ICES: Small: Socio-Technical Design of Crowdfunding Websites

ICES：小型：众筹网站的社会技术设计

• 批准号: 1101266
• 负责人: Richard Wash
• 金额: $ 39.95万
• 依托单位: Michigan State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-05-15 至 2017-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1101266&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ICES; Small; Socio; Technical; Design

This project will explore some technical problems in the area of "crowdfunding:" inducing members of the public to contribute small amounts of money at a time to fund projects. Crowdfunding web sites are an instance of a commonly studied problem called a "matching marketplace:" a central place where two types of people come to be matched according to some criteria. Other examples of this are job websites, where employers and employees come to be matched (find jobs), and online dating sites. Crowdfunding exhibits a "complementarity:" a project cannot start until enough people donate money. One person's donation is not enough to support a project, but if a person waits for others to donate first, valuable projects may be left unfunded. Many real-world matching marketplaces involve complementarities, including couples finding jobs together and a project manager trying to put together a team that works well together.This project brings together ideas from both computer science and economics. Both disciplines study matching problems, but neither has found a completely satisfactory solution in the presence of complementarities. In economics, the most common solution is a "deferred acceptance" mechanism, which breaks down when dealing with complementarities. Computer scientists frequently use "recommender systems" that make recommendations to people to help improve matches. But it isn't even clear what should be recommended when there are complementarities. This research will develop an understanding of the role of complementarities in both of these types of solutions, and apply insights across fields to design better methods of matching.The project will test these ideas in the real world by developing a crowdfunding system. This system will provide a test bed for new algorithms and mechanisms. It will also support a vibrant community of students by helping them to fund small creative projects that develop important skills. Crowdfunding is increasingly being applied to fund high-quality professional journalism (on sites such as Spot.Us), and improved crowdfunding systems have the potential to be a new funding source for this struggling industry. This research project will also train both undergraduate and graduate students in the conduct of interdisciplinary research.

该项目将探讨“众筹“领域的一些技术问题：诱导公众成员一次捐出少量资金来资助项目。 众筹网站是一个被称为“匹配市场”的普遍研究问题的例子：两种类型的人根据某些标准进行匹配的中心场所。 其他的例子还有求职网站，雇主和雇员在这里进行配对（找工作），以及在线约会网站。 众筹展示了一种“互补性“：一个项目只有在足够多的人捐款之后才能启动。 一个人的捐款不足以支持一个项目，但如果一个人等待其他人先捐款，有价值的项目可能会没有资金。许多现实世界的配对市场都涉及互补性，包括夫妻一起找工作，项目经理试图组建一个合作良好的团队。这个项目汇集了计算机科学和经济学的想法。 这两个学科都研究匹配问题，但都没有找到一个完全满意的解决方案，在互补的存在。 在经济学中，最常见的解决方案是“延迟接受”机制，该机制在处理互补性时会崩溃。 计算机科学家经常使用“推荐系统”，向人们提供建议，以帮助改善匹配。 但甚至不清楚当有互补性时应该推荐什么。 本研究将加深对互补性在这两种解决方案中所起作用的理解，并将跨领域的见解应用于设计更好的匹配方法。该项目将通过开发一个众筹系统，在真实的世界中测试这些想法。该系统将为新的算法和机制提供一个测试平台。 它还将支持一个充满活力的学生社区，帮助他们资助发展重要技能的小型创意项目。众筹越来越多地被用于资助高质量的专业新闻（在Spot.Us等网站上），改进的众筹系统有可能成为这个苦苦挣扎的行业的新资金来源。 该研究项目还将培训本科生和研究生进行跨学科研究。