2. Contributing to the SDGs with publications

At the behest of the Universities of the Netherlands (UNL), efforts were made to map out how the publications of all Dutch universities relate to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The goal is to gain a better understanding of the scientific and social contribution universities make to these development goals. This has also been clarified for Radboud University. The graphic below shows Radboud University’s contribution to the SDGs in the form of scientific publications from 2010 to 2020. The larger the block, the more we have published about that theme. Click on this link to learn which search terms were used to assign a publication to an SDG.

The SDGs are: 1. No Poverty; 2. Zero Hunger; 3. Good Health and Well-Being; 4. Quality Education; 5. Gender Equality; 6. Clean Water and Sanitation; 7. Affordable and Clean Energy; 8. Decent Work and Economic Growth; 9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; 10. Reduced Inequality; 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities; 12. Responsible Consumption and Production; 13. Climate Action; 14. Life Below Water; 15. Life on Land; 16. Peace and Justice Strong Institutions; 17. Partnerships to Achieve the Goal.

For each SDG, the graph below shows the percentage of publications by Radboud University belonging to the top 10% most cited publications of all scientific articles published about that SDG. Radboud University’s data are compared to the average of all Dutch universities. For seven SDGs, more than a quarter of Radboud University’s publications are in the top 10% most cited. Outliers are SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation (34%), SDG 9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (35%) and SDG 13, Climate Action (31%).

The total number of Radboud University publications per SDG is shown in brackets.