Webinar ISCN · 14 August 2026 · Online

SDGs Alignment of Indonesia’s Research Strength

Arief Anshory Yusuf

Bio

Arief Anshory Yusuf is Professor of Economics at Padjadjaran University, Indonesia, where he works on development economics. He is also Visiting Professor at King’s College London, Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Australian National University, and Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at UNU-WIDER. He holds a Bachelor in Economics from Padjadjaran University, an MSc from University College London, and a PhD from the Australian National University. He is a member of Indonesia’s National Economic Council (2024–2029), advising the President on strategic economic issues.

Indonesia’s universities publish a great deal on the SDGs. Three questions follow: whether that output goes where provinces need it, whether counting it says anything about its quality, and who actually produces it.

A professor at a lectern before a window opening onto distant fields and rooftops

IDoes research go where it is needed?

Each province has goals it is failing and goals its universities are strong in. They are rarely the same goals.

Two rows of markers running parallel but out of step, a figure standing in the gap between them

Method

How alignment was measured

Supply and demand are ranked over the same 16 goals (SDGs 1–16) for each of the 34 provinces, then compared.

1

Supply

Scopus publication counts per SDG for 457 Indonesian universities, attributed to the province the university sits in. Each province's five strongest goals are its supply.

2

Measured demand

285 official indicator-dimensions from the National SDGs Secretariat, aggregated by principal component analysis into a 0–100 achievement index. Each province's five weakest goals are its demand.

3

Stated demand

A survey of provincial Bappeda, February–March 2025, answered by 27 of 34 provinces — their own declared priorities. Complemented by focus groups and content analysis of all 34 provincial RPJMDs.

4

Alignment

A goal on both lists is a match — a development gap the province's own universities are already strong in.

Source & method
SDG Center Business Model final report (2025), §2, Table 4-22 and Figure 4-1. Supply is measured by university location, not by the subject of the research.

Figure 1

Where universities are strong, where provinces are failing, and what provinces say they want

All 16 goals, ordered by the gap between revealed demand and supply. Demand is measured twice, from two different sources.

Supply — a top-5 university strengthRevealed demand — a bottom-5 achievementStated demand — survey priority rank
Panel 1 · Supply and revealed demand number of provinces, of 34 Panel 2 · Stated demand mean priority rank — lower is a higher priority 0 10 20 30 0 4 8 12 16 9. Industry, innovation & infrastructure 9 32 8.0 14. Life below water 10 30 14.2 13. Climate action 2 21 12.5 5. Gender equality 0 7 9.5 8. Decent work & growth 15 21 4.6 10. Reduced inequalities 0 5 8.8 15. Life on land 13 15 14.1 16. Peace, justice & institutions 0 2 14.0 1. No poverty 0 1 2.1 6. Clean water & sanitation 1 2 7.5 4. Quality education 12 19 4.0 2. Zero hunger 4 14 4.1 11. Sustainable cities 2 13 10.7 12. Responsible consumption 4 19 11.3 3. Good health & well-being 11 32 3.4 7. Affordable & clean energy 2 25 9.4
Source & method
Panel 1 from Table 4-22, counted across all 34 provinces. Panel 2 from the Bappeda survey (Figure 4-1), a mean rank across the 27 provinces that responded. Life below water is a bottom-five achievement in 30 of 34 provinces and a stated priority of 14.2 out of 16; no poverty is the mirror image.

Figure 2

Province by province, goal by goal

Each row is a province, each column an SDG. Green is a match: a goal that is both one of the province's five strongest by publication and one of its five weakest by achievement.

