Research project
STRINGS – Steering Research and Innovation for Global Goals
The STRINGS project is mapping development pathways for science, technology and innovation that best address the UN Sustainable Development Goals. A consortium of seven universities led by Tommaso Ciarli at SPRU at the University of Sussex and the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) have worked together to better understand the ways in which science, technology and innovation contribute, or not, to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Low and Middle Income Countries.
- Duration
- 2020 - 2022
- Contact
- Ismael Rafols Garcia
The project has developed an integrative framework to map the complex relations between research in science, technology and innovation (STI) on the one hand, and the SDGs on the other.
The project has also involved engagement with a diverse range of international experts and stakeholders to identify the key areas of research and innovation, and their past and future relations with SDGs; case studies in India, Sub Saharan Africa and Latin America to study micro and institutional mechanisms; the development of policy pathways to align investments in science, technology and innovation to contribute to SDGs.
In collaboration with the SPRU, the CWTS team has contributed to systemic data analysis so as to map and visualise research related to SDGs. We have proposed a new methodology to mapping SDGs given the plurality of understanding of the relationships between research and SDGs. See a short presentation and long presentation of the STRINGS’ analytical framing on mapping SDGs.
An interactive visualisation of the SDG mappings can be found in the SDG mapping tool below.
Website: https://strings.org.uk/
This tab introduces the Mapping Tool of scientific publications to SDGs developed in the context of the STRINGS project (Steering Research and Innovation for Global Goals).
The tool shows a range of research areas identified as potentially relevant for each SDGs, according to either a conservative estimate (Perimeter: Strict), or a more comprehensive estimate (Perimeter: Loose). Each research area is characterized by specific keywords and journals. We also show the number of publications in the area as well as the proportion of publications potentially related to an SDG. Broad disciplines are shown by the colour.
The map shows the research areas according to their position in the global research landscape. Proximity signals cognitive similarity among research areas. The tables on the right hand-side list the main disciplinary categories, keywords and specific reviews for the research areas selected. The users can select areas by clicking over one circle of group of circles.
Since there is no consensus on the relationship between research and SDGs, this mapping shows only one of the ways of relating research to SDGs. There are large differences across methods (Armitage et al.,2020). Therefore, we propose the tool to be used in an exploratory manner as different stakeholder may interpret research and SDGs in different ways. In particular, we suggest each user to make her own selection of research areas, according to those areas that fit with their own contexts and understandings.
Click the image for entering the interactive visualization. For more details contact Ed Noyons or Ismael Rafols.
