Hi Maria,

Thanks for the info. This will be helpful as we think about how we design our programs and measure our outcomes. The Cascadia Wikimedians group in Seattle has a substantial percentage of technologists and researchers, so information about prior experiences with program effectiveness will be of interest to us. I also believe that our colleagues in Portland, who organize a number of GLAM and cultural outreach events, are interested in exploring how to retain local editors more effectively and build up a Portland core Wikimedia community, so this information may interest them as well.

As I said on Wikimedia-l, I appreciate of this poster: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evaluation_Report_(beta)_Poster_Wikimania_2014.pdf Thank you for sharing it!

We will probably talk with you more after we have finished our arrangements with WMF Legal and start to formalize our plans for our first 6 to 12 months of operation as Cascadia Wikimedians.

Thanks,

Pine



On Thu, Sep 18, 2014 at 9:40 AM, Maria Cruz <mcruz@wikimedia.org> wrote:
Hello Pine, 
thanks for reaching out. 
the way I see it, the question you are submitting is a bit broad. How do you measure effectiveness? We work in terms of goals and how Wikimedia programs help achieve those goals. So depending what Wikimedia Cascadia goals are and what assets the organization holds, some programs could fit the local context better than others. We don't really talk about effective or ineffective programs. You can find tools for setting goals and targets on the Evaluation portal, as well [1].

Last year, the team started a Program Evaluation report (beta)[2], which we hope to complete with the launch of Round II of voluntary program reporting. The first round of data collection allowed us to work on that report, which I invite you to read for a deeper sense of what kind of results these bring to the movement. For the past Wikimania, we worked on a poster that visualizes those results [3].

As far as program types go, we have a list of the most typical Wikimedia Programs on the Plan section of the Evaluation portal (meta:Grants:Evaluation/Program Resources)[4]. 

From what I can see in the organization's page on Meta [5], you already have a number of programs you work in? Does the organization simply coordinate these initiatives in the region, or is there a formal group that promotes programs and activities? When did Wikimedia Cascadia start? Do you already offer support to the local communities, or you hope to do so in the near future?

Let me know if this is of help. Looking forward to hearing more about Wikimedia Cascadia plans!

 
Best wishes, 

María Cruz  \\  Community Coordinator, PE&D Team \\ Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.               

[1] Setting Goals and targets:

On Wed, Sep 17, 2014 at 7:43 PM, Pine W <wiki.pine@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Maria,

As we are considering which projects to do in Cascadia, it would be good for us to know what WMF Evaluation has learned are the most and least effective programs for thematic organizations and PEG/APG. Is there a ranked list of program types, and descriptions of recommended practices for the most effective programs?

Thanks,
Pine