The Challenge’s crowdsourcing initiative, which took place from June 19 through July 25, 2013 on ArtsFwd, was an experiment composed of one month of collaborative idea and inspiration sharing among the Finalist organizations, big thinkers and strategic leaders from inside and outside the arts sector, the ArtsFwd community, and public contributors.
Download Press Release about Crowdsourcing
What was the purpose of the crowdsourcing?
- To provide a public online platform in which each Finalist organization can pose two research questions related to their adaptive challenge and receive input from a wide range of contributors — beyond the “usual suspects.”
- To create a cross-disciplinary, open dialogue in a sector that too often keeps conversations isolated in silos of artists, administrators, or funders.
Where did it take place?
Written contributions were gathered on ArtsFwd.org in the comments section of unique blog posts dedicated to each Finalist.
You can read each of the Finalists’ entries and research questions here:
Who contributed?
“The crowd” in this initiative was composed of:
- Special contributors identified by the Finalists: Each Finalist organization identified and specially invited at least 10 people to contribute.
- Each Finalists’ broader stakeholders: Any and all stakeholders from a Finalist’s community was invited to contribute.
- Special contributors identified by ArtsFwd (refer to the list of special contributors at the bottom of this page): Thinkers from a range of sectors were invited by ArtsFwd, each of whom committed to contributing responses to at least two of the Challenge Finalist entries.
- The ArtsFwd community: The ArtsFwd team engaged our community through email, social media, and targeted outreach to contribute insightful ideas and responses to the two questions each Finalist organizations posed to the crowd.
- The public: Anyone who became aware of the Challenge in the public sphere was invited to contribute.
What is happening now that the crowdsourcing phase is over?
The new thinking that has been shared by “the crowd” will inform each organization’s understanding of their adaptive challenge. Each Finalist organization will each revise and re-submit their adaptive challenge project as a proposal for consideration in the final round and eligibility for the Challenge prize of $15,000 cash and $20,000 worth of facilitation resources.
Special Contributors:
- Eric Booth, teaching artist, actor, and author of The Everyday Work of Art & The Music Teaching Artist’s Bible
- Arlene Goldbard, speaker, social activist, consultant, and author of The Wave & The Culture of Possibility
- Trey McIntyre, Artistic Director and Co-Founder, Trey McIntyre Project
- Elizabeth Merritt, Founding Director, Center for the Future of Museums
- Rich Mintz, Vice President of Strategy, Blue State Digital
- Caroline Woolard, Artist and Co-Founder OurGoods.org
- Laura Zabel, Executive Director, Springboard for the Arts
We look forward to the contributions of all participants in this exciting experiment!