Research priorities may not align with the SDGs. Policy suggestions to steer them

Most scientific research is concentrated in a few high-income countries and tends to focus on challenges that are not relevant to SDG challenges in low-income countries. Such unequal distribution of research efforts may be of little support to the SDGs. We show that countries' research priorities do not always align with their SDG challenges, which may hinder their capabilities to address them. Funders, donors and international organisations should seek to steer research priorities, including by consulting with a wider range of stakeholders and improving the assessment of research’s (unequal) impact on societies.