New global analysis of over 12 million documents reveals how academic research shapes sustainable development policy
London, 20 November 2025
A new report from Springer Nature, in partnership with Overton, offers the most comprehensive picture yet of how academic research is influencing real-world policy tied to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Published during the 30th UN Climate Conference (COP30), the analysis is the first of its kind, drawing on more than 12 million policy documents from all over the world.
It finds that SDG policy documents seem to cite more research than non-SDG policy1, signaling a connection between science and action on global challenges such as health, climate, and social development.
This is a brand-new perspective: while previous studies have considered what research output is about, this study focuses on how research is being used to support evidence, justify recommendations, or shape policy directions when it comes to the Goals.
Other key findings include:
- Open access articles are cited in policy nearly a year earlier than non-OA articles, on average.
- Despite making up a smaller share of academic output, reviews, letters, and news articles are highly cited in policy. Concise, digestible insights drive impact.
- Think tanks, NGOs, and IGOs play a vital role in translating research into policy. They cite research more frequently than governments, making them crucial knowledge brokers.
Inclusive journals2 stand out in the data too. They are slightly more likely to be cited in SDG policy in selective journals, meaning all relevant, validated research has the potential to inform policy, regardless of where it is published.
The report also looks at different geographies, finding that 78% of research cited in SDG policy includes authors based only in countries in the Global North. By contrast, countries in the Global South rarely cite domestic research in national policy - except for India and Brazil.
As well as analysis, Springer Nature and Overton provide actionable recommendations for researchers, publishers and institutions to ensure evidence drives solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges.
Their key next steps include:
- Continued expansion of OA to increase knowledge exchange and accelerate problem solving.
- Prioritisation of policy-ready content to bridge the gap between academia and action – science communication beyond the paper matters.
- Continued building of effective partnerships between all members of the knowledge ecosystem to meet policy makers where they are.
Commenting on the report, Nicola Jones, Director, SDG Programme, Springer Nature said:
“With just five years until the 2030 deadline for the SDGs, understanding how research informs policy is critical. We know science and research can solve problems, but only if it reaches decision makers. This analysis is the missing piece of the puzzle, showing quantifiably for the first time where research has an impact on the goals and where gaps remain. We’ve learnt so much, and we hope what we’ve found sparks collaboration across the research ecosystem to help close those gaps. Thank you to Overton for their fantastic partnership in producing such rich findings."
Katie Shamash, Head of Data at Overton, added:
“Overton Index is the world’s largest policy citation database, and this project allowed us to explore it in depth to understand the real-world impact of research. We took a novel approach, looking at how research is cited in SDG-related policy, rather than the topic of the research itself. This approach paints a much clearer picture of how research is being used in practice to drive real policy change and advance the Goals. We’re proud to have collaborated with Springer Nature to produce something the whole industry can use to really understand what impact looks like.”
Chair of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Board, Dr Lauren Sullivan MP also said:
“Before entering Parliament, I spent over a decade in scientific research, first studying malaria and other tropical diseases before working as a research fellow for the Francis Crick Institute. That experience taught me the value of rigorous, peer-reviewed evidence in solving complex problems. Now, as a member of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee and Chair of the Board of the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), I see how essential research is to shaping effective, forward-looking policy, especially when it comes to the Sustainable Development Goals. Whether it’s climate resilience, public health, or education, evidence-based policymaking isn’t just good practice, it’s a necessity for global progress. Researchers at POST need to stay up to date with the research literature in order to create concise briefings for parliamentarians. These briefings provide impartial evidence on various and wide-ranging areas relating to sustainable development. As the Chair of the POST Board, it’s my responsibility to do all I can to promote the importance of - and confidence in - good information in Parliament, so that laws work for the people they impact. Access to robust research that has been verified, curated and shared is essential for me to do my job.”
You can watch a short video covering the main findings of the analysis on Springer Nature’s YouTube channel.
To hear more about the report’s creation and findings, join Springer Nature and Overton for a special webinar on Thursday 29 January 2026 by signing up here.
The full report is available on a dedicated Shorthand webpage.
For this analysis, we examined documents published between 2015 and 2025 that were classified to at least one SDG and cited scholarly research. It is important to note that not all policy documents included in the Overton database cite references simply because of their format. Many policy documents not classified to an SDG are documents that would not be expected to cite anything, for example, budgets, transcripts and meeting minutes. The analysis controlled for this, looking only at policy documents with references and found that those relating to the SDGs were more likely to cite research outputs than those that were not related to the SDGs. For more information on Overton’s definition of a policy document, visit their website.
- These are journals with a different selection model to highly selective titles. They often OA, broader in authorship and interdisciplinary in scope.
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Maeve Dunne | Sustainable Business team | Springer Nature
