Grants:APG/Proposals/2013-2014 round1/Wikimedia Deutschland e.V./Progress report form/Q2

Add links
From Meta, a Wikimedia project coordination wiki



Purpose of the report[edit]

This form is for organizations receiving Annual Plan Grants to report on their results to date. For progress reports, the time period for this report will the first 6 months of each grant (e.g. 1 January - 30 June of the current year). For impact reports, the time period for this report will be the full 12 months of this grant, including the period already reported on in the progress report (e.g. 1 January - 31 December of the current year). This form includes four sections, addressing global metrics, program stories, financial information, and compliance. Please contact APG/FDC staff if you have questions about this form, or concerns submitting it by the deadline. After submitting the form, organizations will also meet with APG staff to discuss their progress.

Global metrics overview - all programs[edit]

We are trying to understand the overall outcomes of the work being funded across our grantees' programs. Please use the table below to let us know how your programs contributed to the Global Metrics. We understand not all Global Metrics will be relevant for all programs, so feel free to put "0" where necessary. For each program include the following table and

  1. Next to each required metric, list the outcome achieved for all of your programs included in your proposal.
  2. Where necessary, explain the context behind your outcome.
  3. In addition to the Global Metrics as measures of success for your programs, there is another table format in which you may report on any OTHER relevant measures of your programs success

For more information and a sample, see Global Metrics.

Overall[edit]

Metric Achieved outcome Explanation
1. # of active editors involved
2. # of new editors
3. # of individuals involved
4. # of new images/media added to Wikimedia articles/pages
5. # of articles added or improved on Wikimedia projects
6. Absolute value of bytes added to or deleted from Wikimedia projects


Telling your program stories - all programs[edit]

Please tell the story of each of your programs included in your proposal. This is your chance to tell your story by using any additional metrics (beyond global metrics) that are relevant to your context, beyond the global metrics above. You should be reporting against the targets you set at the beginning of the year throughout the year. We have provided a template here below for you to report against your targets, but you are welcome to include this information in another way. Also, if you decided not to do a program that was included in your proposal or added a program not in the proposal, please explain this change. More resources for storytelling are at the end of this form. Here are some ways to tell your story.

  • We encourage you to share your successes and failures and what you are learning. Please also share why are these successes, failures, or learnings are important in your context. Reference learning patterns or other documentation.
  • Make clear connections between your offline activities and online results, as applicable. For example, explain how your education program activities is leading to quality content on Wikipedia.
  • We encourage you to tell your story in different ways by using videos, sound files, images (photos and infographics, e.g.), compelling quotes, and by linking directly to work you produce. You may highlight outcomes, learning, or metrics this way.
  • We encourage you to continue using dashboards, progress bars, and scorecards that you have used to illustrate your progress in the past, and to report consistently over time.
  • You are welcome to use the table below to report on any metrics or measures relevant to your program. These may or may not include the global metrics you put in the overview section above. You can also share your progress in another way if you do not find a table like this useful.
Target Last year (if applicable) Progress (at end of Q2) End of year (projected or actual) Comments
Example Example Example Example Example

Revenues received during this period (6 month for progress report, 12 months for impact report)[edit]

Please use the exchange rate in your APG proposal.

Table 2 Please report all spending in the currency of your grant unless US$ is requested.

  • Please also include any in-kind contributions or resources that you have received in this revenues table. This might include donated office space, services, prizes, food, etc. If you are to provide a monetary equivalent (e.g. $500 for food from Organization X for service Y), please include it in this table. Otherwise, please highlight the contribution, as well as the name of the partner, in the notes section.
Revenue source Currency Anticipated Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Cumulative Anticipated ($US)* Cumulative ($US)* Explanation of variances from plan
A B C D E F G H I J K

* Provide estimates in US Dollars


Spending during this period (6 month for progress report, 12 months for impact report)[edit]

Please use the exchange rate in your APG proposal.

Table 3 Please report all spending in the currency of your grant unless US$ is requested.

