Research

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Research related to the SDGs

Instructors interested in research, reports and books related to the SDGs can peruse a collection of academic material here.

  • Visit the Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, a forum for academics and practitioners to share and critique innovations in thinking and practice in the emerging field of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). A peer-reviewed international journal, JESD is aimed at global readership and is published twice a year.
  • Visit the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, which aims to provide up-to-date information on new developments and trends in sustainability in a higher education context, and to catalyze networking and information exchange on sustainable development, and the SDGs on a global basis. 
  • Visit the Journal of Sustainability Education which serves as a forum for academics and practitioners to share, critique, and promote research, practices, and initiatives that foster the integration of economic, ecological, and socio-cultural dimensions of sustainability within formal and non-formal educational contexts. JSE is a peer-reviewed, open-access, trans- and interdisciplinary e-journal. 
  • Read Dr. Jason Watkins’ study Hungry and Hesitant: An Exploration of the Experience of Stigma Among On-Campus Food Pantry Users . This phenomenological research was grounded in reflective lifeworld research and focused on college food insecurity through shared, lived experiences and noted three emerging themes and the strategies participants used to navigate the stigma. His findings can contribute towards informing best practices and creating strategies for administrators that promote inclusion and service utilization
  • The Hope Wheel: a Model to Enable Hope-based Pedagogy in Climate Change Education is an article written by William Finnegan and Cathy d’Abreu (2024) in Frontiers in Psychology 15:1347392. Finnegan and d’Abreu state “in response to concerns about climate anxiety and distress, researchers and practitioners in both education and psychology have been investigating the importance of engaging climate hope in Climate Change Education (CCE).” The authors have synthesized recent multidisciplinary research with insights from the development of educational programs and their article proposes a new theoretical model for pedagogies of hope in CCE (Finnegan and d’Abreu, 2024). 
  • Read the International Journal of Management Education article titled ‘Interdisciplinarity: Practical Approach to Advancing Education for Sustainability and for the Sustainable Development Goals’ by Annan-Diab and Molinari, 2017. 
  • Read the Sustainability article titled ‘Cultivating a Collaborative Culture for Ensuring Sustainable Development Goals in Higher Education: An Integrative Case Study’ by Wright, Ritter, Wisse and Gonzales, 2022.
  • Visit Emerald Insight to delve into the insightful chapter on mobilizing higher education action on the SDGs, offering new perspectives on overcoming systemic and structural barriers in our pursuit of the goals.
  • Discover how we can enhance our multilateral system to reach Sustainable Development Goals in this thought-provoking article, “Boosting the Multilateral System to Achieve the SDGs.” This resource explores the evidence, resources, and methodologies necessary to address the toughest sustainable development challenges.
  • Read the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Report titled ‘Despite Progress Reversal, None of SDGs are Beyond Reach’. The report discusses the current progress of the Sustainable Development Goals and emphasizes the need for increased funding and reform in the global financial architecture to achieve the SDGs.
  • Delve into the FABLE Scenathon Public Consultation‘s collaborative endeavour to envision sustainable food and land-use systems by aligning national priorities with global sustainability goals, inviting various stakeholders to refine pathways for sustainable food and land use, as shared by the FABLE Consortium.
  • Delve into the UN Secretary-General’s briefing to Member States on the progress under “Our Common Agenda,” encompassing the launch of advisory boards on local and regional governments and artificial intelligence to enhance governance recommendations by the end of 2023, as described by IISD.
  • Discover how weather, climate, and water-related sciences can be leveraged to advance all SDGs in the multi-agency report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization, emphasizing the urgent need for scientific advancements to boost progress towards achieving the SDGs, as highlighted by IISD.
  • Read the UN Secretary-General’s Report titled ‘Long-term Future Trends and Scenarios: Impacts on the Realization of the Sustainable Development Goals’. The report reflects on long-term trends and identifies scientific and technological breakthroughs as potential game-changers in achieving the SDGs.
  • Read the Brookings Institute report titled ‘A New Approach to Spurring Action for the Sustainable Development Goals. The report describes a new approach to stimulating cooperative action toward Sustainable Development Goals. As an experimental method for SDG convening and problem-solving, 17 Rooms aims to surface practical next steps within each goal while also stimulating productive connections across all goals. 
  • Read the Education 2030 report titled ‘Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4’.  
  • Read the International Labour Organization report titled ‘Sustainable Development Goals: Indigenous Peoples in Focus.’ It looks at all goals and the role played by the ILO in making the SDGs a reality for Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Peoples as agents of change. 
  • Read the UNESCO DOC 2014 titled ‘Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on Education for Sustainable Development.’
  • Read the UNESCO DOC 2021 titled ‘Instructors Have Their Say: Motivation, Skills and Opportunities to Teach Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship.’
  • Read UNESCO’s report titled ‘Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education. 
  • Read the United Nations General Assembly document titled ‘Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  
  • Read the World Commission on Environment and Development Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future.
  • The UN Secretary-General presents an annual SDG Progress report every year which is developed in cooperation with the UN System. The reports provide a global overview of progress on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and are based on the global indicator framework and data produced by national statistical systems and information collected at the regional level. The progress reports from 2016 to 2022 are below:

