Trac(k)ing the trajectory: Mapping Sustainable Development Goal 8 in EU-funded research projects

We introduce a large-scale research project analysis framework to trace and track the prevalence of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within research funded by the European Union since 1984 with a specific focus on Sustainable Development Goal 8. This goal envisages to promote sustained economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. Using the CORDIS database, we identify to which extent SDG 8 has been represented in the titles and abstracts of projects funded by the EU's Framework Programmes. Our findings reveal that SDG 8 related research projects are dominated by four targets: economic growth, productivity, entrepreneurship and decent work, and full and decent employment. We further find that the adoption of the SDGs by the United Nations in 2015 coincides with an increase of over 45% in SDG 8 related research projects. We also show that EU economic performance in the two years preceding the framework programme is a leading indicator of the prevalence of SDG 8 in the research projects funded by that programme. In terms of project characteristics, we conclude that, on average, an SDG 8 project tends to secure a more substantial budget, engage larger research consortia, and exhibit higher interdisciplinarity than other projects. Finally, we show that SDG 8 ranks among the most (diversely) interconnected SDGs, linking especially with SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).