Open Source, Crowdsourcing, and Public Engagement

Abstract

This chapter is an investigation of open source, crowdsourcing, and public engagement in the public and nonprofit sectors through four cases: (1) Changemakers competitions, (2) Peer to Patent in the U.S., (3) Future Melbourne 2020 in Australia, and (4) Idea Box in Japan. Macintosh's (2004) case analytical framework is adopted to systematically document the four cases for comparisons. From the literature three components are identified to understand the open source and crowdsourcing models: initiator, mechanism for information selection, and beneficiary. Three components are used to examine how governments or nonprofits adopt the open source model or crowdsourcing model to facilitate public engagement. The conclusion is that different designs of the projects might lead to different scales of public engagement, defined by Savar & Denhardt (2010). Finally, some potential issues and challenges of implementing the open source and crowdsourcing models to facilitate engagement in public affairs are discussed.