Dear Wikimedia friends,

I am delighted to share the recommendations from our recent Governance Review with you.

WMDE board and executive level staff initiated this process in spring 2014. Admitting that some organizational structures and processes had not evolved along with the size and scope of Wikimedia Deutschland in the first place was a crucial step for us. Getting an external consulting firm to support us on the way towards shaping these structures for the next decade was the other essential component. We felt that sharing our experiences and these recommendations can be quite valuable for other organizations as well. Therefore, we gladly follow the example of WMUK to share our organizational knowledge for the benefit of the movement.

The whole report was released last month. We have presented the main insights at our General Assembly and are currently collecting feedback on our members’ wiki.[1] A translated version of the essential part of the report, the recommendations, is now available on Meta in English.[2]

At the moment, we are outlining ways to proceed with the recommendations. While we share most of them, some need further assessment. We have already implemented a few of them (like two year board terms, restructuring of the board committees), some are processed by different board committees and stakeholders and prepared for the next general assembly and some need to go through a more thorough and long-term approach (like revising our bylaws and internal regulations).

I will provide further updates on the process. In the meantime, all your comments and questions are more than welcome, either on Meta or via email. Those of you who attend the Wikimedia Conference will also have the chance to discuss this in person with me and my colleagues in Berlin this week.

Best regards, Tim Moritz Hector

[1] https://forum.wikimedia.de/wiki/Governance_Review [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Deutschland/Governance_Review