(The "budgeted" amount is the total planned for the year as submitted in your proposal form or your revised plan, and the "cumulative" column refers to the total spent to date this year. The "percentage spent to date" is the ratio of the cumulative amount spent over the budgeted amount.)
Expense Currency Budgeted Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Cumulative Budgeted ($US)* Cumulative ($US)* Percentage spent to date Explanation of variances from plan
A B C D E F G H I J J2 K
TOTAL B C D E F G H I J J2 N/A

* Provide estimates in US Dollars


Compliance[edit]

Is your organization compliant with the terms outlined in the grant agreement?[edit]

As required in the grant agreement, please report any deviations from your grant proposal here. Note that, among other things, any changes must be consistent with our WMF mission, must be for charitable purposes as defined in the grant agreement, and must otherwise comply with the grant agreement.

Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement? Please answer "Yes" or "No".

Are you in compliance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Grant funds as outlined in the grant agreement? Please answer "Yes" or "No".

Signature[edit]

Once complete, please sign below with the usual four tildes.

Resources[edit]

Resources to plan for measurement[edit]

Resources for storytelling[edit]


Basic entity information[edit]

Table 1

Entity information Legal name of entity Wikimedia Deutschland e.V.
Entity's fiscal year (mm/dd–mm/dd) 01/01-12/31
12 month timeframe of funds awarded (mm/dd/yy-mm/dd/yy) 01/01/14-31/12/14
Contact information (primary) Primary contact name Pavel Richter
Primary contact position in entity Executive Director
Primary contact username User:Pavel Richter (WMDE)
Primary contact email pavel.richter@wikimedia.de
Contact information (secondary) Secondary contact name Kasia Odrozek
Secondary contact position in entity Consultant to the Executive Director
Secondary contact username User: Kasia Odrozek (WMDE)
Secondary contact email kasia.odrozek@wikimedia.de


Overview of this quarter[edit]

The purpose of this section is to provide a brief overview of this report. Please use no more than 1-2 paragraphs to address the questions outlined below. You will have an opportunity to address these questions in detail elsewhere in this report.

Pavel Richter greeting guests at WMDE (photo: WMDE, CC-BY-SA 4.0)

CHANGES: Please describe how you changed your plans and budget based on the FDC allocation approved by the Board in December 2012, and your rationale for these changes. You can then use the changed plans and budget as the basis on which to report back on the first quarter.

Full house: an event at WMDE's open spaces(photo: Tjane Hartenstein (WMDE), CC-BY-SA 4.0)
  • There is now a large number of events taking place at the premises of Wikimedia Deutschland. We view this as a great success. However, holding and supporting events ties up a great deal of personnel resources that were not allocated during the planning phase. Up to now it has been possible to compensate for this by streamlining work processes, but there is a need for improvement.

HIGHLIGHTS: What were 1–2 important highlights of the past quarter? (These may include successes, challenges, lessons learned.)

  • The “Lokal:K” has now opened in Cologne as a first external community support base with a fixed location. Another, smaller community support base has been opened in Hanover. These bases complement the organization’s own Community Space in Berlin. Such locations offer new opportunities, particularly in the areas of outreach, networking and collaboration, by providing a base for meetings, events and cooperation. The local communities have initiated these locations, with support from Wikimedia Deutschland, and they operate them largely independently.
New Community base "Lokal K" in Cologne (photo: Raimond Spekking, CC-BY-SA 4.0
  • Significant progress has been made with Wikimedia Deutschland’s community funding systems and processes. Wikimedia Deutschland’s volunteer funding program has been codified through the publication of the funding guidelines, which were developed in a collaborative process. The Free Knowledge Funding Program (FFW), which has replaced the Community Project Budget, has also begun its activities: an ideas portal has been launched at http://ffw.wikimedia.de/ that offers more advanced functions for developing large projects and is also deliberately aimed at people outside the core community. The first three projects are already underway. The revision of the funding guidelines and the start of the FFW clearly show that for developing administrative cooperation principles, collaborative processes closely coordinated with the community are essential and highly effective.
  • From May 9-11, 2014, the entire software development team of Wikimedia Deutschland (WMDE) attended the annual meeting of the Wikimedia developer community, the Wikimedia Hackathon, in Zurich. In addition to a round table with the new Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation, Lila Tretikov, many technical topics were discussed with colleagues from San Francisco and the international MediaWiki Open Source Development Community. These included the further development of Wikidata, collaborative tools for software development and the exchange of best practices. All in all it was a very valuable, collaborative and productive event.
WMDE's Mathias Schindler with the Data Pump at re:publica (photo: WMDE, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
  • At 2014 re:publica, Europe's leading conference on internet and society, WMDE firmly established itself as an actor within the digital society. In particular, with the Data Pump, WMDE has created a permanent show-piece for visualizing open data and free knowledge. So far we have received several requests from interested organizations (e.g. the Office of the Berlin Senate, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior) that would like to exhibit the Data Pump at their own events. In this way, WMDE can further strengthen its visibility and extend its reach as an expert contact in the field of free knowledge.

