@MapPrejudice Delegard recommends tapping into existing community groups that are already engaged with the topic you're working on, rather than trying to build something brand new. Wait to engage media until AFTER you have community buy-in. Use train the trainer methods to grow your team.

"As our project has evolved, we have rejected the notion of traditional, extractive research practices... our core research team does not own the output." <- Such an important statement signposting values & the @MapPrejudice team's commitment to co-creation in public research.

Delegard notes her mental shift away from volunteers as producers of labor to active participants, leading to radical transparency in process and results -- "We can't wait to share our data." Incorporating IRL outreach/conversations was also crucial for building community trust.

"The crowdsourcing [process] ended up doing the work that we thought the data would provide." Delegard shares the difficulty of conveying the power of "process-as-product" to other researchers. Notes how @the_zooniverse has helped them turn communities into a "learning lab."

@MapPrejudice Delegard notes that the initial success of putting Hennepin County records on @the_zooniverse inspired the team to expand to Ramsey County. Estimated 20,000+ hours from >9,000 volunteers. "The process was a powerful vehicle, in and of itself."

Delighted to have Kirsten Delegard from @MapPrejudice speaking at today's meeting about the project's history, goals & how it has shifted over time; from planning to design to its current iteration. "How are we going to use history to change the collective narrative today?"

The 1st of our @NEH_ODH Institute for Advanced Topics in DH crowdsourcing projects has launched! Help the @BallitoreProj team transcribe 18th- and 19th-century Irish Quaker documents. The team will use these transcriptions in computational analysis later this summer. #BCCCT

Want to apply but won't be able to by Monday? Please reach out to us via email or DM! We still want to hear from you.

🚨 Deadline alert! 🚨 Last chance to apply for “Building Capable Communities for Crowdsourced Transcription,” an @NEH_ODH-funded Institute which will run from Spring 2021 - Fall 2022. Applications will close Monday, December 14th. Apply at

Boosting this CfP with a reminder that we'll start considering applications on December 9th! As always, feel free to DM/email with questions. Huge thanks to everyone who has helped to amplify our call!

Boosting this CfP with a reminder that we'll start considering applications on December 9th! As always, feel free to DM/email with questions. Huge thanks to everyone who has helped to amplify our call!

Call for Participants: Building Capable Communities for Crowdsourced Transcription

Our @NEH_ODH funded institute to build 15 great crowd-sourced transcription projects over the next 2 years (and more later) is open for applications. We are open to diverse projects and original sources, and encourage what some (many?) followers may call historical social science

This institute aims to assist researchers who wish to use crowdsourcing for text transcription, with @the_zooniverse as the main platform. The institute will be primarily virtual, consisting of 8 sessions held in approximately 2-month intervals. More info on the project website!

Our CfP is now live! Seeking 15 participants for an @NEH_ODH-funded institute, “Building Capable Communities for Crowdsourced Transcription,” which will run from Spring 2021 - Fall 2022. Learn more & apply at https://t.co/jtrpPsosR3 Please RT/share widely! Email/DM with Qs.