At Governing.com, William D. Eggers and Rob Hamill share “Five Ways Crowdsourcing Can Transform the Public Sphere”:

Turning to large groups of people to solve problems, make decisions, and generate ideas in a decentralized way is not a new concept. However, advances in technology and societal changes have made the process of tapping the wisdom of the crowd easier and more direct than ever. Before jumping on the crowdsourcing bandwagon, however, government organizations must first understand the five basic models and when to use the activities associated with each.

You can read the article here.