I think crowdfunding could offer a solution to these problems.
I think there are some special requirements to make this work. First, the companies that want the work done need to commit to pay before it's done, so the developer knows how much they can expect to receive. Second, on the other hand, there needs to be an evaluation step, so the contributors don't have to pay if the work does not live up to their collective expectations. I don't think the Kickstarter-style model, where the developer receives all the money in advance unconditionally, can attract a lot of contributions from businesses.
And as you say, companies would need to know exactly what they're buying with this money. Fundamentally, they're buying influence: influence over what project the developer works on, influence over the details of the work, and influence over the evaluation process.
I think there are some special requirements to make this work. First, the companies that want the work done need to commit to pay before it's done, so the developer knows how much they can expect to receive. Second, on the other hand, there needs to be an evaluation step, so the contributors don't have to pay if the work does not live up to their collective expectations. I don't think the Kickstarter-style model, where the developer receives all the money in advance unconditionally, can attract a lot of contributions from businesses.
And as you say, companies would need to know exactly what they're buying with this money. Fundamentally, they're buying influence: influence over what project the developer works on, influence over the details of the work, and influence over the evaluation process.
All this is a shameless plug for my crowdfunding site: https://bountyoss.com/