From kidnap alerts to solar lighting, some NGOs find the high-tech answers they need. Andrew Williams and Imogen Mathers explain how.

Drones could be used to deliver medicines and protect vulnerable people, but major hurdles remain, finds Rodrigo de Oliveira Andrade.

An open-source site, CrowdVoice, aims to make governments more transparent and accountable, its co-creator, Esra'a Al Shafei, tells SciDev.Net.

Indigenous knowledge and science often seem poles apart, but meshing them can curb disaster risk, reports Smriti Mallapaty.

Lucy Pearson looks at early warning systems for disasters, their uses and limits, and what accounts for the gap between warning and action.

With the growth of online science networks, geography and economics no longer dictate how research is undertaken or published, finds Smriti Mallapaty.

Making access to science a human right is a worthy goal, but how can it be enshrined? And will it really deliver? Jan Piotrowski investigates.

S. Romi Mukherjee outlines human rights-based approaches to science, technology and development, and what they mean for policy and practice.

Innovations in relief technologies are vital in the world's complex conflict zones. But there are barriers to overcome, writes Imogen Mathers.

Using mobile phones in education is a growing trend, but there are challenges to making it sustainable, finds Paula Leighton.

Adrian Smith and colleagues explore grassroots innovations, their potential for development and challenges facing practitioners.

SciDev.Net reporters across the developing world describe exciting initiatives aimed at supporting innovation in local communities and remote areas.

Yojana Sharma analyses the work of a four-day meeting on access to data and information that will feed into next year’s Rio+20 conference on sustainable development.

Smriti Mallapaty looks at an attempt to overcome the difficulties of accessing and understanding environmental and societal information.

Crowdsourced environmental data can be useful, for example in measuring black carbon emissions, but concerns remain about quality, says Yojana Sharma.

The cities account for more than three quarters of emissions of CO2, are home to half the world population and will be 'highly visible' at Rio +20.

New technologies offer the promise of delivering environmental information to anyone who wants it, anywhere in the world. But we are not quite there yet.

A preparatory meeting for the Rio+20 summit will discuss open access environmental data with a focus on biodiversity, water, oceans, cities and disasters. Yojana Sharma reports.

An organic farmer has invented a mobile phone application called 'iCow', which lets farmers register their herds and receive expert advice.