Our Kickstarter project “Mapping a Bornean Soundscape” (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1539505154/mapping-a-bornean-soundscape) has received some attention from the scientific community!
The concept of crowd-funding is new and somewhat controversial in science, and we are happy to be part of a small group of scientists testing these waters. The New York Times article came out in July before this project went live.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/science/12crowd.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2
And the article in the German newspaper Die Zeit came out just last week!
http://www.zeit.de/2011/36/Forschung-Crowdfunding
At the heart of this issue is the fact that fewer and fewer funds are available for scientists to do research. Cuts to government-funded research and the effects of our current economic woes on private funding have made the grant-writing process extremely competitive, and many very good projects are going unfunded.
I have always striven to ensure the work I do is not only scientifically sound, but also has a broader importance and use to non-scientists. This mapping project will not only reveal a lot of new scientific information, but it will yield sounds, stories, and knowledge that everyone can benefit from.
Thank you for your support, and please let others know!
– Alison