Re: [Wren] Meeting time CHANGE - Community conversations are here!

Hello everyone, Due to a conflict at work, I am going to have to move today’s meeting to tomorrow. Here are the dates and times of the meetings if you would like to join: 1/30 12pm-1pm 2/5 12pm-1pm 2/19 12pm-1pm I will send out details for the call (in Google Hangouts) the morning before each call. As a reminder, you can also add comments here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rC-kpnex_SB6tbxm4RQz0tkeTP7OJer6t651DXF… Below is some additional information about the feedback process shared with me through the WMF Summit listserv. Best, Esther Hello dearest Summit participants, as in my previous email already mentioned, I'd like to highlight how important it is for the Wikimedia Summit to have feedbacked and discussed the recommendations before. On the Affiliates-l-Mailing list, Chris Keating, volunteer who participated in the Roles & Responsibilities working group, highlighted a couple of points within the recommendations that could have an impact on Wikimedia affiliates. I highly recommend you to have a read of his e-mail below. Chris agreed to have shared his thoughts here. Best regards Cornelius ---------------------------- EstherJackson Public Services Librarian O: 718.817.8827, 8834 ---------------------------- ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Chris Keating <chriskeatingwiki@gmail.com<mailto:chriskeatingwiki@gmail.com>> Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2020 at 12:24 Subject: [Affiliates] Movement strategy - what the recommendations mean for affiliates To: Wikimedia Movement Affiliates discussion list <affiliates@lists.wikimedia.org<mailto:affiliates@lists.wikimedia.org>> Hi all, I just wanted to highlight some aspects of the movement strategy recommendations that will probably have an impact on affiliates. I know it's not easy to engage with a 70-page document, or to work out the practical effect of some of the high-level recommendations. Also, the word 'affiliates' does not often appear very often in the text which can be a barrier to some people understanding it. In fact many of these recommendations are heavily influenced by feedback from affiliates (as well as from the wider community). While the scope of the recommendations is the whole movement, there are some recommendations that have been shaped to try to solve specific problems that are commonly mentioned by affiliates. Please do comment on the recommendations - on Meta, through one of the strategy liaisons, by email, whatever works for you. If there is anything unclear or you think could be improved, please say so. Also please say if you agree with things and/or are wililng to get involved in making them happen. If there is no positive support for the recommendations then it's entirely possible nothing will change. Changing nature of affiliate-WMF relationships The recommendations call for significant changes to the relationship between the WMF and affiliates. In particular, it calls for: * a Movement Charter, which sets out a common set of expectations around behaviour and accountability of all movement entities (including both the WMF and all affiliates) * a new "global governance body" that would provide input into future development of future strategy; would set the framework for funds dissemination; and hold all movement entities accountable. (including affiliates and the WMF) To be clear, it's very likely that many existing WMF/Affiliate structures (AffCom, FDC, etc) would end up being folded into the global governance body. These recommendations are there in part because of feedback from affiliates and communities that there is no way to structured way of holding conversations within the movement. The expectations of behaviour from movement entities (WMF and affiliates) can be unclear, and methods of communication and conflict resolution are lacking. These proposals are there to address that. Going beyond these proposals, the recommendations also include decentralisation as a principle - pushing power and control away from the centre to the people who are most directly running projects. If taken seriously, this would be a very big change in the relationship between WMF and affiliates (particularly around grantmaking, where there has been feedback around bureaucracy and inflexibility in the current system). Supporting development of affiliates There is a strong emphasis in the recommendations on building skills and supporting individuals and organisations. Training, mentorship, and learning are all mentioned a great deal. This is a direct response to feedback from affiliates that there is not enough support on offer from the movement at the moment. Many affiliates have been saying "Ok, we got recognised by Affcom, what comes next?" and finding there is no real support on offer. These recommendations are aimed at solving that problem. There is also the concept of 'regional hubs' which would exist to bring affiliates (or affiliates-in-formation) together to better support them. Again, this is directly in response to the fact that many of our existing regional partnerships have a lot of value for affiliates and communities, and affiliates are asking for support in languages other than English and