[Wiki-research-l] WMF Research Fund

Hi all, We are excited to see increased awareness about the Wikimedia Research Fund this year as compared to last year. We are receiving more inquiries from prospective applicants, the number of views of the relevant pages is significantly more than last year [1], and we are seeing good engagement in office hours. We are learning that there are quite a few researchers who have initial ideas about projects that can benefit from input from existing Wikimedia research, editor, organizer, or developer communities to strengthen their proposals. Because we don't have one shared way to match or introduce people to one another, we are starting to encourage people to start a project on MetaWiki [2] and consider reaching out to wiki-research-l or their relevant chapter or user group to seek input or look for collaborators. This means that the traffic for emails that come to this list between now and December 16, the Research Fund's Stage I deadline [3], may increase. The content of the emails may also ask for your input. Please offer input to the extent that you have time and interest to help those who wish to join our research community have a higher chance of success and a welcoming experience. The questions of how to welcome newcomers to our community and how to help them be productive require dedicated attention. We hope that we can pick up this topic with at least some of you in the coming year. :) If you have questions or comments, please don't hesitate to reach out. Best, Emily [1] https://pageviews.wmcloud.org/?project=meta.wikimedia.org&platform=all-… <https://pageviews.wmcloud.org/?project=meta.wikimedia.org&platform=all-access&agent=user&redirects=0&start=2022-09-01&end=2022-10-12&pages=Grants:Programs/Wikimedia_Research_%26_Technology_Fund%7CGrants:Programs/Wikimedia_Research_%26_Technology_Fund/Wikimedia_Research_Fund> [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:New_project [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Programs/Wikimedia_Research_%26_Tech… -- Emily Lescak (she / her) Senior Research Community Officer The Wikimedia Foundation