WIKI-FOCUS: What Wikimedia projects was your entity focused on (e.g., Wiki Commons, French Wiktionary) this quarter?

  • German-language Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia projects involving the German and European legal areas

GROWTH: How did your entity grow over the past quarter vs. the previous quarter (e.g., Number of active editors reached/involved/added, number of articles created, number of events held, number of partipants reached through workshops)?

  • Members: 11,410 (1,877 active members and 9,533 sustaining members; as of June 25, 2014).

Financial summary[edit]

The FDC requires information about how your entity received and spent money over the past year. The FDC distributes general funds, so your entity is not required to use funds exactly as outlined in the proposal. While line-item expenses will not be examined, the FDC and movement wants to understand why the entity spent money in the way it did. If variance in budgeted vs. actual is greater than 20%, please provide explanation in more detail. This helps the FDC understand the rationale behind any significant changes. Note that any changes from the Grant proposal, among other things, must be consistent with the WMF mission, must be for charitable purposes as defined in the grant agreement, must be reported to WMF, and must otherwise comply with the grant agreement. The WMF mission is "to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally."

Revenues for this quarter[edit]

Provide exchange rate used: 1EUR = $1,35

Table 2 Please report all spending in the currency of your grant unless US$ is requested.

  • Please also include any in-kind contributions or resources that you have received in this revenues table. This might include donated office space, services, prizes, food, etc. If you are to provide a monetary equivalent (e.g. $500 for food from Organization X for service Y), please include it in this table. Otherwise, please highlight the contribution, as well as the name of the partner, in the notes section.
Revenue source Currency Anticipated Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Cumulative Anticipated ($US)* Cumulative ($US)* Explanation of variances from plan
Transfers from the Wikimedia Fördergesellschaft (direct donations to WMDE) EUR 2,104,000 1,600,575 0 1,600,575 2,160,776.25 2,160,776.25
Funds from the FDC EUR 1,296,000 1,296,000 0 1,296,000 1,749,600 1,749,600
Carry forward from 2013 EUR 500,000 500,000 0 500,000 675,000 675,000
Membership fees EUR 490,000 386,662 12,105 398,767 538,335.45 538,335.45
Third-party funding EUR 390,000 0 0 0 0 0
Other EUR 90,000 48 152,037 152,085 205,314.75 205,314.75 Among others: repayment of unused Wikimedia Conference 2013 funds from WMIT, reimbursement of security deposit for the old office, various small grants and reimbursements. In addition, 2013 WMDE inherited funds of which 34.000 Euro have been paid out in Q2. Due to a complex legal situation, it is still uncertain how much more will be received and when.
TOTAL EUR 4,870,000 3,783,285 164,142 3,947,427 6,574,500 5,329,026.45

* Provide estimates in US Dollars


Spending during this quarter[edit]

Table 3 Please report all spending in the currency of your grant unless US$ is requested.