Both — strength meets needSupply onlyNeed onlyNeither
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Aceh Aceh — SDG 1 Aceh — SDG 2 Aceh — SDG 3 Aceh — SDG 4 Aceh — SDG 5 Aceh — SDG 6 Aceh — SDG 7 Aceh — SDG 8 Aceh — SDG 9 Aceh — SDG 10 Aceh — SDG 11 Aceh — SDG 12 Aceh — SDG 13 Aceh — SDG 14 Aceh — SDG 15 Aceh — SDG 16 Sumatera Utara Sumatera Utara — SDG 1 Sumatera Utara — SDG 2 Sumatera Utara — SDG 3 Sumatera Utara — SDG 4 Sumatera Utara — SDG 5 Sumatera Utara — SDG 6 Sumatera Utara — SDG 7 Sumatera Utara — SDG 8 Sumatera Utara — SDG 9 Sumatera Utara — SDG 10 Sumatera Utara — SDG 11 Sumatera Utara — SDG 12 Sumatera Utara — SDG 13 Sumatera Utara — SDG 14 Sumatera Utara — SDG 15 Sumatera Utara — SDG 16 Sumatera Barat Sumatera Barat — SDG 1 Sumatera Barat — SDG 2 Sumatera Barat — SDG 3 Sumatera Barat — SDG 4 Sumatera Barat — SDG 5 Sumatera Barat — SDG 6 Sumatera Barat — SDG 7 Sumatera Barat — SDG 8 Sumatera Barat — SDG 9 Sumatera Barat — SDG 10 Sumatera Barat — SDG 11 Sumatera Barat — SDG 12 Sumatera Barat — SDG 13 Sumatera Barat — SDG 14 Sumatera Barat — SDG 15 Sumatera Barat — SDG 16 Riau Riau — SDG 1 Riau — SDG 2 Riau — SDG 3 Riau — SDG 4 Riau — SDG 5 Riau — SDG 6 Riau — SDG 7 Riau — SDG 8 Riau — SDG 9 Riau — SDG 10 Riau — SDG 11 Riau — SDG 12 Riau — SDG 13 Riau — SDG 14 Riau — SDG 15 Riau — SDG 16 Jambi Jambi — SDG 1 Jambi — SDG 2 Jambi — SDG 3 Jambi — SDG 4 Jambi — SDG 5 Jambi — SDG 6 Jambi — SDG 7 Jambi — SDG 8 Jambi — SDG 9 Jambi — SDG 10 Jambi — SDG 11 Jambi — SDG 12 Jambi — SDG 13 Jambi — SDG 14 Jambi — SDG 15 Jambi — SDG 16 Sumatera Selatan Sumatera Selatan — SDG 1 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 2 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 3 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 4 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 5 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 6 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 7 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 8 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 9 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 10 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 11 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 12 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 13 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 14 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 15 Sumatera Selatan — SDG 16 Bengkulu Bengkulu — SDG 1 Bengkulu — SDG 2 Bengkulu — SDG 3 Bengkulu — SDG 4 Bengkulu — SDG 5 Bengkulu — SDG 6 Bengkulu — SDG 7 Bengkulu — SDG 8 Bengkulu — SDG 9 Bengkulu — SDG 10 Bengkulu — SDG 11 Bengkulu — SDG 12 Bengkulu — SDG 13 Bengkulu — SDG 14 Bengkulu — SDG 15 Bengkulu — SDG 16 Lampung Lampung — SDG 1 Lampung — SDG 2 Lampung — SDG 3 Lampung — SDG 4 Lampung — SDG 5 Lampung — SDG 6 Lampung — SDG 7 Lampung — SDG 8 Lampung — SDG 9 Lampung — SDG 10 Lampung — SDG 11 Lampung — SDG 12 Lampung — SDG 13 Lampung — SDG 14 Lampung — SDG 15 Lampung — SDG 16 Kep. Bangka Belitung Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 1 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 2 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 3 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 4 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 5 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 6 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 7 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 8 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 9 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 10 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 11 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 12 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 13 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 14 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 15 Kep. Bangka Belitung — SDG 16 Kep. Riau Kep. Riau — SDG 1 Kep. Riau — SDG 2 Kep. Riau — SDG 3 Kep. Riau — SDG 4 Kep. Riau — SDG 5 Kep. Riau — SDG 6 Kep. Riau — SDG 7 Kep. Riau — SDG 8 Kep. Riau — SDG 9 Kep. Riau — SDG 10 Kep. Riau — SDG 11 Kep. Riau — SDG 12 Kep. Riau — SDG 13 Kep. Riau — SDG 14 Kep. Riau — SDG 15 Kep. Riau — SDG 16 DKI Jakarta DKI Jakarta — SDG 1 DKI Jakarta — SDG 2 DKI Jakarta — SDG 3 DKI Jakarta — SDG 4 DKI Jakarta — SDG 5 DKI Jakarta — SDG 6 DKI Jakarta — SDG 7 DKI Jakarta — SDG 8 DKI Jakarta — SDG 9 DKI Jakarta — SDG 10 DKI Jakarta — SDG 11 DKI Jakarta — SDG 12 DKI Jakarta — SDG 13 DKI Jakarta — SDG 14 DKI Jakarta — SDG 15 DKI Jakarta — SDG 16 Jawa Barat Jawa Barat — SDG 1 Jawa Barat — SDG 2 Jawa Barat — SDG 3 Jawa Barat — SDG 4 Jawa Barat — SDG 5 Jawa Barat — SDG 6 Jawa Barat — SDG 7 Jawa Barat — SDG 8 Jawa Barat — SDG 9 Jawa Barat — SDG 10 Jawa Barat — SDG 11 Jawa Barat — SDG 12 Jawa Barat — SDG 13 Jawa Barat — SDG 14 Jawa Barat — SDG 15 Jawa Barat — SDG 16 Jawa Tengah Jawa Tengah — SDG 1 Jawa Tengah — SDG 2 Jawa Tengah — SDG 3 Jawa Tengah — SDG 4 Jawa Tengah — SDG 5 Jawa Tengah — SDG 6 Jawa Tengah — SDG 7 Jawa Tengah — SDG 8 Jawa Tengah — SDG 9 Jawa Tengah — SDG 10 Jawa Tengah — SDG 11 Jawa Tengah — SDG 12 Jawa Tengah — SDG 13 Jawa Tengah — SDG 14 Jawa Tengah — SDG 15 Jawa Tengah — SDG 16 DI Yogyakarta DI Yogyakarta — SDG 1 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 2 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 3 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 4 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 5 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 6 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 7 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 8 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 9 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 10 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 11 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 12 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 13 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 14 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 15 DI Yogyakarta — SDG 16 Jawa Timur Jawa Timur — SDG 1 Jawa Timur — SDG 2 Jawa Timur — SDG 3 Jawa Timur — SDG 4 Jawa Timur — SDG 5 Jawa Timur — SDG 6 Jawa Timur — SDG 7 Jawa Timur — SDG 8 Jawa Timur — SDG 9 Jawa Timur — SDG 10 Jawa Timur — SDG 11 Jawa Timur — SDG 12 Jawa Timur — SDG 13 Jawa Timur — SDG 14 Jawa Timur — SDG 15 Jawa Timur — SDG 16 