Books and Papers
The Inclusivity of Crowdsourcing and Implications for Development
Authors Dr. Savita Bailur, Raed Sharif
Crowdsourcing is often seen as an effective approach to tackling some development problems in an inclusive manner, improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing creativity. However, exactly what inclusivity looks like in crowdsourcing is unclear: How is it defined? How, to what extent, and in what contexts can it occur? Who is included?
This chapter examines the premise of inclusivity of crowdsourcing initiatives through an analysis of seven projects that either researched or operationalized crowdsourcing across the Global South. Three highlights emerged:
- Inclusivity in crowdsourcing is relative. It is defined in different ways by different project owners and as a result, operationalized in different ways at different stages.
- Inclusivity in crowdsourcing is influenced by a number of factors, the key being the vision and strategy around the initiative.
- Inclusivity can happen indirectly and tangentially, such as through intermediaries.
This paper is part of the volume Making Open Development Inclusive: Lessons from IDRC Research, edited by Matthew L. Smith and Ruhiya Kristine Seward, published by MIT Press (2020).
Date
DOI 10.7551/mitpress/11635.003.0020