geographically close to them. Impact and funds dissemination It's recommended to clarify the movement's definition of 'impact'. This means that there would be a clearer set of criteria around funds distribution based on what impact projects are expected to have on people and on knowledge equity. It's also recommended that more of the decision-making power for funds dissemination will sit closer to the communites using the funds. So less focus on global committees like the FDC or global grants programmes, more focus on groups of affiliates and community members in regional hubs working out what to spend their money on (within an overall framework established at a global level). Thanks, Chris Links to some of the key recommendation documents: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme… https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme… https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme… https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme… From: Wren &lt;wren-bounces(a)lists.wikimedia.org&gt; On Behalf Of Jackson, Esther Sent: Monday, January 27, 2020 11:52 AM To: Wikimedians in Residence Exchange Network &lt;wren(a)lists.wikimedia.org&gt; Subject: Re: [Wren] Community conversations are here! [External E-Mail: Verify source before clicking on any links or opening any attachments.] Hi folks, Relatedly, here is an update (hot off the presses this morning!) about the in-person session in Berlin. This may help inform our discussion regarding feedback from WREN: The Wikimedia Summit will focus entirely on the ongoing Movement Strategy Process. As you might have noticed, last week the (pre-)final set of recommendations were published on Meta<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20…ns>. We ask you to read and familiarize yourself with the recommendations and provide feedback to them. They are translated into several languages, and you can provide feedback in the language you feel most comfortable in. We ask you to read the recommendations using the following questions: · Local/Organizational/Affiliate Context o How well would the recommendations address the needs of your local or regional context? (includes both online and affiliate work)? o What challenges do you foresee the recommendations posing for your local or regional context (includes both online and affiliate work)? · Global Context o What are the benefits that these recommendations would create for us as a global Wikimedia movement? o What are the challenges that these recommendations would create for us as a global Wikimedia movement? · How would you prioritize the recommendations? Which recommendation(s) should be addressed first? Which recommendations depend necessarily on each other? This Community Conversations go until mid/end of February. We expect the final set of recommendations to be ready by Mid-March. For more details on the timeline of the process please check Meta<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20… accordingly. When you arrive at the Summit, all the recommendations will be set (we won’t “edit” them at the Summit!), and we will focus on moving towards the next phase of the Strategy Process: Implementation. We want to initiate this transition together in a collaborative manner, discuss the prioritization of the recommendations, and create a shared responsibility on who is going to implement which part of the proposed changes. Please have this focus in mind when reading the recommendations. Best, Esther ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ ​ Esther Jackson Public Services Librarian O: 718.817.<tel:718.817.8827,%208834> 8827, 8834<tel:718-817-8827,%208834> ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ From: Jackson, Esther <ejackson@nybg.org<mailto:ejackson@nybg.org>> Sent: Monday, January 27, 2020 11:37 AM To: Wikimedians in Residence Exchange Network <wren@lists.wikimedia.org<mailto:wren@lists.wikimedia.org>> Subject: FW: Community conversations are here! Hello everyone, Here is an update from WMF regarding the strategic planning recommendation feedback process. I have drafted a Google document if anyone would like to start adding comments: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rC-kpnex_SB6tbxm4RQz0tkeTP7OJer6t651DXF… WMF is *only* accepting feedback through Meta, so please consider also providing direct feedback through the talk pages linked below. In the poll I sent, folks had the preference of working asynchronously on this feedback, which I am happy to synthesize and add to Meta before the deadline for feedback. We will also have zoom meetings on the following dates and times: 1/29 12pm-1pm 2/5 12pm-1pm 2/19 12pm-1pm *Zoom call details pending* Unfortunately I am not available outside of these hours, but if others would like to set up a Zoom call during these times, do not wait on me – please do so. If you have any questions or comments about this process, I will do my best to answer them. Thank you and looking forward to working with you all on this. Best, Esther ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ ​ Esther Jackson Public Services Librarian The New York Botanical Garden 2900 Southern Boulevard Bronx, NY 10458 O: 718.817.