Banten Banten — SDG 1 Banten — SDG 2 Banten — SDG 3 Banten — SDG 4 Banten — SDG 5 Banten — SDG 6 Banten — SDG 7 Banten — SDG 8 Banten — SDG 9 Banten — SDG 10 Banten — SDG 11 Banten — SDG 12 Banten — SDG 13 Banten — SDG 14 Banten — SDG 15 Banten — SDG 16 Bali Bali — SDG 1 Bali — SDG 2 Bali — SDG 3 Bali — SDG 4 Bali — SDG 5 Bali — SDG 6 Bali — SDG 7 Bali — SDG 8 Bali — SDG 9 Bali — SDG 10 Bali — SDG 11 Bali — SDG 12 Bali — SDG 13 Bali — SDG 14 Bali — SDG 15 Bali — SDG 16 Nusa Tenggara Barat Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 1 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 2 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 3 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 4 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 5 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 6 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 7 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 8 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 9 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 10 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 11 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 12 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 13 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 14 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 15 Nusa Tenggara Barat — SDG 16 Nusa Tenggara Timur Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 1 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 2 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 3 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 4 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 5 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 6 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 7 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 8 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 9 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 10 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 11 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 12 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 13 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 14 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 15 Nusa Tenggara Timur — SDG 16 Kalimantan Barat Kalimantan Barat — SDG 1 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 2 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 3 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 4 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 5 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 6 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 7 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 8 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 9 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 10 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 11 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 12 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 13 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 14 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 15 Kalimantan Barat — SDG 16 Kalimantan Tengah Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 1 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 2 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 3 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 4 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 5 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 6 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 7 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 8 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 9 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 10 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 11 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 12 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 13 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 14 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 15 Kalimantan Tengah — SDG 16 Kalimantan Selatan Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 1 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 2 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 3 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 4 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 5 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 6 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 7 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 8 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 9 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 10 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 11 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 12 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 13 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 14 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 15 Kalimantan Selatan — SDG 16 Kalimantan Timur Kalimantan Timur — SDG 1 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 2 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 3 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 4 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 5 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 6 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 7 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 8 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 9 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 10 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 11 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 12 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 13 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 14 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 15 Kalimantan Timur — SDG 16 Kalimantan Utara Kalimantan Utara — SDG 1 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 2 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 3 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 4 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 5 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 6 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 7 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 8 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 9 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 10 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 