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Motivating Participation in Crowdsourced Policymaking: The Interplay of Epistemic and Interactive Aspects

Published: 06 December 2017 Publication History

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the changes in motivation factors in crowdsourced policymaking. By drawing on longitudinal data from a crowdsourced law reform, we show that people participated because they wanted to improve the law, learn, and solve problems. When crowdsourcing reached a saturation point, the motivation factors weakened and the crowd disengaged. Learning was the only factor that did not weaken. The participants learned while interacting with others, and the more actively the participants commented, the more likely they stayed engaged. Crowdsourced policymaking should thus be designed to support both epistemic and interactive aspects. While the crowd's motives were rooted in self-interest, their knowledge perspective showed common-good orientation, implying that rather than being dichotomous, motivation factors move on a continuum. The design of crowdsourced policymaking should support the dynamic nature of the process and the motivation factors driving it.

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cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction  Volume 1, Issue CSCW
November 2017
2095 pages
EISSN:2573-0142
DOI:10.1145/3171581
Issue’s Table of Contents
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Published: 06 December 2017
Published in PACMHCI Volume 1, Issue CSCW

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Author Tags

  1. crowdsourcing
  2. democratic innovations
  3. motivation factors
  4. participatory democracy
  5. policymaking

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  • CONACYT Paraguay through the program PROCIENCIA with resources of the fund for the Excellence in Education and Research

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  • (2024)Configurations of Digital Participatory BudgetingACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction10.1145/363514431:2(1-28)Online publication date: 5-Feb-2024
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