Repository of problems worth solving
World Solve is a public institutional repository for identifying real unresolved problems across science, society, health, governance, economics, and local systems. Each entry is intended to be citable, inspectable, and actionable.
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Builder-oriented
Use the repository to find startup ideas, policy leads, and research agendas.
4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
9Humans
Develop modular panels, controllers, batteries, training, spare-parts supply, and warranties so off-grid solar systems remain functional beyond initial installation.
climate-environment
africa
madagascar
solar
building
repairable
infrastructure
remote
regions
develop
modular
panels
controllers
systems
society-governance
economics-resources
public
global-unspecified
open
South Africa, Africa
Build fair utility, metering, pricing, and dispute-resolution systems that reduce losses without criminalizing households unable to afford formal connections.
local-regional
africa
south-africa
preventing
electricity
theft
while
protecting
energy
access
build
fair
utility
systems
society-governance
climate-environment
technology-computing
global-unspecified
Develop affordable kiln upgrades, alternative fuels, financing, and enforcement systems for fragmented brick industries that cause severe emissions and air pollution.
climate-environment
asia
bangladesh
air-pollution
brick
decarbonizing
kilns
destroying
livelihoods
develop
affordable
kiln
upgrades
alternative
systems
air
society-governance
global-unspecified
Develop diagnostics, certification, modular design, and business models for second-life batteries without creating fire hazards or shifting disposal burdens to poorer regions.
health-biology
batteries
reusing
retired
electric-vehicle
safely
develop
diagnostics
certification
modular
design
climate-environment
systems
haven
global-unspecified
recycling
solved
waste
open
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa
Create technologies and governance systems that reduce water use, waste, labor abuse, biodiversity loss, and geopolitical concentration in lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare-earth supply.
climate-environment
africa
democratic-republic-of-the-congo
biodiversity
sustainable
extraction
critical
minerals
energy
transition
create
technologies
governance
systems
society-governance
global-unspecified
water
economics-resources
Develop storage approaches that shift renewable energy across weeks or months rather than only across hours, without prohibitive material or infrastructure costs.
climate-environment
europe
finland
renewable-energy
energy
storage
affordable
seasonal
cold
climates
develop
approaches
shift
renewable
global-unspecified
society-governance
systems
whether
Create reliable hybrid energy systems for isolated sites with high, variable loads where diesel remains entrenched because outages are extremely costly.
climate-environment
oceania
australia
diesel
replacing
remote
mining
industrial
microgrids
create
reliable
hybrid
energy
systems
society-governance
economics-resources
global-unspecified
whether
Build low-cost standards, inverters, storage coordination, and incentive systems that enable high rooftop-solar adoption without destabilizing distribution grids.
climate-environment
asia
india
systems
grid
integration
millions
unreliable
rooftop
solar
build
low-cost
standards
society-governance
technology-computing
economics-resources
global-unspecified
mathematics-logic
Develop economically viable technologies and markets for end-of-life turbine blades, which are difficult to separate, recycle, transport, and repurpose.
economics-resources
europe
denmark
blades
recycling
composite
wind-turbine
scale
develop
economically
viable
technologies
markets
safe
efficient
global-unspecified
advanced
haven
Combine satellite observations, smart metering, community reporting, and fair enforcement to identify unauthorized pumping without penalizing subsistence users.
science-space
asia
iran
detecting
illegal
water
extraction
stressed
aquifers
combine
satellite
observations
smart
global-unspecified
logging
climate-environment
philosophy-ethics
remote
open
Argentina, South America
Develop affordable manure management, runoff monitoring, and nutrient-recovery systems for farms too large for household methods but too small for industrial treatment.
climate-environment
south-america
argentina
runoff
farms
stopping
nutrient
medium-scale
livestock
too
develop
affordable
manure
systems
society-governance
methods
global-unspecified
monitoring
open
Mexico, North America
Develop monitoring, crop-selection, treatment, and incentive systems that protect health while preserving a critical irrigation resource.
society-governance
north-america
mexico
safe
reuse
treated
wastewater
peri-urban
farming
develop
monitoring
crop-selection
treatment
systems
health-biology
climate-environment
health
global-unspecified
Create cooperative frameworks that enable countries sharing underground water reserves to measure extraction, prevent depletion, and resolve disputes.
society-governance
asia
jordan
governance
transboundary
aquifers
incomplete
data
create
cooperative
frameworks
enable
countries
global-unspecified
mathematics-logic
water
climate-environment
african
Establish practical measurement methods and interventions for microplastics moving from rivers and sediments into fish, crops, livestock, and human diets.
climate-environment
tracking
microplastic
movement
freshwater
food
systems
establish
practical
measurement
methods
society-governance
human
economics-resources
assessing
reducing
real
time
Develop pressure management, household storage, pipe repair, and monitoring methods for systems where periodic shutoffs allow contaminated water to enter damaged pipes.
climate-environment
asia
nepal
water
preventing
fecal
contamination
during
intermittent
urban
supply
develop
pressure
systems
society-governance
global-unspecified
methods
african
Develop equitable restoration plans that improve water quality without simply displacing low-income residents or relocating pollution downstream.
climate-environment
asia
india
restoring
urban
rivers
constrained
informal
settlements
industry
develop
equitable
restoration
society-governance
economics-resources
global-unspecified
water
african
Build robust sensors that can alert utilities and communities to microbial contamination before outbreaks occur, even in turbid and intermittently supplied networks.
climate-environment
south-america
peru
contamination
real-time
detection
pathogen
piped
water
build
robust
sensors
alert
global-unspecified
health-biology
rural
environmental
communities
Map and mitigate heavy metals, flame retardants, acids, and other pollutants leaching from informal electronics-processing sites into drinking-water aquifers.
climate-environment
africa
ghana
informal
detecting
groundwater
contamination
e-waste
recycling
map
mitigate
heavy
metals
settlements
economics-resources
waste
society-governance
global-unspecified
open
United States, North America
Develop affordable, maintainable treatment and disposal approaches for persistent fluorinated chemicals in communities unable to operate advanced centralized treatment plants.
local-regional
north-america
united-states
removing
pfas
small
municipal
water
systems
treatment
develop
affordable
maintainable
health-biology
society-governance
global-unspecified
whether
philosophy-ethics
Build localized early-warning systems that combine shipping, climate, conflict, currency, storage, and market data to anticipate sudden food affordability crises.
climate-environment
asia
lebanon
forecasting
food-price
shocks
import-dependent
cities
build
localized
early-warning
systems
combine
society-governance
climate
global-unspecified
under
technology-computing