11 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 12 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 13 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 14 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 15 Kalimantan Utara — SDG 16 Sulawesi Utara Sulawesi Utara — SDG 1 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 2 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 3 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 4 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 5 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 6 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 7 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 8 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 9 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 10 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 11 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 12 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 13 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 14 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 15 Sulawesi Utara — SDG 16 Sulawesi Tengah Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 1 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 2 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 3 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 4 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 5 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 6 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 7 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 8 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 9 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 10 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 11 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 12 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 13 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 14 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 15 Sulawesi Tengah — SDG 16 Sulawesi Selatan Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 1 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 2 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 3 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 4 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 5 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 6 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 7 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 8 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 9 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 10 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 11 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 12 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 13 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 14 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 15 Sulawesi Selatan — SDG 16 Sulawesi Tenggara Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 1 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 2 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 3 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 4 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 5 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 6 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 7 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 8 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 9 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 10 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 11 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 12 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 13 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 14 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 15 Sulawesi Tenggara — SDG 16 Gorontalo Gorontalo — SDG 1 Gorontalo — SDG 2 Gorontalo — SDG 3 Gorontalo — SDG 4 Gorontalo — SDG 5 Gorontalo — SDG 6 Gorontalo — SDG 7 Gorontalo — SDG 8 Gorontalo — SDG 9 Gorontalo — SDG 10 Gorontalo — SDG 11 Gorontalo — SDG 12 Gorontalo — SDG 13 Gorontalo — SDG 14 Gorontalo — SDG 15 Gorontalo — SDG 16 Sulawesi Barat Sulawesi Barat — SDG 1 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 2 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 3 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 4 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 5 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 6 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 7 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 8 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 9 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 10 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 11 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 12 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 13 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 14 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 15 Sulawesi Barat — SDG 16 Maluku Maluku — SDG 1 Maluku — SDG 2 Maluku — SDG 3 Maluku — SDG 4 Maluku — SDG 5 Maluku — SDG 6 Maluku — SDG 7 Maluku — SDG 8 Maluku — SDG 9 Maluku — SDG 10 Maluku — SDG 11 Maluku — SDG 12 Maluku — SDG 13 Maluku — SDG 14 Maluku — SDG 15 Maluku — SDG 16 Maluku Utara Maluku Utara — SDG 1 Maluku Utara — SDG 2 Maluku Utara — SDG 3 Maluku Utara — SDG 4 Maluku Utara — SDG 5 Maluku Utara — SDG 6 Maluku Utara — SDG 7 Maluku Utara — SDG 8 Maluku Utara — SDG 9 Maluku Utara — SDG 10 Maluku Utara — SDG 11 Maluku Utara — SDG 12 Maluku Utara — SDG 13 Maluku Utara — SDG 14 Maluku Utara — SDG 15 Maluku Utara — SDG 16 Papua Barat Papua Barat — SDG 1 Papua Barat — SDG 2 Papua Barat — SDG 3 Papua Barat — SDG 4 Papua Barat — SDG 5 Papua Barat — SDG 6 Papua Barat — SDG 7 Papua Barat — SDG 8 Papua Barat — SDG 9 Papua Barat — SDG 10 Papua Barat — SDG 11 Papua Barat — SDG 12 Papua Barat — SDG 13 Papua Barat — SDG 14 Papua Barat — SDG 15 Papua Barat — SDG 16 Papua Papua — SDG 1 Papua — SDG 2 Papua — SDG 3 Papua — SDG 4 Papua — SDG 5 Papua — SDG 6 Papua — SDG 7 Papua — SDG 8 Papua — SDG 9 Papua — SDG 10 Papua — SDG 11 Papua — SDG 12 Papua — SDG 13 Papua — SDG 14 Papua — SDG 15 Papua — SDG 16
Source & method
Built from Table 4-22, provinces in the report's order. Column 9 is almost solid orange — industry and infrastructure is a gap nearly everywhere and a strength almost nowhere; columns 3 and 7 run the other way.

