Improving access to information technology can help communities assess their own vulnerability and boost local planning, says John Waugh.

Open innovation is key to the success of iHub and can change the working culture of any community of innovators, says Linda Kamau.

Business models that pair up cheap solar technologies with cell-phone services can provide the poor with renewable energy, says Carl Pope.

Africa must make sure its grassroots innovations can benefit from a new global green technology support mechanism, argues Linda Nordling.

The online encyclopaedia can fill a resource gap for students, policymakers and the public, say Samuel A. Assefa and Alex Bateman.

New funding and concrete results are paving the way for scaling up mhealth technologies — but carefully, writes Priya Shetty.

Chuluun Togtokh calls for a change to the UN's current human development index, which "celebrates gas-guzzling developed nations".

India's IT sector offers solutions for local problems — but entrepreneurs need help getting innovations to market, says Vineeta Dixit.

Neither dispassionate information nor scare stories are the answer: we need public engagement on health interventions, argues Priya Shetty.

Several collaborations between researchers and indigenous communties are underway, but more needs to be done, says Henry P. Huntington.

Amanda Glassman director of Global Health Policy argues that a joined up approach is needed if mHealth is to transform health systems.

Rising costs and re-evaluated risks make nuclear power a poor choice, even for developing nations that can afford it, says José Goldemberg.

Nuclear power can benefit developing countries but requires long-term planning and an educated workforce, says Michael J. Mangala.

Health scientists in developing countries can use social media to tackle research priorities, argue Alexander E. T. Finlayson and colleagues.

Assessing each country's needs is key to ensuring that medical technologies fulfil their promise, say Sidhartha R. Sinha and Michele Barry.

Recent attacks on scientists reveal a real threat, but rhetoric misses the mark — technology is not the problem, says Gerardo Herrera Corral.

Developing countries forging ahead with nanotechnology need regulation and research into local risk patterns, say Alok Dhawan and Vyom Sharma.

The current drought in northern Kenya has deep roots in the current practices of pastoralists that need to be addressed, says conservationist David Western.

Social media have shown the power of online collaboration — now online labs need to harness it, argues Olawale B. Akinwale.

Sub-Saharan Africa should adopt smart grid technologies to improve energy access, argue Morgan Bazilian and colleagues.