Efforts to eradicate polio by 2018 must ensure that people with disabilities are included in elimination strategies, says Sue Coe.

A planned update of a 1974 UN document could create a useful template for socially responsible science, says David Dickson.

Development needs collective local action. More science and technical advisors should be supporting that, says research officer Harry Jones.

Former Nepali Minister Dipak Gyawali says development NGOs need to stop acting like sub-contractors and start asking challenging questions.

Overcoming barriers to how research is used in practice is important — but it's just half the battle, says NGO research expert Rachel Hayman.

Funding agencies should support closer interaction between development NGOs and scientists, argues research and policy analyst Charlie McLaren.

Latin America is embracing the free access movement in its scientific production, but there are structural and economic challenges, says Carla Almeida.

Post-2015 discussions offer a chance to link the environmental and development agendas — it shouldn't be bypassed, says Myles A. Wickstead.

Analysis of scientific trends can help policymakers target limited resources where science and development collide, argues Linda Nordling.

Constant calls for evidence-based policy miss the underlying politics of knowledge, argues analyst Peter Bille Larsen.

Bioeconomy opens up development opportunities for Latin America, but it also involves several risks, says Federico Vasen.

Scientists in developing countries should increase the quality of their research by publishing more good papers, not fewer, says Rafael Loyola.

Science may be the only way to keep traffic moving in the region's huge cities as car numbers continue to rise, says Crispin Maslog.

Projects to conserve dryland areas must ensure that women have secure access to and control over this land, says Henrietta Miers.

Brains Network editor Marc Mcilhone backs open sharing in the second article on how to support online science journalism in Africa.

In the first of two articles on how to support African science journalism online, Research Africa editor Linda Nordling takes on plagiarism.

Conservative traditions, rather than religious belief, seem to be the main barrier to modern science in Muslim countries, says David Dickson.

Committing to disability-inclusive technology transfer in the post-2015 development goals will help to cut inequality, says Sue Coe.

Along with investment in science popularisation policies, new ways to bring science and society together are needed, says Carla Almeida.