A guest post by Hugo Guyader
Coordinator OSResearch workshop 2016
Last May 2016, about 30 researchers met up on a boat in Paris to exchange their views and experience on the collaborative economy for the second OSResearch workshop. This really matches some ideas about academia, doesn’t it? Nothing formal though, only three very broad topics were suggested for discussions, as the main objective was to facilitate the exchange of ideas and knowledge about getting access to data, defining a theoretical framework, addressing relevant issues, etc. Participants found it stimulating to (finally) meet others who form this global and interdisciplinary research community interested in the collaborative economy.
The first OSResearch workshop (May 2015) was already the beginning of a collaboration between PhD students, consultants, professors and others interested in mapping out the current research on the collaborative economy and further networking. Since then, the number of researchers and related publications, seminar/workshops series or conference tracks have increased in Europe and the US.
There is also an aspiration to make research more accessible to the various stakeholders of the collaborative economy at different levels. OuiShare has been ideal to initiate academic contacts and we should nurture this network of researchers, make it more active by sharing information (e.g. Call for Papers, new publications) and supporting each other (e.g. funding applications, writing reports).
As we witness an increased interest and relevance for the role of research in the collaborative economy, academics can apply the necessary rigor in their methodology to provide actionable findings, and bridge contemporary issues with advancing theoretical knowledge. Collaborative economy research is a work-in-progress that might be perceived as fuzzy and buried in descriptive accounts, but it shows the complexity of the phenomenon and the variety of empirical data.
If you want to reach out to fellow researchers and academics in the collaborative economy, join our mailing list with more than 80 members. Present yourself if you’d like to connect with others!