The Internet has started to break down the barriers of communication between citizens and decision-makers around the world. Politicians have finally started to grasp the opportunity that is crowdsourcing, and we’ve seen high profile instances of this on the rise. Most political crowdsourcing is being used in one of five ways: to build a political profile, to give citizens a voice, for fundraising, to gather help in times of crisis, and in conjunction with social media. This blog post explores how politicians and governments around the world are using crowdsourcing to canvas views, boost creativity, engage audiences on issues, generate buzz, and raise funds. So get inspired by these examples of politicians and governments and apply some of these lessons to your own business. Plus, keep a look out for the two bonus tips!

1. Awareness: Obama Crowdsources Election Poster

President Barack Obama, used crowdsourcing to help build connections and to interact with citizens. Obama partnered with Artworks to crowdsource poster designs to raise awareness about his plan to create more jobs for US citizens. The three finalists had their poster creations signed by Obama and framed, with copies sold to raise money for the campaign. Tip for next time: Offer prize money and get more designs and higher engagement!

2. Creativity: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Crowdsources 2013 Election T-shirt

For Kevin Rudd's 2013 local campaign for re-election to the Australian federal parliament, the former Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, asked the Australian public to design a t-shirt and we thought we'd help "KRudd" to crowdsource a new t-shirt design and election slogan. He chose the winner, Studio71, a DesignCrowd designer out of 405 submissions and is using the t-shirt and slogan during his campaign.

3. Engagement: Greenpeace Crowdsources Satirical Shell Advertisements

Environmenral activism has been made a whole lot easier with the internet and in particular social networks. When Greeenpeace wanted to get a message across it launched a spoof website Artic Ready to generate hundreds of spoof Shell Oil ads.

Check out a highlight roundup of the best submissions on the Fuel Your Creativity blog.

4. Participation: Finland Crowdsources Legislation

Finland also has their own crowdsourcing platform for legislation. On Open Ministry, Finnish citizens are able to collaborate, post, and sign different pieces of legislation. If a proposal can gather 50,000 signatures within 6 months, then parliament must take the legislative proposal into consideration.

5. Economy: India Crowdosurces New Symbol for Rupee Currency

In 2010, the Indian government crowdsourced the design of the Indian Rupee through a public design contest. By giving the power to the people, not only did the contest attract 8,000 designs from residents across the country, it gained global attention and became an internationally recognised symbol. Check our interview with the new Rupee symbol designer Udaya Kuma.

6. Feedback: US Goverment Crowdsources Citizen Views

In the US, citizens no longer have to wait weeks, months, or even years to be heard. Obama started a site called “We the People” to allow citizens to submit petitions, search for petitions, and sign their names to existing campaigns. It’s an intuitive, beautiful, slick way for the Government to tap into the thoughts and ideas of 313 million Americans.

7. Fundraising: Politicans Use Crowdfunding Platforms to Crowdsource Donations

Fundly.com is a popular crowdfunding platform used by many politicians to receive donations for campaigning. Between 2011 and 2012, Fundly saw an increase of 53% in use for political fundraising.

More and more politicians are taking advantage of crowdsourcing. In fact, those who aren’t will more than likely need to find ways to catch up with their more technologically-savvy colleagues to keep from being left behind.

BONUS: check out politician logos and our election posters on BrandCrowd.

Written by Jo Sabin on Thursday, July 11, 2013

Jo Sabin is Head of Designer Community at DesignCrowd. She's led the company's public relations and social media programs since 2012. With more than ten years' experience working with Australian and international tech startups in the creative industries, Jo has been instrumental in meeting DesignCrowd's objectives in Australia and abroad. Get in touch via Twitter.