Ritu Dhand

This is an extract from Springer Nature's new report: From publications to policy: the impact of research towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Created in partnership in Overton, the study analyses over 12 millon documents to offer the most comprehensive picture yet of how academic research is influencing real-world policy tied to the Goals. Here, Ritu Dhand and Nicola Jones from Springer Nature introduce the report and what it set out to achieve.

Researchers tell us they want credit for more of the work they do. In 2025, we published the results from two large-scale surveys on research assessment and the sharing of null results (where research outcomes did not confirm the desired hypothesis). Both white papers signpost what is holding back – or might drive forward – open science. Here, we show why updating research assessment is essential if we want more researchers to share rigorously conducted null results.

India is emerging as a key contributor in volume and quality to global research and publishing. In the second report of the Global Research Pulse series, we explore India’s maturing and increasingly influential research environment and offer insights to editors on how to better assess this research. Get a taste of what’s in the report, from research publication data to insights on how to identify research excellence. The globalisation of research is accelerating.