CrowdEmploy: Crowdsourcing Case StudiesAn empirical investigation into the impact of crowdsourcing on employability

Abstract

In the current economic context where a key policy emphasis is on employment, this project aims to inform policy of new forms of work and ways to enhance employability mediated by ICT. New applications of ICTs are continually changing the practices and possibilities of work: the way that tasks are executed, how they organised; labour markets - how human capital is contracted, exploited and developed; and the ways and places that people are able and choose to work and develop their working life. This report explores four areas of ICT-mediated work, crowd-sourced labour, crowdfunding, online volunteering and internet-mediated work exchange (timebanks), that have until now been little explored, but over the last 10 years have established themselves and are growing in importance and impact. Very little research has preveiously been available that gives insight into how and why these serviecs have ben set up, hpow they are used, and the impact on people's lives. This reports presents six case in-deth studies in fields of crowdfunding, crowdsourcing for work and online work exchanges sysytems for the exhcnage or recruitment of unpaid work.These cases are based on qualitative research, including long interviews with users and managers of the services, exploring motivations, to use, use practice, skills required and acquired, problems and challenges.