Hi all,
Last month, Katherine shared with you a preview of the work that the Events
team has been leading on resources to support in-person gatherings. We have
seen more countries shift restrictions on in-person events, and we want to
respond to those changing realities for communities that live in regions
that are beginning to open.
The Events team has been working hard over the past few months to consider
what’s needed to safely and effectively support in-person events. We
developed several iterations of tools to assess risks and provide
precautions, and shared these with affiliates along the way to gather
feedback on what was most helpful. Thank you for all of the feedback we
received!
== New COVID-19 Risk Assessment Protocol ==
Today, I want to introduce our new COVID-19 Risk Assessment protocol for
in-person gatherings. This protocol is designed to be sensitive to the
constantly changing circumstances around this pandemic, and will allow
potential grantees and community members to assess their own ability to
safely host events and activities. With this protocol, we will be able to
provide a consistent analysis of risks and policies for in person events,
including guidelines and suggestions for mitigation across all affiliates,
chapters and user groups.
The COVID-19 Risk Assessment protocol includes several steps that are
outlined below. We wanted to get this information out to you as quickly as
possible - we are also working to get this protocol and the attached
documents up on Meta-Wiki by the end of September. [1]
Step 1 - First, review this list of events that falls under the
Foundation’s eligibility criteria [2] and current restrictions, to ensure
that your event is within the scope of the current limitations.
Step 2 - Will your event be larger than 10 people? If it is only ten people
or less (including the organizing team that will be onsite at the event),
then we ask that you will follow local health guidelines for your region or
country. Please go ahead and submit for a grant for your event, or move
forward in case it’s an Annual Plan Grant (APG). If your event will be
larger than 10 people, then please go to the next step.
Step 3 - For events with more than 10 people, use the Risk Assessment tool
[3] to evaluate the potential risks for your event. The first tab provides
instructions on how to complete the tool. Once you complete it, you will
have a total risk score, a number that determines your overall level of
risk, and a control percentage, a figure that assesses if there are
additional precautions that you need to take. Together, these will make up
your total risk score, found on the final tab.
Step 4 - Go to the Matrix Results Framework [4] and identify the color code
that matches your total risk score. The color code includes guidelines to
advise you if the gathering should proceed or not. Follow the appropriate
instructions for APG or non-APG grantees.
From here, you can submit a grant proposal. When you
submit your proposal
to the relevant program (Rapid, Conference, Project or
Wikicite) you will
be asked to attach your copy of the risk assessment tool. Your proposal
will be considered under the program’s eligibility criteria. Each program
has different deadlines for submission - reach out to the relevant Program
Officer for more information. [5]
Step 5 - If your gathering or activity is approved, please review the
Checklist of guidelines for in-person events. [6] This includes necessary
precautions to take when hosting.
== Feedback on the new protocol ==
This pandemic is an unprecedented situation for all of us, and we want to
ensure that you are able to assess potential risks and conditions as
thoroughly as possible. Our goal is to make sure that where local
regulations allow, you can resume in person events safely and effectively
with the resources and support that you need from the Foundation. We have
also created a video demo, found on the Meta-Wiki page, that walks through
the steps above in order to submit a grant for an in person gathering. If
you have questions or feedback on this process and the new protocol, feel
free to share on the talk page on Meta-Wiki. [7]
I so miss seeing so many of you at events, whether it was Wikimania last
year, or Wiki Indaba or one of our many regional events and edit-a-thons. I
look forward to the day when we can all gather again and celebrate our work
and our communities. Until then, stay safe and take care.
Janeen Uzzell,
Chief Operating Officer
Wikimedia Foundation
PS. A copy of this message is available on Meta-Wiki for translation:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/?curid=11116726
[1] Meta-Wiki page:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Risk_assessment_during_COVID-19
[2] Eligibility criteria:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hi5DpUOf10OcWiWWh3_RhyNquubLbeMkVMjWDnU…
[3] Risk Assessment Tool:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1B96k62CHCFcFvoLVo7Fy0oxH751hY6sV3mV…
[4] Matrix results framework:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12wdqo2vwcdSwHQsfH_Ox5W9pgjdjEpOOu4I…
[5] Grants Main Page:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Start
[6] Checklist of guidelines :
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1biJh-dxu_Wj3Qbm_wGiGVRcnCLtbnneLzG381KP…
[7] Meta-Wiki talk page:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants_talk:Risk_assessment_during_COVID-19
--
------------------------------
*Jáneen Uzzell*
Chief Operating Officer
Wikimedia Foundation <https://wikimediafoundation.org/>
@janeenuzzell