Thanks for your views.

Just to note that "Co-opted directors are not lesser, inferior, or less capable than elected board members or hold any less of a mandate, nor should they be perceived to be" is an opinion rather than fact. Elections exist for the express purpose of providing a mandate. Nobody on this email thread can provide the perceptions of the majority of members on whether a Chair for the charity ought to always be an elected trustee, or whether they believe that an unelected Chair can be seen as 100% as "legitimate" as an elected one.

The role of Chair is special for the charity, so the change from elected to unelected is an important one, which can be challenged as reducing democratic accountability in a fundamental way, by co-opting the role to someone the members never voted for. The change is worthy of discussion among the trustees, presumably this is already available in published minutes, but probably could be usefully put to the membership to find out for sure how fitting with the published values this is perceived to be, rather than reading comments from the small number of people who write to this email list.

The board's published statements are interesting when compared with this strategic change, and might be the basis of useful discussions before making the change by default:
"Our vision is of a more tolerant, informed and democratic society."
"Ensure that Wikimedia UK’s own policies and practices support diversity and inclusion"
"Develop Wikimedia UK’s community of contributors, volunteers and members"
Ref: https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/Wikimedia_UK_Strategy_2019%E2%80%9322

Thanks again,
Fae

On Tue, 25 May 2021 at 20:18, Joseph Seddon <josephseddon@gmail.com> wrote:
I'm a member and if the board feels that currently they lack either someone with either the capacity, desire or expertise to become chair they it is ethically right they try to find someone interested and qualified.

Co-opted directors are not lesser, inferior, or less capable than elected board members or hold any less of a mandate, nor should they be perceived to be. 

There are plenty of formal mechanisms through which the membership can express its opinion if it so desires and it would be foolish to make assumptions about the member body's perceptions. 

On Tue, May 25, 2021 at 7:47 PM Fæ <faewik@gmail.com> wrote:
It is legally correct, whether anyone on the board is elected is not mandated by the Charity Commission's guidelines, that's why it would be foolish for anyone to make such a claim.

It is astonishing the types of charity recently approved in the UK, such as a very notably transphobic lobbying group, which may indicate that the theoretical bar of the CC guidelines is not a high one.

Anyway, whether the Wikimedia UK board thinks it's more or less ethical to have an unelected Chair for the first time in the charity's history, is their call. Whether the members are allowed to have a voice in this decision, is also the call of the board of trustees. One might be concerned about how this would be perceived by the members, which only matters if members are important stakeholders or their votes are meaningful or timely enough to make a difference.

Thanks for your reply.

Fae

On Tue, 25 May 2021 at 19:27, Lucy Crompton-Reid <lucy.crompton-reid@wikimedia.org.uk> wrote:
Hi Fae

Thanks for your email. I think you are almost certainly right, and that this is the first time that the Chair has been recruited externally - although it's quite common practice in the voluntary sector more generally. It is very possible that one of the existing trustees may become the Chair. However we are casting the net wide in order to reach the biggest pool of potential candidates with the skills and experience outlined in the person specification, and bearing in mind advice regarding best practice in trustee recruitment to ensure a diverse board. 

The charity's Articles allow for seven elected directors and three who are co-opted (with the provision to co-opt a fourth trustee if it is deemed necessary to get the right balance of skills and experience on the board). We currently have seven elected trustees and two co-opted trustees (the latter two being our Treasurer and the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee). 

Although I have been working broadly on the basis that the board would co-opt the person recommended by the recruitment panel, this doesn't necessarily have to be the case. The timing of the recruitment process, with interviews scheduled for mid-June, means that if necessary the preferred candidate could stand for the trustee elections at this year's AGM. To clarify (for others reading this email, as I'm sure you're aware), the appointment of trustee roles such as the Chair, Treasurer etc is for the board to decide, rather than the full membership.

Your email implies that the charity's constitution specifies that officer roles on the board have to be elected trustees. I can't find anything to that effect although it's entirely possible that I've missed it! In which case, we will need to revise our process/plans accordingly. 

As I said in my email, I would encourage all members and volunteers to think about applying, if you meet the criteria. Please don't be put off by the open recruitment process as I know that the panel, and other members of the board, highly value community experience. 

Best wishes
Lucy


On Tue, 25 May 2021 at 18:14, Fæ <faewik@gmail.com> wrote:
Could you confirm this is the first time that the Chair of Wikimedia UK has been externally recruited rather than the role filled after being elected by the charity members as a trustee?

Has the process for searching for "role" trustees and electing them changed, and the charity's articles been amended and published accordingly?

Thanks,
Fae

On Tue, 25 May 2021 at 16:52, Lucy Crompton-Reid <lucy.crompton-reid@wikimedia.org.uk> wrote:
Dear all

Our excellent Chair of Trustees, Nick Poole, will be stepping down at the AGM in July after six years as a trustee (which is the maximum term) and just over a year as Chair. We are therefore recruiting for a new Chair, and are advertising the role externally as well as promoting the opportunity amongst our existing trustees, committee members, volunteers and wider networks. 

Please do consider whether this might be the right opportunity for you. If so, do feel free to contact our Communications and Governance Co-ordinator Katie on katie.crampton@wikimedia.org.uk to arrange an informal conversation about the role. If not, we would be very grateful if you could help us to promote the role by circulating it amongst your own networks. Katie will be promoting the opportunity on social media so if you follow us there, please do share/retweet etc. 

The ideal candidate might come from a wide range of professional backgrounds but will have a good understanding of charity governance, the skills and experience to run productive meetings, and a collegiate, collaborative approach in keeping with the ethos of the Wikimedia movement. They will also bring a strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and understand how important this is to an organisation like Wikimedia UK. It goes without saying that they will need to be passionate about open knowledge and understand the importance and value of Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects. 

To see the role description and/or download the recruitment pack, please go here:


The deadline is Sunday 6th June and interviews are likely to be on 14th June. 

Thanks and best wishes
Lucy

--

Lucy Crompton-Reid

Chief Executive




Wikimedia UK is the national chapter for the global Wikimedia open knowledge movement. 

Wikimedia UK is a Registered Charity No.1144513.Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827.

Registered Office Ground Floor, Europoint, 5 - 11 Lavington Street, London SE1 0NZ. 




_______________________________________________
Wikimedia UK mailing list
wikimediauk-l@wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l
WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk


--
_______________________________________________
Wikimedia UK mailing list
wikimediauk-l@wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l
WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk


--

Lucy Crompton-Reid

Chief Executive




Wikimedia UK is the national chapter for the global Wikimedia open knowledge movement. 

Wikimedia UK is a Registered Charity No.1144513.Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827.

Registered Office Ground Floor, Europoint, 5 - 11 Lavington Street, London SE1 0NZ. 


_______________________________________________
Wikimedia UK mailing list
wikimediauk-l@wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l
WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk