[Wikimedia-l] Schedule for FDC Round 2 and guidelines for the process

[Anasuya Sengupta]

*Dear friends and colleagues,

We are gearing up for Round 2 of the FDC process! Thank you for your
support and suggestions through Round 1. Susana Morais, the FDC
Ombudsperson, recently invited the community to offer comments and
suggestions for improving the process, particularly the FDC portal (ease of
navigability, user-friendliness), FDC forms, and the communication with the
FDC members and staff.[1] Please continue to share your thoughts and
experiences with us.
<http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Appeals_regarding_FDC_process>

I am writing to you to remind you of the schedule for Round 2 and the
guidelines for the process.

Schedule
February 15: All entities wishing to apply for Round 2 should complete
their eligibility requirements by e.o.d UTC February 15.[2] Please contact
my colleague Christine Bockneck for any support on this.
March 1: All proposals from eligible entities are due by e.o.d UTC. We have
incorporated feedback from Round 1 to make the proposal form for Round 2
easier to use and navigate, but have been conscious of not making any
substantive changes, so that there is parity between Round 1 and Round 2
applicants. We may well make substantive changes to this form for Year 2
(starting July 2013), and welcome suggestions for that.
March 1-31: Community review period. As the Board representatives to the
FDC (Jan-Bart and Patricio) informed you a few days ago, the Board in
consultation with the FDC approved a two week increase to this period, to
support a more in depth review and response process. Please do comment on
the proposals, as your participation strengthens each entity’s work and our
movement. We know that having the proposals only in English can be a
constraint, and we hope the longer period will help with this as well.
April 8: Posting of the FDC staff assessments.
April 22-24: FDC meeting in Milan.
May 1: Posting of the FDC recommendations.
May 8: Any complaints to the Board representatives from Round 2 applicants
should be posted by this date. [4]
June 1: The Board decision  is posted.

Guidelines
As a reminder, the FDC framework approved last year offered funding
guidelines for eligible entities for the next three years.[5] As
demonstrated by the FDC recommendations of Round 1,[6] the FDC does
consider these guidelines as well as the rationale offered by each entity
for its growth. For Year 1 of the FDC, the guidelines for the requests are
100-120% of the amount in grants or retained from payment processing the
previous year.

To quote from the framework:
“These amounts are not targets; rather, they are guidelines to help
eligible entities plan over the next few years and adjust to the new
funding environment. Eligible entities may request more or less than these
target amounts. The FDC will give a higher level of scrutiny to requests in
excess of these guidelines and to requests from eligible entities whose
year-to-date actual spending is significantly less than their year-to-date
budgeted spending.”

The FDC staff is always available to support eligible entities and
community members; please be in touch with Katy Love, Senior Program
Officer for the FDC (fdcsupport at wikimedia.org) or onwiki:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Questions_for_FDC_staff/2012-2013_round2

We look forward to an engaging Round 2 process.

Warmly,
Anasuya

[1] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Appeals_regarding_FDC_process
[2]
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Eligibility_status/2012-2013_round2
[3] http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Proposal_process
[4]
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/Complaints_regarding_FDC_recommendations_to_the_board
[5]
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Funds_Dissemination_Committee/Framework_for_the_Creation_and_Initial_Operation_of_the_FDC#Special_funding_guidelines_during_transition_to_the_FDC_.282012.E2.80.9314.29
[6]
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/FDC_recommendations/2012-2013_round1
*

-- 
***Anasuya Sengupta
Senior Director of Grantmaking
Wikimedia Foundation*
*
*
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