If you’re asking yourself this question, rest assured that you’re not alone. This is one of the most frequently asked questions we hear at Chaordix. Here is some guidance we often give in respect to launching an initial crowdsourcing project.
Get involved
The best way to get started is to get involved with a crowdsourcing initiative. There are many crowdsourcing platforms open to the public that are easy and fun to get started and a great way to see the benefits of crowdsourcing for yourself. If you’ve followed Chaordix for a while, you know that another thing we are fond of saying is “We make crowdsourcing simple”, and we mean what we say! Here are some Chaordix’ public crowdsourcing programs: Genius Crowds, IBM, WWF and USAID Powering Agriculture. Create your profile, sign up and get started!
Choose something that is achievable
There are likely all sorts of potential applications for crowdsourcing and open innovation within your organization. Think of challenges that would have a higher rate of success, such as challenges to enhance current products or services, improve business operations, or identify new business models. For each of these, a well-designed and executed challenge is almost guaranteed to yield valuable results. One of the major sources of resistance to open innovation is that it’s unknown. People don’t understand the process, and they don’t know what to expect from it. To reduce that concern, start small. One of the things we’ve learned is that you can drive great results from a small yet engaged crowd. In fact, if done correctly the quality of the results would be difficult to surpass even with a much larger crowd. Smaller crowds are easier to recruit, easier to motivate and easier to moderate, and will often display higher participation levels. More ideas aren’t always better…