Can creative design be outsourced to a crowd?

Hey everyone, I have recently applied for a PhD and am looking for some advice or recommendations on my subject. Particularly, I am looking for existing examples of work done in my field, or any relevant projects or research institutions. If you know of any place that might be open to funding applications, that would also be grand!

The title of my proposal is: "How can the development of usable and integrated technology affect the production of user interfaces for websites using contemporary social collaborative models such as crowdsourcing?"

Can a creative task be outsourced to a crowd of people and produce solutions that are better than those created by so-called experts? What impact will the development of new technologies, interfaces, and communication channels such as social networks, have on creative collaboration? Coupled with the emergence of "digital natives" into the work force, will these changes induce a paradigm shift in the way we collaborate.

The proposal will focus on the development of website user interfaces, but such a methodology could easily illuminate other creative areas such as product design, film making, literature or music. It could potentially have a huge impact on government, industry and education.

You can read a bit more about my proposal at http://randuzangu.com/?p=24

Here is an example of 2 related websites in my research area. One was a failed attempt to use the online community to write a book, another is a competitive crowdsourcing approach to digital design:
http://www.amillionpenguins.com/wiki/index.php/Welcome
http://99designs.com/

And here is a recent article on the subject:
http://adage.com/digitalnext/article?article_id=136019

I'd very much appreciate any thoughts, feedback and critique that any of you might have on this topic.

Cheers!

Randy

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