Unlocking the full potential of the crowd – a government perspective

Abstract

As a result of technological developments over the past two decades citizens have become increasingly connected, both socially and virtually. Now, more effective use of the collective knowledge and expertise of a group of citizens can be made in a way that improves knowledge and produces greater insight into information. This phenomenon is widely referred to as the “ ”.

The experts interviewed in this study use “wisdom of crowds” to refer to a range of phenomena, with differing degrees of social interaction and different numbers of decision-makers. Their definitions do not necessarily, therefore, comply with the traditional definitions of “wisdom” and “crowds”.

We developed a framework to map these phenomena in terms of numbers of decision-makers and amounts of knowledge. This involved identifying three stages of development, with interaction between governments and citizens increasing from Stage 1 to Stage 3. At the same time, decision-making processes are becoming more and more complex, and the traditional role of governments is increasingly being challenged.

More effective social interaction and greater involvement of citizens in decision-making processes are predicted to lead to more “wisdom of crowds”. In order to unlock the full potential of this, more knowledge about social interactions in the “crowd” is needed, as well as progress in the technological tools available to facilitate coordination and collaboration.