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THE NEXUS of MICROWORK and IMPACT SOURCING Implications for Youth Employment

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THE NEXUS of MICROWORK and IMPACT SOURCING Implications for Youth Employment THE NEXUS OF MICROWORK AND IMPACT SOURCING IMPLICATIONS FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT Photo from Samasource MARCH 2017 BY LIS MEYERS, BRANKA MINIC, LINDA RAFTREE, AND TANYA HURST ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was funded by RTI International through the Global Center for Youth Employment. It was carried out in collaboration with Banyan Global, Future Work Consulting, and Linda Raftree LLC. RTI thanks Lis Meyers of Banyan Global and Branka Minic of Future Work Consulting, in particular, for their leadership and tireless effort in producing this important report. The authors of this report wish to thank all of the stakeholders who gave their time and valuable insight for interviews and consultations (please see Annex 2 for a full list). In particular, we would like to thank Samasource for welcoming the research team to its San Francisco office and granting interviews and consultations with a large number of Samasource staff. Thank you to Digital Divide Data, Daproim, and Samasource for allowing the research team to make a site visit to their Nairobi-based work centers. The authors also wish to acknowledge stakeholders who provided invaluable referrals and introductions to other key microwork and impact sourcing service providers and clients – including Michael Chertok at Digital Divide Data; Wendy Davis, Twisha Mehta, and Celie Jenkins at Samasource; Brian Reavey at CrowdFlower; Bruce Smith at Intuit; Nathan Zukoff, Anneiliese Eisentraut of eBay; James Rubenstein of Pinterest; Tim Hopper at Microsoft; and Steve Cumming and Meredith Lee of The MasterCard Foundation. The authors are incredibly grateful for the leadership and expertise of Eric Johnson of RTI, without whom this research would not have been possible. The authors also wish to acknowledge Janice Stallard, vice president at Banyan Global, who provided invaluable support and guidance throughout the research process. Thank you to Sacha Green-Atchley for her fantastic research and writing contributions for the literature review. The authors also wish to acknowledge Banyan Global interns, Caroline DeCelles and Dawan Robinson, who assisted in scheduling stakeholder consultations and summarizing interviews. Lilly Bekele Piper provided critical support to the research process in conducting Kenya-based site visits. Thank you to Peter Joyce, Emily Wiegand, and the rest of the RTI team for providing assistance throughout the research and report finalizing process. ii The Nexus of Microwork and Impact Sourcing TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii LIST OF FIGURES vi LIST OF TABLES vi ACRONYMS vii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 INTRODUCTION 7 Overview of the Microworking Study ................................................................................................... 8 Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 9 Constraints ........................................................................................................................................... 9 UNDERSTANDING MICROWORK 11 What is Microwork? ........................................................................................................................... 11 Models of Impact Sourcing Related to Microwork ............................................................................. 14 Micro Distribution Model ...................................................................................................... 15 Direct Model ........................................................................................................................ 16 Indirect Model ...................................................................................................................... 18 CLIENTS 21 Key Client Considerations ................................................................................................................. 23 Cost Savings and Expanded Labor Pool ............................................................................ 24 Scalability ............................................................................................................................ 25 Social Impact ....................................................................................................................... 25 Challenges and Concerns ................................................................................................................. 26 Quality ................................................................................................................................. 27 Culture, Geographic Coverage, and Language .................................................................. 28 Security................................................................................................................................ 28 System Complexity .............................................................................................................. 29 Opportunities ..................................................................................................................................... 29 Engaging the Public Sector ................................................................................................. 29 Service Providers ............................................................................................................................... 30 Remote vs. Center-based Operations ................................................................................. 32 Quality Control and Feedback Loops .................................................................................. 34 Promising Practices ........................................................................................................................... 34 Pilots .................................................................................................................................... 34 Recruitment and Addressing Barriers to Employment ........................................................ 35 Training, Scholarships, and Accreditation Programs .......................................................... 36 Performance Reports .......................................................................................................... 38 Employee Retention ............................................................................................................ 38 Constraints ......................................................................................................................................... 39 Acquisition and Retention of Clients ................................................................................... 39 The Nexus of Microwork and Impact Sourcing iii Cost ..................................................................................................................................... 40 Identification of Investors..................................................................................................... 41 Workers ............................................................................................................................................. 41 Geographical Location ........................................................................................................ 42 Gender Considerations ....................................................................................................... 43 People with Disabilities ........................................................................................................ 46 Worker Benefits ................................................................................................................................. 47 Increased Access to Jobs ................................................................................................... 47 Increased Access to Skills Development and Work Experience......................................... 47 Increased Livelihoods .......................................................................................................... 48 Constraints ......................................................................................................................................... 49 Digital Literacy ..................................................................................................................... 49 Unreliable Work Opportunities ............................................................................................ 49 Lack of Soft Skills ................................................................................................................ 50 Payment of Services ........................................................................................................... 50 Geography and Context ...................................................................................................... 51 Donors And Investors ........................................................................................................................ 52 KEY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 54 Trends in Microwork & Impact Sourcing ............................................................................................ 54 Changing Work Models ....................................................................................................... 54 Sustainability ....................................................................................................................... 54 Scalability ............................................................................................................................ 55 Impact Sourcing
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