Table 1.

Implementation ethics issues and potential solutions associated with crowdsourcing contests.

Contest stages	Implementation ethics issue	Potential solution
1 Organizing	Lack of input from community voices or marginalized groups	Explicitly state criteria for selecting steering committee members to ensure adequate representation
2 Soliciting	Online contests limit participation to a subset of internet-using individuals	In-person events to promote contests; multiple ways of receiving contributions
	Social networking sites narrow participation in contests to a subset of social media-savvy individuals	Allow contributions via email, in-person, cell phones, and other forms that do not require online access or social media
3 Promoting	Public contributions may include confidential or private information	Clear contest guidelines that clarify whose permission has been obtained and potentially enhanced consent process before dissemination
	Social media platforms for contributing may introduce opportunities for online harassment	Social media moderators and algorithms for detection of explicit language
4 Judging	Crowd evaluation may be biased in favor of online individuals with larger social networks	Form a local judge panel composed of key individuals representing different perspectives or backgrounds
	Multiple ways of selecting judges	Establish guidelines for selecting judges and transparent procedures for evaluation and judging
5 Recognizing	Single prize contests that are most optimal provide no recognition for most contributors	Multiple prize or incentive structure encourages a broad range of participation
	Online contests may not sufficiently recognize contributions	In-person prize announcements
6 Sharing	More is taken from the community than given back	Establish a formal mechanism to share or implement the solution more widely with the local community