(The "budgeted" amount is the total planned for the year as submitted in your proposal form or your revised plan, and the "cumulative" column refers to the total spent to date this year. The "percentage spent to date" is the ratio of the cumulative amount spent over the budgeted amount.)
Expense Currency Budgeted Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Cumulative Budgeted ($US)* Cumulative ($US)* Percentage spent to date Explanation of variances from plan
Volunteer Support: More attractive funding mechanisms EUR 30,000 413.5 0 413.5 40,500 558.22 1.38% Most of the projects will start in Qs 3 and 4. In addition, part of the costs will be regrouped into the following expense item. General remark: a more accurate and realistic funds allocation in the community support area will be delivered together with the adjusted budget in Q3.
Volunteer Support: Free content from volunteer projects EUR 110,000 45,009.08 52,242.83 97,251.91 148,500 131,290.07 88.41% Part of the costs will be regrouped from the previous expense item. General remark: a more accurate and realistic funds allocation in the community support area will be delivered together with the adjusted budget in Q3.
Community Empowerement: Stronger initiatives and social processes EUR 595,000 8,273.01 56,174.44 64,447.45 803,250 87,004.05 10.83% Most of the freelance costs installements in the education & knowledge area will arise in the second part of the year. General remark: a more accurate and realistic funds allocation in the community support area will be delivered together with the adjusted budget in Q3.
Community Empowerent: Proccesses for improvement of structures EUR 7,000 618.8 411.6 1,030.4 9,450 1,391.04 14.72% General remark: a more accurate and realistic funds allocation in the community support area will be delivered together with the adjusted budget in Q3.
Institutional Partnerships : Declarations of intent to making free content available EUR 41,500 99.76 92.71 192.47 56,025 259.83 0.46% Freelance costs installements will arise in the second part of the year.
Institutional Partnerships: Free content and best practises from institutional partnerships EUR 25,000 49.95 15,100.67 15,150.62 33,750 20,453.33 60.60%
Legal and Social Framework: Strengthening advocacy capacities EUR 38,000 8,069.97 15,568.7 23,638.67 51,300 31,912.20 62.21%
Legal and Social Framework: Being perceived as an advocate EUR 135,000 1,322.14 12,574.79 13,896.93 182,250 18,760.85 10.29% The major activities (OER Conference and OER alliance) will take place in the second part of the year therefore respective revenues and spending will occur in Qs 3 and 4.
Legal and Social Framework: Regulations and incentive systems EUR 0 0 0 0 0 0 There are only personell costs planned for this item.
Wikidata EUR 29,000 6,810.85 12,787.55 19,598.4 39,150 26,457.84 67.58% Please note: As compared to Q1 we have regrouped 10.000 Euro into this item from the Project Overhead to accomodate the Wikimania and Hackathon costs.
Cross-departiamental projects EUR 42,500 13,659.03 27,256.67 40,915.7 57,375 55,236.19 96.27% Most of the projects in this item (re:publica, Zedler price) have been completed already. The event series Digital Competencies has started in the end of june hence costs will occur in teh second half of the year.
Community Project Budget rest disbursement from 2013 EUR 12,000 0 0 0 16,200 0 0.00% The invoices of the project are still being processed and the costs are expected to occur in the second half of the year.
Project Overhead Team Community EUR 15,000 3,330.43 11,196.52 14,526.95 20,250 19,611.38 96.85% General remark: a more accurate and realistic funds allocation in the community support area will be delivered together with the adjusted budget in Q3.
Project Overhead Politics & Society Department EUR 15,000 569.69 3,291.39 3,861.08 20,250 5,212.45 25.74%
Project Overhead Team Education & Knowledge Department EUR 15,000 1,247.77 3,053.61 4,301.38 20,250 5,806.86 28.68%
Project Overhead Software EUR 5,000 267.5 483.16 750.66 6,750 1,013.39 15.01% Please note: As compared to Q1 we have regrouped 10.000 Euro from this item to Wikidata to accomodate the Wikimania and Hackathon costs.
Administration EUR 700,000 170,648.71 226,119.99 396,768.7 945,000 535,637.74 56.68%
Public relations EUR 220,000 13,555.37 36,016.07 49,571.44 297,000 66,921.44 22.53% Allocation of Communications resources depends on WMDE projects, because PR support is directed at those. Given that final allocation comes with finalized projects, there is a recurring non-linear budget curve for PR expenditure: Q1 see comparatively little expenses, while Qs 2 through 4 see overproportional expenses.
Fundraising WMFG + WMDE EUR 240,000 46,035.57 70,636.53 116,672.1 324,000 157,507.33 48.61%
International affairs EUR 130,000 7,052.82 68,341.21 75,394.03 175,500 101,781.94 58.00% The spending will be smaller than planned. A precise projection will be delivered with the adjusted budget within the Q3 report. This item comprises the costs of Wikimania Conference (approx. 52.000 Euro). However the costs will be entirely reimbursed by the WMF in the following quarter.
Evaluation EUR 80,000 2,268.16 3,790.59 6,058.75 108,000 8,179.31 7.57% The evaluation unit budget will be adjusted as the material costs were regruped into personal costs (initially planned as freelance costs). A precise projection will be delivered along with the adjusted budget in Q3.
Eventmanagement EUR 10,000 2,615.92 3,091.64 5,707.56 13,500 7,705.20 57.08%
Supervisory Board EUR 90,000 10,746.74 32,075.18 42,821.92 121,500 57,809.59 47.58%
Personnel costs WMDE EUR 2,525,000 591,238.24 568,310.66 1,159,548.9 3,408,750 1,565,391.01 45.92%
Personnel costs WMFG EUR 200,000 29,629.68 46,551.27 76,180.95 270,000 102,844.28 38.09%
TOTAL EUR 5,310,000 963,532.69 1,265,167.78 2,228,700.47 6,903,000 2,897,310.61 41.97%