IIDoes counting research tell you anything?

Rank the same institutions twice — once by how much they publish, once by how much of it reaches a Q1 journal — and the two answers disagree.

A balance scale: a tall stack of paper outweighed by one small dense block

Method

How research quality was measured

978,546 journal articles and reviews from Indonesia's 30 largest research producers, 2015–2026, indexed on OpenAlex with no topic filter and cross-classified against Scopus.

1

Journal quality

Every source matched by ISSN against the Scopus CiteScore quartile list, May 2026 — Q1 to Q4, delisted, indexed-but-unranked, or not indexed at all.

2

Coverage check

OpenAlex's journal register was tested against Elsevier's own API: 250 randomly drawn “not in Scopus” journals returned zero false negatives. OpenAlex is a reliable census of the literature.

3

Institution check

OpenAlex is less reliable on who wrote it. Three of the 25 largest institution records — sharing name templates like IAIN X — conflate a whole class of institutions: established universities matched their own affiliation strings at 92–99%, these three at 1–6%. All three are excluded.

4

Ranking

The 25 largest remaining producers, ranked twice over the same period: once by total output, once by Q1-only output.

Source & method
OpenAlex works metadata (2015–2026), Scopus CiteScore quartile list (May 2026), and the Scopus Sources API.

Figure 3

Counting everything inverts the ranking

Only 5.2% of the 978,546 works reach a Q1 journal. Institutions that gain ground under the quality filter are named; those that lose ground are shown as letters, held consistent across both columns.

Rank by volume Rank by Q1 output 1. Universitas Indonesia 1. Universitas Indonesia 2. Universitas Gadjah Mada 2. Universitas Gadjah Mada 3. Universitas Airlangga 3. Universitas Airlangga 4. University A 10. University A -6 5. Universitas Padjadjaran 5. Universitas Padjadjaran 6. University B 17. University B -11 7. Brawijaya University 7. Brawijaya University 8. University C 9. University C 9. University D 14. University D -5 10. University E 12. University E 11. University F 13. University F 12. University G 16. University G -4 13. IPB University 6. IPB University +7 14. University H 22. University H -8 15. University I 18. University I 16. University J 24. University J -8 17. University K 23. University K -6 18. Institut Teknologi Bandung 4. Institut Teknologi Bandung +14 19. Hasanuddin University 8. Hasanuddin University +11 20. Telkom University 19. Telkom University 21. Universitas Jambi 21. Universitas Jambi 22. Universitas Sumatera Utara 11. Universitas Sumatera Utara +11 23. University L 25. University L 24. Universitas Sriwijaya 20. Universitas Sriwijaya +4 25. Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta 15. Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta +10
Source & method
Indonesia's 25 largest research producers by OpenAlex works count, 2015–2026, excluding three misattributed institution records. 78.8% of the corpus appears in journals absent from the Scopus index entirely. UI, UGM and Universitas Airlangga hold the top three places on both sides — the very top of Indonesian research is stable. Institut Teknologi Bandung climbs 18→4; Universitas Negeri Padang falls 6→17.

