Blog

Too many companies chasing growth in a world of finite resources is unsustainable. Prize challenges accelerate sustainable business growth.

For those not yet in the loop, what are NFTs? Safeguarding tangible, physical assets and possessions has long-seemed straightforward. Either lock them away in secure strong rooms and safety deposit boxes, or display them behind an array of highly technical protection. Though what about assets in digital formats, particularly creative ones?  This is a major … Read more

Much of the work and focus in the circular economy is based around disrupting standard linear economy business models of “take-make-waste” to ones where higher proportions of resources can be recycled with minimal disposal. Circular economy models to secure value from waste, and prioritise regenerative resources, will extend the life of finite resources. Otherwise, in … Read more

It’s little more than 10 years since Indiegogo and Kickstarter launched their reward crowdfunding platforms. Both began as a way for creative arts productions and projects to source funding, and are now commonly used for commercial purposes with far higher targets that leave asking friends and family for their support way behind. As project ambitions … Read more

In a smart city, crowdsourcing data enables better resource management in increasingly challenging urban environments, but there are risks

Video conferencing is one of the technologies that has advanced more in the months of pandemic lockdown than it would have done in years. Whether used for work meetings, for virtual events with perhaps many attendees, or for dislocated families and friends to get together and share their concerns, gossip and love, many people had to … Read more

‘Open source’ refers to much more than just being able to use free software. In a nutshell, Open Source Software (OSS) is crowdsourcing applied to software development.

It’s no exaggeration to say that during the pandemic there has been an explosion in the numbers of people and businesses paying money to, or expecting payment from, marketplace platforms. As a result, it’s reckoned that the amount of switching to digital technology that was going to take five years has happened in the past … Read more

We put great store in the benefits of learning how to be BOLD from people who have shown boldness. They innovate and inspire through sharing lessons on how to emulate their own achievements. We have chosen a first selection here in what will be a series of articles on how to act bold and get … Read more

In the seven years since I launched Crowdsourcing Week the Covid-19 pandemic is undoubtedly the biggest, and most awful global phenomenon. The pandemic lockdowns announced by most national governments meant the worldwide pool of available skilled labor grew virtually overnight, across all age groups. How has it affected you? Have your plans been put on … Read more

Welcome to an update of what proved to be a popular article looking at some great open innovation platforms. Innovation is crucial to survive in today’s disruptive and fast moving industrial and commercial landscape. It’s predicted that digital disruption will wipe out at least 40% of businesses in the next decade if they don’t adopt new … Read more

Jobs for skilled freelancers are booming, and it doesn’t matter whether your skill is in marketing, tech, design, law, logistics or accounting. More and more companies are turning to gig platforms to find skilled freelancers to fill a wide array of openings. For existing businesses, it makes sense that companies use outsourcing to increase productivity, … Read more

Prizes can spur all types of innovation and R&D, and the use of prize challenges to accelerate R&D is experiencing a boom. Many organizations and governments around the world are launching prizes to accelerate R&D, and it’s a tool used by the likes of Forbes, Coca-Cola, Toyota, NBC, Facebook, Shell, NextEra Energy, and NASA, to … Read more

In April 2019 a special BOLD Award was made to Maria Ressa, CEO and Executive Editor at RAPPLER, a crowdsourced news network for Philippines.

The first round of online public voting has now ended and we are delighted to share the names of the final nominees in each of the 12 categories of 2020’s annual BOLD Awards. The online votes that were cast will count for 50% of the final decisions, and the introduction of our international panel of … Read more

Crowdsourced networks of citizen scientists contribute data for AI analysis that sets new horizons for professional scientists and researchers

Big things are regularly predicted for the AR/VR sector, though so far the industry hasn’t quite lived up to the hype. Latest predictions include the augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) market is expected to total $18.8 billion in 2020 and then expand exponentially in the coming years. A market expecting such growth deserves looking at. … Read more

We are delighted to announce the second tranche of judges on our international panel to determine the BOLD Awards 2020 winners. Each is an acknowledged leader in their specialist area and we thank them for their involvement. A public round of voting will run from January 24 to February 4, which we hope you will … Read more

We are very grateful for the time that an impressive collection of BOLD Award advisors have been able to set aside in their schedules to help shape up the 2020 edition.

