How realistic is open collaboration for development? Can it really work through the social web? CrisisCommons and OpenStreetMaps are good examples: volunteers worldwide combined forces for humanitarian relief.

Communities for open source aid

Many initiatives seek open collaboration and build on the expertise of people in volunteering through the Internet. Some, such as the Extraordinaries, have used crowdsourcing, to identify people through images after the Haiti earthquake. Others, such as CrisisCommons, have built networks of people to provide technological solutions for disaster relief.