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Crowd funding has become a popular way for people with bright ideas to find investors. Now the research sector is adopting a similar tactic to find volunteers for research projects with UWA leading the way.

“Crowd sourcing is becoming increasingly popular and it isn’t just about raising funds but also sourcing participants for research outcomes,” says Dr Campbell Thomson, Director of UWA’s Office of Research Enterprise.

“In a first for WA we launched our Crowd Research portal last year. Here, researchers can post their research project surveys or sampling requirements for community volunteers to become involved.

“It is a wonderful way to engage the community, and isn’t confined to any geographical limits so really anyone can be involved in UWA’s next research discovery.”

Dr Thomson says that once people participate in the research they may also want to contribute to the funding of it.

“The university now has over 4,000 people in a database from participation or funding who are interested to have further involvement in new research projects, and the number is growing.

“But even more important than attracting participants or funding, we are trying to raise awareness in the community of the impactful research being carried out at UWA.

“Once a community feels connected with a research project, they form a connection with UWA which is what we want," says Dr Thomson.

A third aspect of the portal which is just as significant, sources ideas from the community where they see a problem that needs a solution.

“We want to be as relevant to the community as possible. Perhaps a fisherman notices changes to the water quality at a certain area in the Swan River, he or she can bring that to our attention as something that we can investigate,” he says.

“This is just another way we can illustrate how our research impact the lives of people and society as a whole and increase our engagement with the community.

“I believe that crowd sourcing in general is here to stay and will continue to grow, and it is pleasing that UWA is at the forefront of this,” he says.

Contact Dr Thomson to discuss how your research project can be included on UWA Crowd Research.