IIIWhat the published dashboard shows

The SDG Center's dashboard maps Indonesia's Q1 output onto the seventeen goals. The landscape it describes is uneven and heavily concentrated.

A row of stacks, three tall and dense, the rest thinning to almost nothing

The dashboard

SDGs Research Dashboard

Q1 publications with an Indonesian affiliation, 2015–2026, mapped to the seventeen goals. Open access, updated as new Scopus batches arrive.

www.sdgcenter.unpad.ac.id/dashboard

The SDG Center dashboard, showing publication counts and the leading universities for each goal

Method

How the dashboard measures research strength

SDG Center UNPAD's public dashboard maps Indonesia's highest-quality research output onto the 17 goals. Live at sdgcenter.unpad.ac.id/dashboard since 18 June 2026.

1

Corpus

75,892 Q1 journal articles with an Indonesian affiliation, 2015 onwards, downloaded from the Scopus API. Articles only; discontinued titles excluded.

2

Mapping to goals

Matched to goals by the Elsevier Aurora keyword framework. 32,257 papers carry a tag; one paper can match several goals, so shares exceed 100%.

3

Classing the goals

Each goal's share is classed Strong (≥5%), Moderate (1–5%) or Gap (<1%) — the dashboard's own threshold.

4

Institutions

Co-authorship frequency: a paper counts once per institution. Universities only; agencies and hospitals excluded.

5

Concentration

Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve across all 2,571 universities in the corpus, computed from the underlying paper records.

What the method cannot do

Keyword tagging mis-assigns. In testing, 25.7% of the output tagged to SDG 9 was education research caught by the word innovation.

The Q1 filter is not neutral. Equity and urban research skews to national journals, which it excludes by construction.

Quartiles are field-normalised. Q1 in a small category is a lower bar than Q1 in medicine.

Source & method
Scopus Search API (Elsevier), June 2026; SCImago Journal Rank 2025; Elsevier discontinued-title list, May 2026; Elsevier/Aurora SDG keyword framework. Goal shares and institutional counts as published by the dashboard.

Figure 4

Five goals carry the output; four are near-absent

Share of Indonesia's 75,892 Q1 papers addressing each SDG, with paper counts. Four goals fall below the 1% line the dashboard uses to flag a research gap.

1.0% gap threshold 3. Good Health & Well-being 8.74% (6,634) 9. Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure 7.45% (5,651) 15. Life on Land 6.93% (5,258) 16. Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions 6.86% (5,203) 8. Decent Work & Economic Growth 5.65% (4,288) 4. Quality Education 4.61% (3,495) 13. Climate Action 4.08% (3,094) 14. Life Below Water 3.38% (2,565) 6. Clean Water & Sanitation 3.05% (2,312) 7. Affordable & Clean Energy 2.53% (1,920) 1. No Poverty 2.26% (1,714) 12. Responsible Consumption & Production 2.19% (1,664) 2. Zero Hunger 1.86% (1,415) 10. Reduced Inequalities 0.74% (558) 5. Gender Equality 0.65% (494) 11. Sustainable Cities & Communities 0.58% (437) 17. Partnerships for the Goals 0.38% (286)
Source & method
Partnerships for the Goals is the smallest at 286 papers over eleven years. A paper may carry several SDG tags, so the shares sum to more than 100%.

Figure 5

Which university leads a goal tracks what that university is for

Rank of each producer within each SDG. ITB's block sits on water, energy and consumption; IPB's on climate, marine and land; UI and Unair hold health. The two teacher-training universities barely register outside Quality Education, which they lead.

