CRIS

Crowdsourcing
research questions
in science

The results

Nearly 20,000 visitors to the online platform, from more than 80 countries and with 400 high-quality contributions – that is the result of 'Tell Us!', a crowd-sourcing initiative in the field of mental illness. The outcome far exceeded experts' expectations. The submissions were analysed and clustered, rated by the crowd and a jury of experts, and then developed into research approaches.

Three research topics identified

After the process one thing is clear: there is a tremendous need for new research. Using pattern-recognition processes, three subject areas could have been identified in which the crowd participating in the survey saw a particularly urgent need for research: the mental health of children and adolescents, the destigmatisation of mental illness and the effort to achieve greater progress in the field of healthcare research.

 

3 research topics

Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft plans systematic steps in the research of mental illness

The logical next step following'Tell Us!' is a rapid transfer of its findings to concrete research activities. To achieve this ambitious objective, the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft is already in contact with national and international partners. The aim is for science to build a bridge to society and the economy, addressing research questions interdisciplinarily and in partnerships between the science community and application-oriented institutions.

For Mag. Claudia Lingner, as Managing Director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft, it is important to begin the scientific work without delay: 'We can understand the broad participation in our Open Innovation initiative as an assignment. We take this assignment very seriously.'