The Role of Crowdsourcing for Better Governance in International Development

This paper, originally produced in longer format for the World Bank Group, is meant to be a primer on crowdsourcing as an informational resource for development, crisis response, and post-conflict recovery. Inherent in the theoretical approach is that broader, unencumbered participation in governance is an objectively positive and democratic aim, and that governments’ accountability can be increased and poor performance corrected through openness and empowerment of citizens. Whether used for tracking flows of aid, reporting on poor government performance, or helping to organize grassroots movements, crowdsourcing has potential to change the reality of civic participation in many developing countries. The objective of this paper is to outline the theoretical justifications, key features, and governance structures of crowdsourcing systems, and to examine several cases in which crowdsourcing has been applied to complex issues in the developing world. Crowdsourcing—A New Panacea for Social Accountability and Governance? Crowdsourcing has become a mega trend in recent years, fueling innovation and collaboration in research, business, society, and government alike. The power of crowdsourcing was first demonstrated by the ability of the open-source movement to successfully compete with proprietary software solutions, as volunteer programmers Maja Bott is an experienced economic analyst, lead program designer, and senior project manager in the areas of e-governance, e-government, fragile states early recovery, private sector development, and public-private partnerships. She is currently employed as Senior Economist at KfW Entwicklungsbank, the German Development Bank, where she leads the design of innovative e-governance approaches. She holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Munich. Gregor Young is a master’s degree candidate at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and Part-Time Consultant to the World Bank Institute’s Mapping for Results project. Previously, he worked for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC. He received his bachelor’s degree in international relations and French from Duquesne University in 2006.