Dear Colleagues,
There comes a point where one must conclude that the probability of an improvement in a situation has decreased beyond the point that it can be recovered.
Just over a year ago the first Board meeting of Wiki Educational Resources ltd - Wikimedia UK - took place. At that meeting a number of decisions were made and actions allocated to individuals present who confirmed their intention and ability to undertake those actions.
In the event there was a failure by inaction, and then a disappearance. The internet enables a virtual company to operate, and there are backup mechanisms of the telephone and postal services, but ultimately any organisation relies on the pro-active capabilities of its members which they have declared they can provide, and their good intentions to actually do the job they were selected by the wider support group and agreed to undertake. The fact that the inactions of that member of our team have, in essence, stopped the further activities of our undertaking and are preventing our offering the service to members and the public that we had hoped to provide is most regrettable.
Despite the best efforts of myself and others to motivate our initial team it is clear that there has been a systemic failure to progress. Subsequent to that first disappearance there have been other difficulties in communication both locally (UK) and globally (relations with WMF) and, at this anniversary point, it is clear that there is unlikely to be any substantial improvement in the near future.
It is the responsibility of the leader of a group to motivate and guide the team to produce the desired results. In that, despite a number of successes, the group has failed to ensure that we reached our initial targets and I must decide upon an appropriate action to take. In a more commercial world we would be able to replace the failing component and move on. In the voluntary one, however, we are reliant upon the individual to stay motivated as we cannot enforce their due activity upon them. Similarly they cannot be forced to step aside if they later refuse to accept that responsibility to act which they took upon themselves at the start of the venture.
Over recent weeks I have tried to find an acceptable way around this impasse but now, regrettably, have concluded that one does not exist that meets the requirements of Company Law alongside the expectations of the wider group of editors who set this organisation in motion. It it thus the case that as the leader of this organisation I must take responsibility for that failure to progress and therefore must tender my resignation to the Board.
Alison M Wheeler Chair / CEO Wiki Educational Resources Limited
ps. It is for the Board to decide whether to restrict any decision on what action to now take to just themselves - as required by law - or to accomodate the wider input from those who would be formal members had we been enabled to progress to the point of being able to accept them. I have thus copied this to the appropriate email list for information.