Science Teams for Sustainability - Topic Contribution, Composition, and Performance of Colombian Science Teams on SDGs 3, 4, and 9

The growing complexity of scientific teams has established the Science of Scientific Teams (SciTS) as a key field for understanding the dynamics of collective knowledge production. However, evidence from the Global South remains scarce. This study examines how science team research agenda, size, geographical affiliation, and gender composition relate to research performance for Colombian science teams associated with SDGs 3 (good health and well-being), 4 (quality education), and 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure). We analysed 19,275 academic publications from 2015 to 2025 sourced from OpenAlex. Research performance was measured using Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI). Non-parametric tests were used to define statistical significance and effect sizes between groups (size, geographic affiliation, and women’s participation) and performance. The largest topic participation was for SDG 3, and topics related to chronic diseases and COVID. Geographic affiliation variable showed the strongest association with performance, with multinational teams showing higher performance. Team size has the second strongest effect and was mostly associated with lower zero-impact rates in larger teams. Gender composition had the smallest effect but showed higher FWCI with balanced women’s participation. Highly relevant topics are effectively related to global health priorities. The international composition of science teams reflects the importance of international networks and diversity within research collaborations.