The OSDG initiative – a free and open-source automated SDG text classification tool – added new visualizations to demonstrate how the SDGs are addressed within text content. The OSDG Wheel provides a detailed breakdown of all SDGs identified within a text or PDF document users can upload for analysis.

OSDG aims to integrate existing attempts to classify research according to the SDGs through an open, transparent, and user-friendly process.

Prior to the update, the OSDG tool returned a list of key SDGs, identified by using the OSDG methodology. Machine learning models carried out the initial screening and provided a preliminary list of SDG labels. These labels were then verified by the OSDG ontology/keyword mapping to produce a list of the most relevant SDGs.

A 7 December 2022 release explains that the OSDG Wheel enables better visualization of key SDGs, along with their estimated relevance scores, followed by any additional SDGs found in text. By providing more information about the linkages between text content and the SDGs, the OSDG Wheel helps users better track and demonstrate progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The tool is available for all who wish to explore how their work contributes to the SDGs. Users can submit content or PDF files in 15 languages – Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish. A free automated classification solution is available for organizations with large amounts of data upon request. The OSDG API can help analyze research repositories, website content, and other data platforms.

OSDG is based on a partnership between the European research and policy analysis center PPMI, the SDG AI Lab – a joint initiative of the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Nature, Climate, and Energy Cluster, UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub, and UNDP’s Istanbul International Centre for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD) – and a growing community of researchers.

A 21 November paper explains the key changes in the classification methodology and details the key milestones of the OSDG Community platform. [OSDG News Release on OSDG Wheel] [OSDG News Release on Publication] [Publication: OSDG 2.0: A Multilingual Tool for Classifying Text Data by UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)]