Symbolic Contribution Awards

Goal: To increase contributor retention on community-based platforms Evidence rating (PDN): Convincing Civic signal: Connect — Cultivate Belonging When to use: Reactive

What it is

Symbolic awards - i.e. any awards, like a badge, that are neither monetary, nor of tradable value - that are publicly given to newcomers to reward them for their contributions.

Intended impact

Symbolic awards can increase newcomer retention and keep people engaged in a community by signaling that their contributions are valued and by using reputational incentives. This is particularly relevant for platforms that rely on voluntary contributors.

Evidence that it works

Gallus (2017) conducted a field experiment on Wikipedia and found strong evidence that symbolic awards can increase contributor retention.

In the study, a number of newcomers to German-language Wikipedia who were deemed to have merited an award were randomly assigned either receive a symbolic award ("treatment") or receive no award ("control"). This award was publicly announced on the award's Wikipedia page and displayed on the contributor's personal page.

Contributors that received a symbolic award were more likely to remain active as a contributor and editor to Wikipedia after one month, compared to contributors in the control, with a 20% increase in retention. This effect persisted after two months (Note: All effects we include are statistically significant, unless otherwise stated.).

In sum, contributors who received a symbolic award in recognition of their initial contribution were more likely to remain active on the platform for the next two months.

Why it matters

Community-driven platforms such as Wikipedia rely on volunteers as open-source platforms with a societal benefit. As such, volunteer retention is a crucial aspect for the platform to thrive.

Special considerations

Examples

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This intervention entry currently lacks photographic evidence (screencaps, &c.)

Citations

• *Fostering public good contributions with symbolic awards: A large-scale natural field experiment at Wikipedia* — Gallus, J. (Management Science, September 30, 2016)

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From the Prosocial Design Network's Digital Intervention Library (https://www.prosocialdesign.org/library/symbolic-contribution-awards), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Reformatted for the RT Commons; text otherwise as published. Library citation: Prosocial Design Network (2024), Digital Intervention Library, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/Q4RMB. Anything built from this pattern should credit the Prosocial Design Network and the researchers cited above.

Details

• goal: To increase contributor retention on community-based platforms
• citations: [object Object]
• image url: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/647f696dc653a97c26f42a0b/6844562e646b03c30d251fb4_Highlighted%20copy%202.svg
• pdn rating: Convincing
• when to use: Reactive
• civic signal: Connect
• pdn library doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/Q4RMB
• civic signal goal: Cultivate Belonging