With improvements in connectivity such as through ubiquitous smartphones, there are opportunities to network people in new ways. These can allow for citizen science, improving distributed data collection to support decisions as well as use the power of the crowd in informing actions.
Crowdsourcing is a form of open innovation that fosters active citizen participation and public contributions in order to ensure that policies, strategies and projects respond effectively to the needs and expectations of the citizenry. This method was first used by the private sector to tap into the untapped wisdom and talents of people outside of the organisation (J. Howe, 2006). It goes beyond organisational boundaries to solicit ideas and find solutions to complex challenges by involving the public. From weather forecasts (https://vimeo.com/54375846) to hotel and restaurant reviews (www.yelp.ca, www.tripadvisor.com) to real time updates of all shapes and sizes, the crowdsourcing movement is well underway in the developed world.
Crowdsourcing technology in developing regions are becoming fundamental game changers. Crowdsourcing is already having a strong impact in developing countries, whether applied to crisis and tactical mapping; tracking, reporting on, or coordinating relief efforts in the contexts of natural disasters (e.g., Haiti, Pakistan) and civil wars (e.g., Libya); or tracking human rights abuses and violence (e.g., Kenya). By providing visualizations and monitoring implementation of relief and recovery efforts, allowing for wide dissemination of weather and crop market price information (e.g., Mali, Uganda), crowdfunding microcredit (e.g., Kiva.org), and so on, crowdsourcing is being applied in multiple ways within the context of international development. Crowdsourcing can also serve as a participatory monitoring and evaluation tool for development and humanitarian programs, eliciting feedback directly from program beneficiaries.
Replace local bars with searching for the nearest local hospital that has the vital medical service one needs or mapping local breakouts of violence and riots in post-election Kenya. Ushahidi (https://youtu.be/tpV35C0iEh8), for example, is a crowdsourcing platform that was borne out of those riots and aims to gather and verify local informal reports crowdsourced through email, SMS, or social platforms to ensure people have access to the information they need. This can range from the location of the nearest medical supplies to which areas of town to avoid due to severe outbreaks of violence.
Medic Mobile (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzzaTdd6bq8#action=share" is a new initiative that aims to transform healthcare in the developing world through simple SMS. The reality for many people in remote regions of developing nations is a 100-mile trek by foot or oxcart to see the nearest doctor. So Medic Mobile has equipped over 100 community health workers with mobile devices to enable them to treat patients more effectively and keep up health and safety advice between appointments. The outcome is that through simple mobile technology, Medic Mobile in six months has doubled the number of patients treated with Tuberculosis in rural Malawi (https://youtu.be/SJJubDgNTpM). It has achieved this by increasing the flow of data through mobile networks. Medical professionals are able to supply patients with information on medical supplies and improved safety advice that they, in turn, are able to access through mobile technology and external information sources. Medic Mobile also runs a text messaging service to support patients in Kenya living with HIV by sending out frequent health advice. They can do this because they, in turn, are able to access the flow of medical data in networks, by being connected themselves. Nurses use their mobile devices as a reference point to access information and groups of farmers can even use simple SMS technology to share information that can help them improve their crops.
NextDrop (https://vimeo.com/8465305), a project hat started in a classroom at U.C. Berkeley, focuses on crowdsourcing through mobile technology to transform the way people access water. It is not uncommon for people in remote or poor regions to make an arduous trek to the local water source, where often they won’t know how long they have to wait before the limited supply is turned on for a short amount of time. NextDrop allows utility workers to place a call to NextDrop’s system, alerting people when they have turned on the water supply. Residents who use the service are sent a text message that alerts them 30-60 minutes in advance that the water supply will be turned on. This means that people only need make the trip when they know water will be waiting for them at the end.
Cloud Factory (ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01NJef62b04&feature=youtu.be), based in Kathmandu, Nepal, allows one to crowdsource employees through posting individual tasks. Companies that take part upload an ‘assembly line’ of jobs that are then posted out to Cloud Workers based predominantly in Nigeria, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Nepal. They are focused on training workers in developing regions and running ‘microloan’ initiatives that enable participants to fund their own training while becoming completely self-sustainable. Their mission is to use technology to change the way the world works, so they use the concept of crowdsourcing to connect the people who have jobs to be done with the people who, given the right training, can get them done.
The World We Want (http://www.worldwewant2030.org/") is a web platform where ordinary members of the public are collaboratively developing policy ideas on issues such as urban inequalities, poverty and gender equality. Additionally, they are participating in the My World survey by voting for the top six of 16 priorities. These will be shared with world leaders to help them shape the next global development agenda. People who live in areas where there is no internet access are also able to take part in the global crowdsourcing project. For example, workshops have been held in Amazonian regions of Peru and Ecuador where communities aren’t plugged into communications grids.
GlobalGiving https://youtu.be/1lbp2LKM_Mk) is the largest global crowdfunding community connecting nonprofits, donors, and companies in nearly every country and helps them access the tools, training, and support they need to meet the world’s sustainable development goals.
In the modern world and in areas such as industrial applications, crowdsourcing is a crucial part of research and development processes. RoboTurk ( https://techxplore.com/news/2018-11-roboturk-crowdsourcing-platform-imitation-robotics.html) is a crowdsourcing platform from the University of Stanford Vision and Learning for imitation learning projects in the robotics industry. In order to teach the latest A.I computer systems and robots how to emulate our thought processes and actions, information on the most important/relevant data from the best possible sources is collected through crowdsourcing. RoboTurk implement large scale data collection via crowdsourcing platforms in order to reinforce learning for their robotics systems. This way, their robots can quickly learn to imitate specific tasks, based on the collation of information via crowdsourcing.
NASA, in 2018, launched their Astrobee project. Astrobee is the name of a space robot that NASA will be sending to their International Space Station. Like terrestrial robots, Astrobee will rely on specialized equipment to interact with the environment around it. NASA has been drawing up plans for a lightweight articulated arm that folds into a compartment inside the robot’s body, but it has also been running a crowdsourcing contest to solicit outside designs for various mechanisms and components that will make up the arm.
In 2018, DHL harnessed the power of A.I, robotics, and crowdsourcing in a bid to compete against Amazon. Its DHL eCommerce unit launched ‘DHL Parcel Metro’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx89DL8X6Bk) a new service that helps online retailers satisfy customer demands for same- or next-day delivery. Parcel Metro uses customised software that allows DHL eCommerce to create a ‘virtual delivery network’ of local or regional contract couriers along with crowd-sourced providers. This ensures maximum flexibility and capacity over the last mile. By implementing crowdsourcing technology to source local and regional providers, they are maximising their footfall to serve potential customers.