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Businesses can benefit from crowdsourcing in many ways – from problem-solving with university talent to gaining new ideas for economic improvement. Now ConnectIreland is encouraging the crowds to pass on the details of business contacts looking to expand in Europe, in exchange for monetary imbursement. The initiative has been appointed by the Irish government and industrial development agency IDA Ireland to help boost job creation in the country in the wake of the financial crisis. ConnectIreland is relying on individuals to seek out their business contacts that are currently looking to expand in Europe. After registering on the site and handing over details of a potential contact, ConnectIreland considers the suitability of launching that contact’s business in Ireland. If successful, the user acts as a ‘Connector’ and is required to set up an appointment with the business. If talks are successful and the contact agrees to expand in Ireland, Connectors are viable to receive a reward of EUR 1,500 per job created by that enterprise. The cash is available for up to 100 new positions – a maximum of EUR 150,000, of which 50 percent is paid one year on from the job creations and the remainder two years on. The video below features Martin Sheen, Michael Flatly and Saiorse Ronan discussing the concept:

ConnectIreland aims to find global economic solutions through crowdsourcing. If it proves successful in diffusing a nation’s economic woes, how else could governments tap the crowds for the benefit of everyone involved?