanzibar to an exploratory mission in London, together with an student-led consulting work connecting reporting frameworks and social impact practice.
Zanzibar — From Listening in the Field to Co-Designing the Next Phase
In September 2025, the Professorship carried out a field mission in Zanzibar, engaging with Kukua Project and NED Foundation and with local actors in education, health and community development. The mission focused on listening, dialogue and shared interpretation of how current initiatives resonate with the needs and priorities of nearby communities.
Throughout the final quarter of the year, this work continued through a follow-up process with the same partner organizations, combining on-site and remote sessions. Together, the teams worked on refining tools linked to Phase 3 of El Método RIU and co-formulating the renewal of projects for the 2026–2028 cycle, reinforcing capacities, alignment with company RSC priorities and with local needs, and evidence-informed decision-making strategies.
This transition — from field observation to collaborative re-design — illustrates the core philosophy of the Professorship: social investment in tourism as a process of shared learning, iteration and methodological deepening rather than a static intervention model.
London — Exploring El Método RIU in an Urban Environment
In parallel, 2025 marked an important step in extending the scope of El Método RIU to new contexts. During a mission in London, the Professorship team and RIU CSR territorial responsibles carried out an exploratory diagnostic with local stakeholders working on environmental and child-focused issues.
The visit provided an opportunity to test the adaptability of El Método RIU in an urban setting hotels, opening conceptual and practical questions about how corporate social investment frameworks evolve when applied beyond the traditional sun-and-beach destinations.
ICP Student Consulting — Connecting Reporting, Impact and Practice
The year also included an International Consulting Project (ICP) with students from ESCP’s MSc in Hospitality & Tourism Management, focused on analysing potential indicators for measuring social impact in local communities in dialogue with the CSRD and ESRS frameworks. The project generated actionable reflections for future alignment between reporting structures and impact-oriented CSR practice, reinforcing the Professorship’s role as a learning bridge between academia and the hotel industry.
Indeed, and beyond its analytical results, the ICP also had a direct impact on talent development. One of the students who participated in the project subsequently completed her internship at RIU, continuing — until December 2025 — to work on the professionalisation and systematisation of the RIU Method. This trajectory embodies the core spirit of the Professorship: knowledge that moves from the classroom to the field, and back again, enriching both practice and learning.
Looking Ahead — Quiet Steps Toward the Next Stage
Looking toward the coming period, the Professorship will continue to build on the lessons emerging from Zanzibar, London and the ICP experience. The focus will be on strengthening El Método RIU as a living framework that evolves through practice, reflection and collaboration, exploring ways to:
- further consolidate and refine the methodological backbone of the RIU Method,
- deepen its capacity for learning and exchange across destinations and partners, and
- advance new spaces of applied inquiry and contextual experimentation in a careful and evidence-based manner.
Within this perspective, the Professorship will cautiously open a new chapter in Phuket, Thailand, where El Método RIU will begin a place-sensitive process of exploration, listening, dialogue with local communities and early diagnosis. Rather than expanding mechanically, this step will prioritise listening, relationship-building and early diagnostic reflection, ensuring that any future development remains grounded in evidence, sensitivity and collective understanding.
What remains central is the Professorship’s vocation to co-creation, critical reflection and responsible territorial engagement — advancing a dialogue between hospitality, research and social value creation that continues to evolve through practice.
Campuses