SDG Progress Report (2022)

SDG Progress Report (2021)

SDG Progress Report (2020)

SDG Progress Report (2019)

SDG Progress Report (2018)

SDG Progress Report (2017)

SDG Progress Report (2016)

  • Read about the outcomes of the GEF Council Meeting to understand how the GBF Fund will strengthen biodiversity management. This news highlights efforts towards sustainable development goals.
  • Read the UNCTAD SDG Progress Report to understand the costs associated with achieving the SDGs and the areas where financing is needed the most.
  • Delve into the issues concerning the implementation of the Montreal Protocol in the article, “Montreal Protocol OEWG Discusses Issues of Concern for Implementation.” This piece presents comprehensive discussions about the Replenishment Task Force’s report, which sheds light on the financial requirements needed to support the protocol’s objectives, helping us advance towards SDG 13 (Climate Action).
  • Explore this comprehensive policy brief that outlines the challenges faced by women and gender-diverse human rights defenders in migration contexts, providing recommendations for states to create safer environments. This document closely aligns with SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).
  • Read about the first youth-led report that uses the SDGs to measure young people’s progress towards sustainable development in Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific regions.
  • In the webinar report, “Webinar Outlines Efforts to Address Plastic Pollution in Mountain Regions, ” understand the impacts of plastic pollution in mountain regions.” This report underscores the challenges posed by plastic waste to biodiversity and freshwater resources and how these issues affect remote, mountainous regions, relating closely to SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 15 (Life on Land).
  • “2023 Sustainable Development Report (SDR)” – A comprehensive online resource providing the most current data to track and rank the performance of all UN Member States on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A valuable tool for teachers looking to enhance lessons on the SDGs with up-to-date and detailed information. Visit the website.
  • Visit The Washington Post for a comprehensive 2023 Sustainable Development Report (SDR) analysis. The article provides in-depth insights into the world’s progress toward meeting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting the potential of a “lost decade for sustainable development.” This piece underlines the urgent need for transforming global governance and finance mechanisms to expedite progress toward all the SDGs.
  • Visit Taylor & Francis to view their SDG online collection, an interdisciplinary collection of digital content mapped to the UN SDGs. There are more than 12,000 book chapters and journal articles covering all 17 SDGs, and the collection also features new multi-format teaching and learning resources, including core essays, presentations, videos, case studies, teaching guides, and lesson plans.
  • Visit the South African SDG Hub to access training and a database with the intelligent search feature that enables users to receive literature recommendations based on a PDF file scan. The South African SDG Hub is a digital platform that hosts more than 150,000 research articles. It uses machine learning to classify these articles in terms of one or several SDGs.