ranked 1st in the goal2nd–3rd4th–5th6th–10thoutside the top 10
UI UGM Unair Unpad ITB IPB Brawijaya Hasanuddin Undip UNS UM Malang UPI 1. No Poverty 1 2 6 5 9 3 7 4 10 8 2. Zero Hunger 1 3 5 2 10 4 6 7 8 9 3. Good Health & Well-being 1 3 2 4 10 6 5 9 4. Quality Education 2 6 5 9 7 1 3 5. Gender Equality 1 2 3 7 6. Clean Water & Sanitation 4 2 3 9 1 7 8 10 6 7. Affordable & Clean Energy 2 3 6 1 10 7 5 8. Decent Work & Economic Growth 1 2 3 4 6 5 7 9 10 9. Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure 1 3 4 5 2 8 9 6 10. Reduced Inequalities 1 4 2 3 5 8 7 6 11. Sustainable Cities & Communities 1 3 5 2 6 10 7 4 12. Responsible Consumption & Production 2 4 6 10 1 5 8 7 9 13. Climate Action 4 2 6 7 3 1 10 8 5 9 14. Life Below Water 8 5 7 2 1 9 3 4 15. Life on Land 3 2 9 7 4 1 6 5 8 16. Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions 2 1 3 4 8 6 7 10 5 17. Partnerships for the Goals 2 1 10 4 9 3 5 8 6
Source & method
Ranks are by co-authorship count, so Universitas Indonesia leads on volume in eight of the seventeen goals. The mandate effect shows in the specialists: ITB and IPB hold coherent blocks, and the teacher-training universities lead the one goal their mandate covers.

Figure 6

Productivity and breadth pick out different leaders

Publication volume against the number of the 17 goals in which a university ranks in the top ten. UI and UGM lead on both. Unpad and ITB publish almost the same amount; Unpad reaches the top ten in 16 goals, ITB in 13.

0 3 6 9 12 15 18 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 SDGs in top 10 Publications (all SDGs combined) UI UGM Unair Unpad ITB IPB UM Malang UPI
Source & method
Breadth counts top-ten membership, so size sets a floor: a university must be large enough to enter a top-ten list at all. Comparisons are most informative between institutions of similar size.

Figure 7

Expertise is extraordinarily concentrated

Cumulative share of Q1 SDG output across the 2,571 universities in the corpus, ordered from smallest to largest producer. The diagonal is perfect equality.

0%0%25%25%50%50%75%75%100%100%perfect equalitycumulative share of Q1 outputuniversities, smallest to largest producer
0.89Gini coefficient across 2,571 universities
38%of all Q1 SDG output held by the top ten institutions
1,450universities — 56% of those in the corpus — appear on exactly one paper in eleven years
Source & method
Q1 SDG papers, 2015–2026, universities only. The same coefficient holds on an independent OpenAlex corpus over the same period.

Implications

What follows for policy

What the evidence implies for how research capacity is measured, funded and distributed.

1

Stop ranking on volume

Counting everything inverts the ranking — ITB moves 18→4 once quality is applied. Rules keyed to raw counts reward the wrong institutions and feed the 78.8% of output no index carries. Report volume and quality separately, never merged.

Figure 3
2

Commission the blind spots

Gender, inequality, cities and partnerships each sit below 1%, and no institution has claimed any as a niche. That is a gap in incentives, not capability — it needs earmarked calls, not general capacity funds.

Figure 4
3

Match goals to mandates

Strength follows institutional purpose: ITB on energy, water and cities; IPB on land, climate and marine; the LPTK on education. Commission the institution whose mandate fits the goal, rather than asking all 17 goals of every university.

Figure 5 · report rec. 4
4

Academic mobility and professor exchange

Ten institutions hold 38% of frontier output while 1,450 universities appear on a single paper. A national visiting-professor and sabbatical scheme moves capability to where it is thin faster than building it from nothing.

Figure 7
5

A national consortium of SDG Centers

SDG 17 is the weakest goal at 0.38% and simultaneously the instrument for the rest. Inter-provincial collaboration, joint research agendas and consortium authorship are how the tail reaches the frontier.

Figure 4 · report rec. 3
6

Institutionalise and finance SDG Centers

Put SDG Centers into local planning and budgeting through MoUs or service contracts, backed by a national financing framework — budget allocation, donor guidelines, and incentives for universities to sustain SDG units.

Report rec. 1 & 5
Source & method
Recommendations 3, 5 and 6 draw on the strategic recommendations of the SDG Center Business Model — Final Report (2025), §5, prepared for the Asian Development Bank.