Lila Tretikov wrote:
... Allocation should follow strategic priorities and it is the strategy that helps answer this question.
On this point, it should be enormously helpful to point out that the only strategic goal which the Foundation has ever failed to achieve, and has consistently failed to achieve, is this one:
http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Plan/Movement_Priorities#Increa...
That specific strategic priority of increasing participation is the focus of the sixteen proposed additional strategic goals below. Some people have substantial objections to some of them, but I'm not clear on the details. Nobody has suggested any reason that Foundation goals would not benefit from at least an attempt at alignment to volunteer contributing editor preferences on these issues.
But what have I forgotten? What have I left out? If I could only get one suggestion for every two people who take issue with specific things already on the list, I would feel a lot more comfortable and confident that there isn't anything being forgotten.
... On a more operational scale, resources tend go to where the users are or where the opportunity is. When they go to opportunity, it is towards verifying hypothesis that it would yield results.
I agree with measuring what is likely to work best, but for some of these proposals, including some of the lowest hanging fruit, that is very hard. So again, I recommend depending on the wisdom of contributing editors. To that end, an editor survey is something which really needs to be done to prep for this. I trust the Board and Staff to be able to veto things which are unworkable and reach through to the opportunities in an agile fashion. What I don't understand are the few who suggest that the Foundation should not be more active on trying to improve the lot in life of potential volunteer editors. How can that possibly be part of a strategy to increase participation?
1. Labor rights, e.g., linking to fixmyjob.com
2. Support the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its protocols without reservation
3. Increase infrastructure spending
4. Increase education spending
5. Public school class size reduction
6. College subsidy with income-based repayment terms
7. More steeply progressive taxation
8. Negative interest on excess reserves
9. Telecommuting
10. Workweek length reduction
11. Single-payer health care
12. Renewable power purchase
13. Increased data center hardware power efficiency
14. Increased security against eavesdropping
15. Metropolitan broadband
16. Oppose monopolization of software, communications, publishing, and finance industries