* Provide estimates in US Dollars


Comments on the finance section:

  • Note: As usual, we will use the financial statements and learnings from Q 1-2 to adjust the departmental budgets and the organizational budget. Staff is currently working on this and we will present it in our Q3 report.
  • Note: We report the figures available from the Accounting Department at the time this report is produced; we then correct the information retrospectively in the next quarter report should there be any discrepancies due to subsequent accounting. However, we state that we do not expect any major discrepancies, as only a booking period of approximately two weeks needs to be added, as well as any invoices that are submitted late.
  • Note: Some projects are intended to contribute to more than one change model. In this case the project costs are to be found within the change model where the focus of the project lies.
  • The project overhead items comprise project coordination costs of the whole department e.g. external meetings, legal consulting and other.
  • Cross departmental project costs comprise projects costs of the event series "ABC of Free Knowledge", the Zedler Prize for Free Knowledge, presence at external conference 2014 re:publica and the re-use tool(see "miscellaneous" in the progress report).

Progress toward this year's goals/objectives[edit]

This section addresses the impact of the programs / initiatives* and objectives your entity has implemented over the past quarter and the progress your entity is making toward meeting this year's goals. We understand that some metrics may not be applicable in this quarterly report, so please add metrics here if they are applicable.

*In the past, the FDC has used the term 'initiative', but we are using the term 'program.'

Program 1: Volunteer Support[edit]

More attractive funding mechanisms
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • Volunteers have found contact with Wikimedia Deutschland helpful.
Indicators
  • The number of support requests that have been approved
  • The number of volunteers whose requests for support has been approved
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?
  • The new community funding guidelines have been published only recently, as a result it is not possible at the time of this writing to measure any related changes. However, the community has accepted the guidelines and accepts the opportunity to participate in continuous improvement of the guidelines. This empowerment measure will help prevent situations which might lead to conflict.
Activities conducted.
  • Please see the table below
What worked and what did not?
  • The completed guidelines were forwarded to the WMDE Supervisory Board for additional feedback, resulting in their final publication taking place later than originally planned. In the future, this planning step will be taken into account when scheduling.

Any additional details: Draft guidelines:

Article in Kurier: Funding guidelines available:

Funding portal:


