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
Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving microplastics contaminating drinking water. 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.
microplastics
contaminating
drinking
water
building
climate-environment
Addressing consumer over-purchasing of food 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.
consumer
over
purchasing
food
2030
mathematics-logic
Countries facing population decline may seek to influence reproductive decisions. The challenge is supporting people who want children, respecting those who do not, and addressing housing, work, care, and gender conditions rather than using coercive targets. 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.
society-governance
family
policy
declining
fertility
coercion
low-income
communities
work
countries
facing
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
systems
infrastructure
quantum
science-space
Faint visual residues of dreams that remain visible solely to the individual can cause confusion, distraction, or isolation. The problem is supporting healthy dream-waking transitions without residual perceptual interference that others cannot share or verify.
dream
waking
containing
afterimages
persist
health-biology
Works that visibly deteriorate according to how often they are ignored accelerate cultural loss. The problem is supporting art maintenance without turning public attention into a survival requirement for cultural objects.
public
art
preserving
real
time
other
Addressing climate change destroying harvests 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.
climate
change
destroying
harvests
2030
climate-environment
Addressing improved seeds priced beyond the reach of small farmers 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
improved
seeds
priced
reach
mathematics-logic
Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving smallholder farmers left without adequate support. 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.
support
smallholder
farmers
left
without
social-civic-problems
Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving barriers preventing the expansion of organic farming. 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.
solutions
barriers
preventing
expansion
organic
social-civic-problems
Green spaces that close areas after detecting high ambient sorrow reduce access for those who most need nature. The challenge is supporting ecological recovery without excluding people during emotional difficulty.
keeping
park
sections
open
when
science-space
Addressing pesticide residues making food unsafe 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.
pesticide
residues
making
food
unsafe
mathematics-logic
If access to longevity technologies is unequal, societies may face new divisions over wealth, inheritance, authority, and opportunity. Ethical and fiscal systems must prevent extended life from becoming a mechanism for permanent elite control. 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.
philosophy-ethics
europe
italy
life
maintaining
social
cohesion
radically
different
expectancies
low-income
communities
opportunity
technology-computing
economics-resources
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving agricultural soils becoming increasingly degraded. 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.
proven
strategies
agricultural
soils
becoming
social-civic-problems
Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving toxic leakage from discarded batteries. 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.
approaches
toxic
leakage
discarded
batteries
social-civic-problems
Metered creative capacity that expires each day can suppress spontaneous play and learning. The challenge is supporting healthy cognitive development without artificial scarcity of imagination.
imagination
protecting
children
daily
quota
local-regional
Addressing uncollected garbage piling up in streets 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.
uncollected
garbage
piling
streets
2030
mathematics-logic
AI, automation, caregiving, health events, and climate disruptions may make stable employment less common. The challenge is designing benefits, credentials, insurance, and taxation systems that follow people across changing forms of work. 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.
economics-resources
social
protection
workers
discontinuous
careers
low-income
communities
work
automation
caregiving
technology-computing
climate-environment
society-governance
systems
infrastructure
quantum
science-space
Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving absence of clean and affordable cookstoves. 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.
affordable
absence
clean
cookstoves
scaling
social-civic-problems
Shelving systems that conceal books until a reader meets algorithmic criteria restrict curiosity and self-directed learning. The challenge is supporting progressive discovery without gatekeeping physical or digital collections.
ensuring
free
access
knowledge
when
technology-computing
Addressing natural gas leaks contributing to climate change 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
natural
gas
leaks
contributing
climate-environment