Advertising has without doubt been transformed irrevocably by digital connectivity. Consumer product brands, service providers, organisations of any nature, and even individuals, can become their own media owners. Anyone with access to the internet can create and distribute unique content to generate audiences and build a bespoke following. What does it mean for the empirical … Read more

A growing number of organisations and projects are turning to open innovation challenges. They can generate fresh ideas and solutions from unexpected sources to open the way for sometimes truly transformational breakthroughs. And they can do it faster and at a lower cost than traditional R&D processes. However, the growing popularity of such challenges and … Read more

The existing big players in the financial services market are all transforming their legacy systems and services to the digital ‘always on’ new era. Digital natives who have grown up knowing only the online digital world since at least their early teens are able to start with a blank page and embrace – and even … Read more

Advertising is a business sector that has been significantly transformed by the internet and digital technology. Mass communication used to be controlled by gatekeeper media company owners, and it cost a lot of money to put messages in front of a lot of people. Now, with billions of people connected to each other through social … Read more

BOLD Awards is on a powerful mission to recognize top companies, projects and individuals that are are seen to be managing their crowd-related projects and initiatives in a way that really powers breakthroughs around the world. The BOLD Awards are already open for submissions in 12 categories of business until December 31. A public vote … Read more

Many well-known retail brands have shut down in the past few years. Many others are re-negotiating rent costs to buy time to find ways to cope with pressures of reduced customer footfall, sales figures and profits. This spreads retailers’ challenges to a wider community of corporate owners of retail space and their shareholders – which … Read more

We are well acquainted with the likes of Amazon, eBay, Rakuten and Alibaba – the giants of online retail. These were among the first wave of pioneer disruptors who used the internet to rock the retail boat and make it easy and reliable for us to purchase goods and items from home or the office. … Read more

Ukraine-based company which means that our parents and grandparents lived in the era of infamous Soviet collective farms, where tractors were considered to be an ultimate technology. For them, a smart farm will sound like a fairy tale.

Predictable areas where AI is going to make a swift difference to markets is anything that involves scrutiny of a mass of information

Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing the way that the consumer and small business financial system works. In the last few years, large investment banks have hired artificial intelligence specialists from the world of academia and put them in charge of their AI divisions. Fintech start-ups have begun using machine-learning algorithms to model credit ratings and … Read more

There’s a new generation of BOLD entrepreneurs stepping forward. They see themselves as change-makers, activists building businesses to save the planet. Like Greta Thunberg, they recognise that time is running out. Annoyed by what they see as ‘corporate inertia’, they’re creating breakthrough ‘change-maker business’. These change-makers are part of the Sharing Economy, but not the … Read more

Projections show that feeding an estimated world population of 9.1 billion people in 2050 will require raising overall food production by some 70% from 2005/07 levels, reported the High Level Expert Forum – How to Feed the World in 2050.  This prompts an imminent need to maximize the food supply through both traditional field production … Read more

By Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey, co-founders of Barefoot Wines and co-authors of the New York Times bestselling business book, The Barefoot Spirit: How Hardship, Hustle, and Heart Built America’s #1 Wine Brand. When humans listen to a story something amazing happens. Each individual in a crowd reaches into their own personal memories to create … Read more

Many global corporations use open innovation challenges keep in touch with bold innovation and breakthroughs, and to meet tomorrow’s top talent.

The 2020 BOLD Awards, created by Crowdsourcing Week, will build on 2019’s inaugural event to bring together the cream of the crowd economy sector to celebrate the achievements of some of its finest exponents and champions. About the event The black-tie Gala Dinner award ceremony represents the Oscars for industries such as the crowdsourcing, open … Read more

Tipalti’s automated payables process helps clients of all sizes increase profit by reducing payment errors and automating the process of large transactions.

crowd-engineering platform enabling corporations, SMEs, and start-ups to scale resources and tackle engineering and hardware challenges

Mathesia is a global crowdsourcing-based innovation platform based in Italy, that brings together a highly specialised crowd of around 3,000 vetted mathematicians and data scientists from around the world. Since it launched in 2014, Mathesia’s focus has been to help clients solve problems through generating prize challenges to tackle from a mathematical perspective. This doesn’t … Read more

We are now quite used to seeing the disruption that’s taking place in many marketplaces due to the combination of new technology and mass connectivity in the hands of visionary startups, unencumbered by the ‘rules’ of established business models. Though how about when a global corporation is bold enough to disrupt itself? This is what … Read more

Shining a spotlight on BOLD and breakthrough projects in crowdsourcing, open innovation and related-technology sectors, the winners in 12 categories plus three special awards were announced at the inaugural annual BOLD Awards held on Friday April 5th. The prestigious international BOLD Award scheme was created by Crowdsourcing Week, which provides insight, information and events for … Read more

Equity crowdfunding allows ordinary people who are not high net worth individuals to gain a stake in venture-capital-like investment opportunities