[Wikimedia-l] Community consultation + Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director selection process

[Jan-Bart de Vreede]

Hey

There is no “community consultation” period in the selection proces. Its simply not feasible or desirable to have someone have a public “vetting” phase. The good news is that you elected representatives on the board who have a strong voice in the selection process and final approval.

Jan-Bart de Vreede
Chair Wikimedia Board of Trustees


On 18 Jan 2014, at 06:58, MZMcBride <z at mzmcbride.com> wrote:

> Hi.
> 
> Is there a community consultation period built in to the selection process
> for a new Wikimedia Foundation Executive Director? If not, should there be?
> 
> In trying to figure out what the selection process may look like, I
> re-reviewed some of the relevant FAQs and timelines:
> 
> * https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Special:Permalink/90968
> * https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Special:Permalink/91132
> * https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:Permalink/7127367
> 
> As I understand the basic process, the Transition Team will ultimately
> find a suitable candidate and will make a recommendation to the Wikimedia
> Foundation Board of Trustees. (Please correct me if this description is
> mistaken... this is largely unchartered territory for Wikimedia.)
> 
> When this recommendation is made and prior to the Board voting, should the
> Wikimedia community have the opportunity to weigh in on the candidate
> Selection prior to final approval? If so, in what way?
> 
> These questions are not meant to suggest that the Wikimedia community and
> the Transition Team have not been working together already (e.g., in
> creating a connectors list, drafting interview questions, etc.).
> 
> While nobody would reasonably argue that every Wikimedia Foundation
> employee be vetted by the Wikimedia community, it seems to me that this
> particular position is unique given its enormous influence in shaping
> Wikimedia's course. As I understand it, the Wikimedia Foundation Board of
> Trustees is (s)elected to ultimately make the choice of who oversees the
> daily operations of the Wikimedia Foundation as Executive Director.
> However, I believe that ensuring that the community is adequately
> consulted is important.
> 
> Relatedly, I've asked the Executive Director Transition Team on-wiki about
> the possibility of more regular status updates on its progress in some
> form (mailing list posts, wiki page updates, etc.).
> 
> MZMcBride
> 
> 
> 
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