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
Addressing crushing levels of student debt is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.
capacity
crushing
levels
student
debt
mathematics-logic
Treating quiet as a scarce, metered resource excludes those who cannot afford or schedule loans. The challenge is preserving library silence as a public good rather than a rationed commodity.
silence
expanding
free
access
when
health-biology
Addressing university education priced beyond most families is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.
beyond
university
education
priced
families
mathematics-logic
Regulatory systems that license strong emotional odours can suppress natural human signalling and create enforcement disparities. The problem is managing genuine public nuisance without policing private affective states through smell.
emotional
protecting
expression
when
personal
other
education systems failing to teach job-relevant skills remains one of the most urgent challenges of our time. Systems currently in place are inadequate for the scale and complexity of the problem. A successful approach must work where resources are scarcest and demonstrate clear, measurable results. It should identify possible harms, respect local agency, and show how the solution can be maintained and expanded by the communities it is meant to serve.
systems
education
failing
teach
job
social-civic-problems
Infrastructure maintenance that fills gaps with glowing commercial messages turns every walk into an ad exposure. The challenge is funding public repairs without converting the pavement itself into continuous commercial real estate.
repairs
removing
micro
advertisements
embedded
health-biology
If people live substantially longer, societies will need new models for work, learning, housing, dependency, and end-of-life care. Existing systems are not designed for decades of post-retirement life or multiple phases of dependency. The solution must produce useful coordination and accountability while minimizing collection of sensitive personal and behavioral data. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
social-civic-problems
asia
thailand
care
infrastructure
extreme
longevity
mass
surveillance
dependency
people
live
substantially
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
The problem of high rates of early school leaving continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.
high
rates
early
school
leaving
other
Social bonds structured as time-limited agreements with automatic termination notices can undermine trust and long-term support networks. The problem is allowing intentional relationship boundaries without making every connection provisional and transactional.
designing
friendship
systems
auto
expire
health-biology
The problem of digital divide preventing poor children from studying online continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.
sustainable
digital
divide
preventing
poor
other
Clocks that accelerate or slow according to local output targets fracture shared temporal reference. The challenge is maintaining a common civic time base while still allowing local performance incentives.
time
clocks
synchronising
public
when
local-regional
Addressing absent or unreliable internet in rural schools is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.
absent
unreliable
internet
rural
schools
mathematics-logic
The ability to freeze aging in specific organs or features while others continue creates new forms of body modification and potential health imbalance. The problem is ensuring medical safety, informed consent, and equitable access without enabling permanent physical stratification.
aging
body
regulating
selective
pauses
health-biology
The problem of missing books, devices and learning materials continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.
missing
books
devices
learning
materials
other
Homes that charge more for greater daylight access can deepen housing inequality and incentivise light-blocking in poorer units. The challenge is valuing natural illumination without turning it into a luxury surcharge that harms health equity.
natural
light
fairly
pricing
residential
social-civic-problems
If people live substantially longer, societies will need new models for work, learning, housing, dependency, and end-of-life care. Existing systems are not designed for decades of post-retirement life or multiple phases of dependency. The design must remain functional when standards, trade routes, data access, and diplomatic cooperation are unreliable. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
economics-resources
asia
thailand
care
infrastructure
extreme
longevity
under
geopolitical
fragmentation
dependency
people
live
technology-computing
climate-environment
systems
society-governance
quantum
Addressing overcrowded classrooms limiting learning is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.
overcrowded
classrooms
limiting
learning
2030
mathematics-logic
Districts that can reverse precipitation direction for aesthetic or prestige reasons create visible environmental hierarchy. The problem is preventing weather directionality from becoming another marker of spatial inequality.
equalising
access
when
upward
falling
local-regional
If people live substantially longer, societies will need new models for work, learning, housing, dependency, and end-of-life care. Existing systems are not designed for decades of post-retirement life or multiple phases of dependency. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.
social-civic-problems
europe
italy
care
infrastructure
extreme
longevity
low-income
communities
work
dependency
people
live
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
systems
society-governance
Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving insufficient training for teachers. Conventional approaches have proven insufficient. The required intervention must integrate community knowledge, data and appropriate technology while remaining affordable, privacy-preserving and operable with minimal external support. Strong solutions will articulate measurable impact metrics, risk mitigation strategies, and a plan for sustained operation by local actors after the pilot phase.
insufficient
training
teachers
strengthening
global
social-civic-problems
