University Research for the Improvement of SDGs: A Framework for Mapping and Assessing SDG Science at the Country Level

Humankind is facing the enormous challenge of ensuring a sustainable future for new generations. A key guide to addressing this challenge is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to promote economic and social development and environmental preservation. Despite the good intentions embedded in the SDGs, current performance worldwide remains below expectations. To be effective, the progress on the SDGs depends on the creation of new scientific knowledge. In this context, universities and research institutes should play a fundamental role in generating new scientific knowledge. Although recent models have been developed to assess universities’ knowledge creation to advance the SDGs, it remains necessary to develop new models that can more effectively evaluate and detail this capability. The goal of this article is to introduce a three-level framework for identifying SDG science at the country level across universities and research institutes. This model is validated through a documentary study based on SciVal-Elsevier data, on Brazilian universities, and a research institute in the context of SDG 2 research—zero hunger—between 2015 and 2024. As the main results, the framework provides three levels of knowledge mapping based on subject areas, knowledge categories, and cluster names, whereas the first and the last are used in the Scopus database, and the third is proposed in this study. As a result, this framework consists of a practical instrument for the mapping of the effective issues addressed in each SDG, and for comparing the effective content of SDG science between research institutions. As the main contribution, this article introduces a practical instrument for the assessment of the contribution of universities and research institutes in SDG science. Theoretically, this framework provides a practical process for rapidly identifying the current SDG science performance in research institutions at the country level. For practical purposes, this study can be used by universities, research institutes, and policymakers to understand the current state of SDG science in a country or region and to develop new research programmes and strategies for SDG science and innovation.