The benefits and challenges of using crowdfunding to facilitate community-led projects in the context of digital civics
| Autor: | Robbie Macpherson, Marian Petre, Jessica Mackinnon, Anna Klis-Davies, Janet van der Linden, Clare Walton, Alexandra Stiver, Daniel Gooch, Mike Richards, Ryan Kelly |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Computer science
media_common.quotation_subject Human Factors and Ergonomics Context (language use) 02 engineering and technology Funding Mechanism Education Multidisciplinary approach Participatory design 0202 electrical engineering electronic engineering information engineering 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Empowerment 050107 human factors media_common business.industry 05 social sciences General Engineering 020207 software engineering Public good Public relations Variety (cybernetics) Human-Computer Interaction Hardware and Architecture Digital civics business Software |
| ISSN: | 1071-5819 |
| Popis: | Digital technology is increasingly being used to bring citizens and communities together to address local concerns. While a variety of approaches have been developed that allow citizens and communities to improve their local communities, these approaches are often financially unsustainable. In this paper, we describe our exploration of crowdfunding as an alternative approach to funding community-led projects in the context of digital civics. Through our analysis of four community-led crowdfunding projects, we demonstrate that crowdfunding can a) provide an alternative funding mechanism suitable for financing community-led projects, b) create a sense of empowerment and ownership for project leaders, and c) increase community awareness of a project. By reflecting on our experiences, we identify four key challenges to utilising crowdfunding to support community-led projects in the context digital civics, namely 1) the benefits gained versus the time invested, 2) a reliance on existing social networks, 3) the need for glamorous projects and 4) issues of exclusiveness and marginalisation. We also provide advice specific to crowdfunding in the context of digital civics, before discussing the role of crowdfunding within digital civics. By addressing these challenges, we will be able to better support community groups crowdfund for the public good. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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