Earlier quoted context omitted.
My thoughts about a collective have included a bidding system. For each project, the coordinating team identify the work units. For each work unit, the collective's members may submit a bid comprising of: * time available to work on project (start date, commitment, etc.) * time estimates * profit-sharing margin The project coordinators choose a best fit. All assets created by the collective are added to a common pool…
That's an awesome idea, using a kind of market to decide the price/profit. You need some kind of reputation to make this work, you don't want any fool bidding and then not doing the work.
The profit-sharing design does not prevent collusion. E.g., if there are a glut of programmers and a shortage of artists in the collective, then two may collude to submit and share a low programmer bid and a high artist bid (and vice versa on another project).
Collectives are hard and are subject to many problems that the free market does not suffer.