Building a Crowdsourcing Community: How Online Social Learning Helps in Poverty Reduction

In this paper, we describe the design and use of a knowledge sharing network that has recently been deployed for agricultural extension work in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). The system, Poverty Reduction and Agricultural Management - Knowledge Sharing Network (PRAM-KSN), was built using a collaborative design process that involved both experts and ministerial agricultural extension workers who are also the current users of this web-based platform. This paper also discusses the relevance of the PRAM-KSN for agricultural extension work, how the principles of crowdsourcing apply to the system, and how social learning occurs for the benefit of agricultural extension work. Suggestions for impact assessment of the PRAM-KSN at different time-frames are offered.