Re: [Wikimedia-l] Organizational effectiveness research for Wikimedia organizations

Greetings, Wikimedia colleagues! In November 2014, we launched a pilot self-assessment tool for Wikimedia organizations to help us identify areas where we as Wikimedia organizations might leverage our strengths and address our challenges to achieve better results. We have some aggregate data available from organizations that took the questionnaire. To learn more about organizational effectiveness: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Organizational_effectiveness Review the benchmarking research here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Organizational_effectiveness/Benchmarking Read the case studies here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Organizational_effectiveness/Case_studies Review the results from the tool here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Organizational_effectiveness/Tool/Results/2… *A little background on organizational effectiveness* We are looking at how organizations are achieving impact in the Wikimedia movement. Organizational effectiveness includes all the things that make an organization good at what it does, from strong leadership and systems, to how an organization chooses and does programs that lead to results. Through this lens, we are looking specifically at groups and organizations, so we can understand how volunteers and staff work together when they are part of a group or organization. *Why we care* Improving organizational effectiveness is a way for Wikimedia organizations to achieve results, in ways that make sense in their local contexts. *The tool and the results, in brief* We are exploring this topic of organizational effectiveness in order to launch a broader conversation among Wikimedia organizations (e.g. Chapters, User Groups) to explore areas for building capacity. We have started by doing some initial benchmarking research and case studies to understand how effectiveness is understood within Wikimedia and similar movements, and we launched a pilot organizational effectiveness self-assessment tool, to help organizations identify their strengths and challenges in November 2014. This tool includes a questionnaire that is part of a self-assessment. While individual and organization results are kept confidential, our partners at the TCC Group provided us with some aggregate data based on the first round of answers to the questionnaire that is a part of the tool. The primary purpose of the questionnaire is to aid organizations in their self-assessments, and not to gather data about organizations; however, the data the TCC Group collected may be useful in launching further conversations because it highlights where Wikimedia organizations see their own strengths and challenges. *Next steps for organizational effectiveness for Wikimedia organizations* We are hosting a discussion about the organizational effectiveness tool for Wikimedia organizations at the upcoming Wikimedia Conference in Berlin, and will also continue a discussion there about the future of organizational effectiveness for Wikimedia organizations. Topics to explore within organizational effectiveness might include areas like volunteer engagement, raising funds and other resources, supporting online contributors, media relations, financial management, governance, etc. *Key questions:* *What future work are we interested in doing together around organizational effectiveness? *Is a self-assessment tool useful for organizations? Should we gather feedback and work toward improving the tool, or try another approach? Does the tool need to remain confidential? *Are there specific topics in the area of organizational effectiveness that need more exploration? Are there areas where we need more resources? *Is there anything important revealed by this research or the results of the questionnaire that we can use to better understand how we can grow? *Call to action:* Please offer your feedback, thoughts, and questions on Meta, or participate in the upcoming discussions at the Wikimedia Conference. If you are interested in discussing this work, or becoming more involved, but are unable to attend the session at the conference, we are happy to convene a hangout or an IRC office hours. Please also feel welcome to contact me directly if you have ideas about this work, or add your ideas to Meta. Many thanks to our colleagues Marieke Spence, Rika Gorn, and Deepti Sood, at the TCC Group (a consulting firm that specializes in organizational assessments), who created the tool and analyzed the results. Many thanks to the volunteers and staff who participated, and have provided feedback so far. Thanks especially to those organizations participating in the pilot group, the case studies, and in the ongoing conversations about organizational development and effectiveness at Wikimania and other movement events. We look forward to more work together in this area! Best regards, Winifred Olliff -- Winifred Olliff Program Officer Wikimedia Foundation _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/GuidelinesWikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>