Crowdsoarcing for Democracy: A New Era in Policy-Making

• Main Author: Tanja Aitamurto
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Parliament of Finland 2012
• Subjects: Civil Society; Computers and Technology; Northern Finland
• Online Access: https://issuelab.org/resources/29598/29598.pdf; https://issuelab.org/permalink/resource/29598

Crowdsourcing is less a new idea than a new concept. It covers a wide array of tools that use the power and knowledge of crowds brought together through the internet. Crowdsourcing offers exciting possibilities for democracy. Citizens can take part in brainstorming, discussing, developing, and even implementing decisions that used to be the domain of political and expert elites. People's participation through crowdsourcing does not replace traditional democratic tools or experts, but complements and supports them. Participation can yield better decisions. A thousand pairs of eyes will spot potential problems easier and a thousand heads will come up with more new ideas than just a few. This benefits all.