On Friday, February 28, 2020, the departments of Information Systems (Prof. Dr. Jan Marco Leimeister) and Quality and Process Management (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Refflinghaus) of the University of Kassel held a discussion with representatives of the employers' association HESSENMETALLNordhessenat the Haus der Arbeitgeberverbände in Kassel. The discussion focused on the question of how small and medium-sizedenterprises (SMEs) in particular can benefit from crowdsourcing as anew form of work organization. The two departments of the University of Kassel, together with the employers' association Hessenmetall Nordhessen and other companies and associations, are planning to carry out a project to research the possible uses of crowdsourcing in SMEs and to test the use of crowdsourcing in SMEs under the scientific supervision of the two departments. In particular, the question of which quality management measures are necessary for SMEs in this context in order to leverage the full potential of crowdsourcing will be at the forefront of this project.

Jürgen Kümpel, Managing Director of the employers' association HESSENMETALL in North Hesse, Achim Schnyder, Head of the Press Office at the House of Employers' Associations, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Robert Refflinghaus, Head of the Department of Quality and Process Management, Dr. Sandra Klute-Wenig, Research Associate at the Department of Quality and Process Management and Volkmar Mrass, Research Associate at the Department of Information Systems, took part in the discussion.

After Jürgen Kümpel and Achim Schnyder welcomed and introduced the associations based at the Haus der Arbeitgeverbände and Prof. Dr. Robert Refflinghaus presented the Department of Quality and Process Management, including its current research topics, Volkmar Mrass introduced the Department of Information Systems and the topic of crowdsourcing, including the performance of work via crowdworking platforms and its potential for companies. The possibilities for cooperation between the employers' association and the departments within the framework of this planned project were then discussed.