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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4194Total
4194Open
0Solved
9Humans
open
Mexico, North America
Local government budgets in Mexico are rarely published in a format accessible to ordinary citizens, limiting the ability of communities to hold officials accountable for spending decisions.
society-governance
north-america
mexico
local
government
improving
citizen
access
budget
data
budgets
rarely
global-unspecified
communities
african
economics-resources
decisions
whether
Staple crops grown in Nigeria are increasingly vulnerable to heat stress and shifting rainfall patterns, and locally adapted resilient varieties take years to breed and distribute through existing seed systems.
climate-environment
africa
nigeria
staple
varieties
breeding
climate-resilient
crop
suited
crops
grown
increasingly
resilient
systems
under
technology-computing
climate
open
Argentina, South America
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for governance models for ensuring the equitable distribution of benefits from AI and automation. 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
south-america
argentina
governance
models
ensuring
equitable
distribution
benefits
automation
field-ready
systems
persistent
solutions
methods
scalable
enabling
practical
Sectors employing large portions of the workforce in Egypt face rising automation risk, and existing reskilling programs are not reaching workers before displacement occurs.
technology-computing
africa
egypt
workforce
displacement
preparing
automation-driven
job
sectors
employing
large
portions
automation
global-unspecified
economics-resources
african
workers
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for education systems that prepare learners to understand and address complex global challenges 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
africa
senegal
systems
education
prepare
learners
understand
address
complex
development
absence
solutions
climate-environment
methods
ensuring
robust
enabling
open
Guatemala, North America
Achieving methods for assessing and mitigating the impacts of climate change on cultural heritage sites 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
north-america
guatemala
climate-change
methods
assessing
mitigating
impacts
climate
change
cultural
heritage
sites
breakthrough
economics-resources
systems
society-governance
solutions
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for low-cost methods for detecting and remediating soil heavy metal contamination 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
asia
south-korea
low-cost
methods
detecting
remediating
soil
heavy
metal
contamination
practical
realization
systems
solutions
climate-environment
robust
enabling
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for biotechnologies for engineering crops with enhanced nutritional profiles under climate stress 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.
climate-environment
asia
india
solutions
biotechnologies
engineering
crops
enhanced
nutritional
profiles
under
climate
stress
society-governance
systems
methods
enabling
ensuring
open
Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa
Rivers feeding into coastal waters near Democratic Republic of Congo carry substantial plastic waste from inland cities, and municipal waste management systems lack the capacity to intercept it before it reaches the ocean.
local-regional
africa
democratic-republic-of-congo
waste-management
waste
plastic
coastal
waters
near
democratic
republic
congo
reducing
inflow
climate-environment
global-unspecified
systems
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for solutions for managing the social and economic transitions associated with the decline of fossil fuels. 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
africa
ethiopia
solutions
scalable
managing
social
economic
transitions
associated
decline
fossil
fuels
systems
methods
governance
climate-environment
practical
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for methods for assessing the resilience of supply chains to climate and geopolitical disruptions. 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
australia
supply-chain
solutions
methods
assessing
resilience
supply
chains
climate
geopolitical
disruptions
systemic
systems
climate-environment
scalable
institutional
open
Mexico, North America
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for biotechnologies for engineering crops that are more resilient to pests and diseases under climate change. 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
north-america
mexico
climate-change
engineering
under
biotechnologies
crops
resilient
pests
diseases
climate
change
field-ready
systems
solutions
climate-environment
methods
Current approaches to nature-based solutions for urban biodiversity that also provide cooling and flood benefits 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.
climate-environment
oceania
australia
biodiversity
nature-based
solutions
urban
also
provide
cooling
flood
benefits
integrated
society-governance
systems
enabling
nature
approaches
open
United Kingdom, Europe
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for nature-based solutions for urban heat that remain effective under extreme heatwaves. 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
united-kingdom
solutions
remain
under
scalable
nature-based
urban
heat
effective
extreme
heatwaves
systems
climate-environment
methods
designs
ensuring
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for solutions for providing high-quality care for older adults in aging societies with limited resources. 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
africa
tanzania
solutions
providing
high-quality
care
older
adults
aging
societies
limited
resources
systems
scalable
methods
governance
practical
The absence of robust, context-adapted solutions for mechanisms for aligning agricultural subsidies and policies with climate and biodiversity goals 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.
climate-environment
oceania
australia
biodiversity
mechanisms
aligning
agricultural
subsidies
policies
climate
goals
practical
realization
society-governance
solutions
systems
methods
enabling
Current approaches to methods for quantifying the full costs of inaction on climate change biodiversity loss and pollution 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.
climate-environment
asia
japan
climate-change
biodiversity
systems
methods
quantifying
full
costs
inaction
climate
change
loss
society-governance
enabling
under
solutions
open
Argentina, South America
A persistent gap exists in realizing practical, scalable solutions for technologies enabling the continuous monitoring of biodiversity and ecosystem function at scale. 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
south-america
argentina
biodiversity
technologies
enabling
continuous
monitoring
ecosystem
function
scale
field-ready
systems
solutions
climate-environment
methods
scalable
governance
Current approaches to AI alignment techniques robust to distribution shift and self-improvement 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
italy
alignment
techniques
robust
distribution
shift
self-improvement
scalable
solutions
current
approaches
systems
climate-environment
enabling
under
designs
open
Paraguay, South America
Achieving designs for digital systems that promote human agency flourishing and collective intelligence 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.
technology-computing
south-america
paraguay
systems
designs
digital
promote
human
agency
flourishing
collective
intelligence
breakthrough
society-governance
economics-resources
climate-environment
solutions
methods
