Examination of crowdsourcing as a tool for policy making

• Main Author: TAEIHAGH, Araz
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2017
• Subjects: Crowdsourcing; Public Policy; Policy Process; Policy cycle; Policy Instrument; Policy Tool; Open Collaboration; Virtual Labour Markets; Tournaments; Competition; Infrastructure; Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2376; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/3633/viewcontent/59532180cf51e.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Crowdsourcing is rapidly evolving and applied in situations where ideas, labour, opinion or expertise of large groups of people are used. Crowdsourcing is now used in various policy making initiatives; however, this use has usually been focused on open collaboration platforms and specific stages of the policy process such as agenda- setting and policy evaluations. Moreover, other forms of crowdsourcing have been neglected in policy making with a few exceptions. This article examines crowdsourcing as a tool for policy making and explores the nuances of the technology and its use and implications for different stages of the policy process. The article addresses questions around the role of crowdsourcing and whether it can be considered as a policy tool or a technology enabler.