2023 marks the halfway point between 2015 (the entry point of the Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs), and 2030 (the end point of the SDGs). As it stands currently, the world is off track to achieving the SDGs and action is necessary to accelerate their implementation.

Last month saw the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2024 published to the usual fanfare of marketing (from highly ranked universities) and criticism (from disdainful academics and commentators). Few things get educators riled up and divided like university rankings, the definitive wedge issue of academia. But this year, the rankings have been published in the shadow of a different set of alternative voices from the BRICS countries; one that could change the face of university rankings globally.

In this blog we present findings from a bibliometric evaluation of scientific publications that include a contribution from the top ten pharmaceutical companies in the Global North and Global South, which have been indexed in Digital Science’s Dimensions database in the past five years (2018 to 2022). The study maps aspects of the landscape in this area exploring differences in pharmaceutical research practices from different perspectives including funding and collaboration, pharmaceutical research and its association with the SDGs, the impact of the cost of medicines developed by pharma and their accessibility in distinct geographic regions. The results show significant gaps between the two global areas, but also some ways where these gaps are now closing.

This article sets out what we mean by fragmentation in the context of research, and how we will explore the topic through a variety of lenses during the campaign.

Research has the power to change lives, break down barriers and create unity & equity. When the research community solves problems together extraordinary breakthroughs can happen. But post-pandemic, fragmentation in the research ecosystem remains one of the biggest challenges to the ability of researchers to make a real-world difference. We want to challenge the status quo, highlight the issues, and share positive ways to create better synergy and collaboration, helping to unite a divided research world.

In this short, informal interview, Dr Briony Fane and Dr Juergen Wastl explain some of the methods behind their work on assessing how global research ties into the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. If you're new to SDGs and want to get a quick idea of how to look at them through a number of different lenses, this is the introduction for you.