Activities conducted
Keywords Measures Activities
Resources Improving opportunities for volunteers to plan and coordinate projects as autonomously as possible
  • Further progress was made with the expansion and re-launch of the community funding portal, which ensures that all relevant information on the topic of funding is easy to find and clearly structured. In addition to the funding guidelines and details of the individual funding programs the portal includes a section with templates for applications, plus a FAQ and help page. Over 1,000 page visits to the funding portal during the quarter serve as evidence that this resource has been well-received.
Funding Drafting of funding guidelines in collaboration with the community
  • Following the drafting of funding guidelines for the volunteer support budget in collaboration with the community, the guidelines were completed and published. They are now officially in use, allowing volunteers to access an easy-to-understand overview of the funding available to them. Because the community is constantly changing and bringing in new ideas, the guidelines will never be finally complete; so a permanent yet flexible participatory development process has also been established.
Free content from volunteer projects
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • Volunteers have contributed to free knowledge as part of the Wikimedia movement.
Indicators
  • Type, quantity and quality of the free knowledge.
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?
  • While the Funding Program for Free Knowledge (FFW) is still being set up, the first project ideas have already been submitted. Three of these are already being developed, and work on the proposed project 'Videos for Wikipedia Articles (VWA)' is in progress. VWA is operated by an interdisciplinary team made up of active, video-loving Wikipedia volunteers, film makers and scientists. The project was initiated by Grundversorgung 2.0 at the Centre for Digital Cultures at Leuphana University of Lüneburg and is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research as part of the Science Year 2014.
  • 12,052 (+11.4%) media files were created and uploaded to Wikimedia Commons with Wikimedia Deutschland’s support.
Activities conducted.
  • Please see the table below
What worked and what did not?
  • The Videos for Wikipedia project was able to successfully access external matching funds thanks to WMDE providing project consultation, community communication and meeting space.
  • Project planning in collaboration with volunteer Wikimedia contributors is working well.
  • So far, project implementation is still largely carried out by external project partners.
  • Similar experience with the accompanying working group: joint discussions and setting the general course of action works well but only a few get involved in the actual implementation.

Any additional details:


Activities conducted
Keywords Measures Activities
Funding Drafting of funding guidelines in collaboration with the community
  • The on-boarding of an additional staff member has made it possible to process funding applications more quickly since June.
  • The following individual funding grants were made:
    • Setting up e-mail addresses for volunteers: 7
    • Printing business cards for volunteers: 8
    • Literature scholarships: 29
    • eLitstips: 1
    • Travel grants: 62
    • Travel cost reimbursements: 65
    • Total number of applications processed: 634 292 (corrected value, see Talkpage)
Funding Program for Free Knowledge Setting up a funding program for external projects relating to Free Knowledge
  • The third working meeting on the Funding Program for Free Knowledge took place in May, attended by seven volunteers. For this occasion, the Lokal K location in Cologne was made available by the community that runs it. Following the meeting, the prototype of the Ideas Portal went online at ffw.wikimedia.de. It features real project ideas to test and comment on, and includes the opportunity to contribute own ideas.


Stronger initiatives and social processes
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.

A change model will be developed in 2014:

  • Initiatives and social processes from within the Wikimedia Movement are stronger.
Indicators

A change model will be developed in 2014:

  • Which topics/initiatives/discourses did WMDE support?
  • What needs did we identify in the topics/initiatives/discourses supported?
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?

Increased integrability of Wikimedia projects:

  • The coaching session with a volunteer on holding a Wiki Dialogue (cMOOC) enabled the volunteers to hold a Wiki Dialogue on the topic of “Quality in Wikipedia”. This first Wiki Dialogue will serve as an example for further dialogues and has strengthened the position of the Wiki Dialogue platform (based on the cMOOC concept) within the Wikipedia community. It has also created a concept which can be applied to further Wiki Dialogues, hopefully encouraging volunteers to carry out their own Wiki Dialogues. The cMOOC format is very good for constructive, solution-oriented dialogue and networking on the topic of quality; it provides a time-limited, structured platform which is proving suitable for the solution-oriented exchange of views on other topics as well.
  • Women Edit: The first “WikiWomen” weekend advanced the organizational level on the topic of “Diversity and Wikipedia” to the stage of setting up a network for female multipliers. Participants got to know each other, exchanging views on working in a network and developing ideas for future projects. Network participants – all women – have also initiated and implemented the first pilot project (an edit-a-thon), gaining experience in implementing project ideas in the process. WMDE’s options for funding volunteer projects were presented through a practical example.

Improving local cooperation:

  • Local efforts in Berlin: The community events in Berlin (Open Editing, Women Edit (see above), Wikipedian Salon) became even more firmly established in the local communities as regular series of events with consistent attendance levels. From April to June the numbers of participants were 8-9 for each event, more or less matching the first quarter average. At these events, articles were edited, views exchanged and issues around the use or editing of Wikipedia were discussed in a collegial, supportive atmosphere. The Open Editing concept was taken up by three other cities in Germany and Austria. As a supplement to the monthly Open Editing meeting in Berlin, the first Open Data-Loading took place in June where participants jointly made free media data available for Wikimedia Commons. This additional volunteer event arose from within the community; it addresses both authors and media professionals as a new target group.
  • Local efforts in Cologne: WMDE has rented a space in Cologne and covers the associated set-up and ongoing costs. This gives the local community the chance to work together face to face, to organize and carry out their own meetings and events and to work actively for free knowledge. Since the location was set up, regular events have been held, promoting the collaboration, exchange and networking of the local volunteers.