<tel:718.817.8827,%208834> 8827, 8834<tel:718-817-8827,%208834> ejackson@nybg.org<mailto:ejackson@nybg.org> nybg.org<https://www.nybg.org/> ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ NYBGSig This message contains information that may be confidential and privileged. If you are not the named addressee, you should not use, copy, or disclose to anyone the message or any information contained in the message. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, or destroyed; arrive late or incomplete; or contain viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message that arise as a result of e-mail transmission. ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑ From: Kelsi Stine-Rowe <kstinerowe@wikimedia.org<mailto:kstinerowe@wikimedia.org>> Sent: Monday, January 20, 2020 9:51 AM To: Kelsi Stine-Rowe <kstinerowe@wikimedia.org<mailto:kstinerowe@wikimedia.org>> Subject: Community conversations are here! [External E-Mail: Verify source before clicking on any links or opening any attachments.] Dear Strategy Liaisons and Affiliate Representatives, The launch of our final round of community conversation is finally here! On behalf of the Core Team, I am excited to have the opportunity to invite you to take part. tl;dr: The recommendations have been published! Please take time over the next five weeks to review and help us understand how your organization and community would be impacted. What Does This Mean? The core recommendations document [1] has now been published on Meta in Arabic, English, French, German, Hindi, Portuguese, and Spanish. This is the result of more than a year of dedicated work by our working groups, and we are pleased to share the evolution of their work for your final consideration. In addition to the recommendations text, you can read through key documents such as Principles [2], Process [3], and the Writer’s Reflections [4], which lend important context to this work and highlight the ways that the recommendations are conceptually interlinked. We also have a brief Narrative of Change [5] available in the above languages, plus Farsi, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Hebrew, and Catalan which offers a summary introduction to the recommendations material. How Is My Input Reflected In This Work? Community input played an important role in the drafting of these recommendations. The core recommendations document [1] reflects this and cites community input throughout in footnotes. I also encourage you to take a look at our community input summaries [6]. These texts show a further analysis of how all of the ideas you shared last year through online conversations, affiliate meetings, and strategy salons connect to recommendations. Many of the community notes and reports not footnoted in the core recommendations document are referenced here as evidence of the incredible convergence of ideas that have brought us this far. What Happens Now? Affiliates, online communities, and other stakeholders have the next five weeks to discuss and share feedback on these recommendations. In particular, we’re hoping to better understand how you think they would impact our movement - what benefits and opportunities do you foresee for your affiliate, and why? What challenges or barriers would they pose for you? Your input at this stage is vital, and we’d like to warmly invite you to participate in this final discussion period. To do this, many affiliate organizations are already working closely with one of our contracted Strategy Liaisons [7], but for others interested in hosting these discussions, please connect with me directly so that I can be sure your input is collected and used. After this five week period, the Core Team will publish a summary report of input from across affiliates, online communities, and other stakeholders for public review before the recommendations are finalized. You can view our updated timeline here [8] as well as an updated FAQ section [9] that addresses topics like the goal of this current period, the various components of the draft recommendations, and what’s next in more detail. Finally, I’d like to share that I will be on parental leave for February and March, but Diane Ranville (dranville-ctr@wikimedia.org<mailto:dranville-ctr@wikimedia.org>) as well as other members of the Core Team will be responsive to you until I return. Thank you again for taking the time to join us in community conversations, and I look forward to receiving your input. Happy reading! Warmly, Kelsi [1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme… [2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme… [3] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme… [4] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme… [5] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme… [6] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Recomme… [7] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/People/… [8] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Frequen… [9] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2018-20/Frequen… -- [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/55FmEF402GFwAYg6rA6VdCrquRMQ4xHR1bZm4t7OG…] Kelsi Stine-Rowe Community Relations Specialist, Movement Strategy Wikimedia Foundation<https://wikimediafoundation.org/> "Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment."