Describing the from-scratch conditions of virtual organizing, Finholt et al. write that the “absence of prior structure means group members must develop new structures for sharing information, for example, norms or rules for reporting progress and division of labor” [8p. 292]
Practices of virtual organizations (and digital humanitarian groups specifically). Evokes Benkler et al., Kittur et al descriptions of peer production group practices.
relief. Virtual organizations are “geographically distributed [organizations] whose members are bound by a ... common interest or goal, and who communicate and coordinate their work through information technology”[1]
Definition of virtual organizations.
The real advantages that the VRVO offers to science and to its sponsors are based on the fact that it is not a funded project or center, and that the difference between it and funded centers (or facilities, or projects) is intentional and generative to its ROI.
The simple point here is that you want to create a volunteer-run organization to do those things that are really easy for this type of organization to do, and really hard to fund directly.