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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4094Total
4094Open
0Solved
9Humans
Gig economy workers in Australia lose access to healthcare and retirement benefits between short-term engagements because current labor protections are tied to single-employer relationships.
economics-resources
oceania
australia
benefits
gig
economy
workers
designing
portable
systems
lose
access
technology-computing
informal
society-governance
global-unspecified
open
Honduras, North America
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for waste-heat regenerable direct air capture sorbents creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.
society-governance
north-america
honduras
waste-heat
regenerable
direct
air
capture
sorbents
development
absence
robust
context-adapted
solutions
systems
climate-environment
methods
enabling
open
Costa Rica, North America
Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for governance models for managing the risks and benefits of geoengineering research and potential deployment are still lacking. Progress is hindered by incomplete mechanistic knowledge, high capital and operational barriers, and the absence of deployment models suited to the contexts of greatest need.
society-governance
north-america
costa-rica
models
deployment
governance
managing
risks
benefits
geoengineering
research
potential
field-ready
climate-environment
systems
methods
technology-computing
economics-resources
open
Ecuador, South America
Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for solutions for providing reliable digital connectivity in remote and disaster-affected areas are still lacking. Progress is hindered by incomplete mechanistic knowledge, high capital and operational barriers, and the absence of deployment models suited to the contexts of greatest need.
technology-computing
south-america
ecuador
reliable
barriers
solutions
providing
digital
connectivity
remote
disaster-affected
areas
overcoming
climate-environment
methods
society-governance
systems
health-biology
Rural clinics in Kenya lose a significant share of temperature-sensitive vaccines to cold-chain breaks between district depots and final delivery points, driven by unreliable electricity, sparse refrigerated transport, and thin logistics staffing.
local-regional
africa
kenya
vaccines
closing
last-mile
cold
chain
gap
rural
clinics
lose
african
nigeria
ethiopia
indonesia
open
United States, North America
Achieving pathways for achieving high rates of reuse and repair of consumer products at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.
economics-resources
north-america
united-states
achieving
pathways
high
rates
reuse
repair
consumer
products
development
meaningful
climate-environment
systems
society-governance
methods
solutions
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for pathways for achieving universal access to clean cooking without locking in high emissions creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.
society-governance
europe
romania
solutions
pathways
achieving
universal
access
clean
cooking
locking
high
emissions
systems
climate-environment
methods
robust
enabling
Achieving mechanisms for aligning the incentives of financial institutions with climate and sustainability outcomes at meaningful scale demands simultaneous progress in fundamental research, engineering integration and socio-technical systems that work for low- and middle-income settings. Existing efforts remain fragmented relative to the magnitude of the challenge.
climate-environment
europe
poland
systems
mechanisms
aligning
incentives
financial
institutions
climate
sustainability
outcomes
field-ready
economics-resources
society-governance
ensuring
technology-computing
methods
open
United Kingdom, Europe
Current approaches to institutional arrangements that accelerate the retirement of high-emitting infrastructure either underperform under variable field conditions or generate externalities that undermine long-term sustainability and equity. Closing the gap requires coordinated advances in science, systems design and enabling institutions.
society-governance
europe
united-kingdom
institutional
arrangements
accelerate
retirement
high-emitting
infrastructure
scalable
solutions
current
approaches
systems
climate-environment
enabling
designs
under
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for passive architectural cooling effective above 30 C wet-bulb. Scientific understanding, engineering readiness and institutional capacity remain insufficient to translate promising concepts into durable impact under real-world constraints of cost, skills and governance.
society-governance
europe
romania
passive
architectural
cooling
effective
above
wet-bulb
integrated
pathways
persistent
gap
solutions
systems
methods
scalable
practical
Unregulated industrial discharge into river basins near Indonesia is degrading downstream drinking water quality, but enforcement is hampered by a lack of low-cost, continuous water-quality sensors.
climate-environment
asia
indonesia
industrial
discharge
river
basins
near
reducing
effluent
shared
unregulated
global-unspecified
water
african
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for biotechnologies enabling the production of high-performance textiles and materials from agricultural waste creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.
society-governance
europe
france
enabling
robust
biotechnologies
production
high-performance
textiles
materials
agricultural
waste
methods
solutions
systems
climate-environment
technologies
low
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for technologies enabling precise monitoring of soil health and carbon stocks at farm and landscape scales. Scientific understanding, engineering readiness and institutional capacity remain insufficient to translate promising concepts into durable impact under real-world constraints of cost, skills and governance.
society-governance
asia
cambodia
solutions
technologies
enabling
precise
monitoring
soil
health
carbon
stocks
farm
systems
methods
climate-environment
scalable
governance
Philippines lacks a distributed, low-cost surveillance network to detect emerging drug-resistant pathogens before they spread between hospitals, leaving clinicians to prescribe empirically rather than on real-time resistance data.
health-biology
asia
philippines
resistance
building
affordable
early-warning
systems
antimicrobial
lacks
distributed
low-cost
early
society-governance
surveillance
technology-computing
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for institutional designs that reduce the risk of nuclear escalation in multipolar crises. Scientific understanding, engineering readiness and institutional capacity remain insufficient to translate promising concepts into durable impact under real-world constraints of cost, skills and governance.
society-governance
oceania
fiji
institutional
designs
reduce
risk
nuclear
escalation
multipolar
crises
overcoming
barriers
solutions
systems
methods
scalable
practical
Last-mile freight delivery in Egypt's congested cities remains dominated by diesel vehicles, and electric alternatives face high upfront costs and inadequate charging infrastructure.
society-governance
africa
egypt
last-mile
freight
delivery
congested
cities
electrifying
remains
dominated
diesel
last
mile
climate-environment
global-unspecified
secondary
Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for mechanisms aligning private R&D incentives with global health and climate priorities are still lacking. Progress is hindered by incomplete mechanistic knowledge, high capital and operational barriers, and the absence of deployment models suited to the contexts of greatest need.
climate-environment
asia
indonesia
mechanisms
aligning
private
incentives
health
climate
priorities
breakthrough
approaches
methods
systems
society-governance
barriers
solutions
designs
open
United Kingdom, Europe
Farmers in Ukraine widely rely on diesel pumps for irrigation, and solar-powered alternatives remain financially out of reach without financing mechanisms tailored to seasonal farm income.
economics-resources
europe
united-kingdom
irrigation
diesel
ukraine
electrifying
agricultural
dependence
farmers
widely
rely
pumps
without
africa
poland
egypt
pakistan
Despite recognition of its importance, reliable methods for biotechnologies for engineering microorganisms that convert atmospheric CO2 into useful products are still lacking. Progress is hindered by incomplete mechanistic knowledge, high capital and operational barriers, and the absence of deployment models suited to the contexts of greatest need.
climate-environment
oceania
fiji
biotechnologies
engineering
microorganisms
convert
atmospheric
co2
useful
products
development
despite
methods
systems
society-governance
barriers
high
open
Colombia, South America
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for interventions that improve the nutritional quality of diets in low- and middle-income countries creates cascading risks across interconnected human and natural systems. Key missing elements include durable performance, low lifetime cost, and governance arrangements capable of sustaining impact beyond pilot stages.
society-governance
south-america
colombia
interventions
improve
nutritional
quality
diets
low
middle-income
countries
deployable
technologies
systems
solutions
climate-environment
methods
robust