Improving cooperation within the German-language Wikimedia movement:

  • WikiCon: With the support from Wikimedia Deutschland, the annual community conference will be held this year again; it will, once again, be organized by a volunteer team. The WikiCon organizing team was able to define certain areas of responsibility such as program planning and registration process themselves and then request complementary support for particular areas from WMDE. For example, Wikimedia Deutschland provided technical support for the registration procedure and supported the plannig team process through consulting and mediation. Wikimedia Deutschland also made its expertise in event management available to the volunteers. Thanks to the consolidated structure of the organizing team, concrete plans already exist for WikiCon 2015; subject to the agreement of other European Chapters, this is to take the form of an international meeting of active Wikimedia project staff in Strasbourg in the fall of 2015. The focus will be on Wikimedia Projects in the “minor languages”.
  • Wikimania: 47 Wikimania travel stipends were awarded, accompanied by information, allowing community members to take part in the event and strengthen their role in the international movement. The grant recipients are now actively involved in preparing a mailing list and have held a preparatory workshop where they can bring together their interests and expectations of the international event, preparing them to take part in a targeted, result-oriented manner.

International collaboration:

  • Chapters Dialogue: The Chapters Dialogue is intended both to encourage networking within the movement and to enable participating organizations to exchange their knowledge and experience. The findings of the process are also intended to help participants make informed decisions and consider other people’s points of view. The questions and discussions following the final presentation show that some of these inputs have already started to make an impact. The presentation was referred to in various sessions at the Wikimedia Conference; groups such as the Affiliations Committee or the new Initiative for Organizational Effectiveness have expressed strong interest to use the findings. The project’s impact will be evaluated once the report and final film have been published.
  • Wikimedia Conference: In addition to focusing on particular topics, the purpose of the conference was to promote networking among the movement’s participants. This reduced tensions which had arisen from online communication, led to new contacts being formed and existing ones deepened, and joint projects were initiated. The program included the presentation of best practice examples and sharing experiences of collaboration in individual projects and in the movement as a whole. Some contributions and discussions helped participants to develop an understanding of the others’ points of view (e.g. sessions with the WMF Board and the FDC). A more detailed analysis will be provided in Q3 after a complete analysis of participant questionnaires.
  • Wikimania (WMDE): In our preparations for participation in 2014 Wikimania, we aim to contribute to the movement on the level of political and programmatic issues. For many projects, Wikimania is an important milestone in terms of annual targets. The primary purpose of our participation is networking, sharing ideas and initiating or reinforcing partnerships. We also aim to gain knowledge about the movement’s structures, activities and targets and to improve the WMDE staff’s confidence in the international context.

Improved support on the part of WMDE:

  • Toolserver: Thanks to a proactive information policy and active technical support, it was possible to motivate the developers of the programs provided on the Toolserver to migrate; they are now moving to a more stable environment with their programs as scheduled. The small amount of the consultations requested and feedback provided in the usual discussion forums is evidence that most of the developers’ and users’ questions were answered in good time.
  • Newbies/Teahouse: A lively project discussion has begun within the community.
  • Funding Program for Free Knowledge: Several project ideas have already been submitted, even though the Funding Program is still being set up. Three of these project ideas are in the development phase; work on one (Videos for Wikipedia) is already in progress.

Software improvement:

  • Technical wish list: WMDE’s software development team tackled the structured tasks with the input of one volunteer. The first “wishes” on the list were addressed successfully and further tasks from the agreed Top 20 list are being addressed. The WMDE development team is trying to achieve as much continuity as possible in working through the Top 20 list and is delighted with the community’s collaboration on this project. In future, the communication in this project is to be further reinforced by the volunteer support team (Community Liaison).

Improving legal certainty:

  • Legal advice: A few inquiries about the JBB report relating to the legal status of logos in DE-WP (see Q1). Commissioning of a further analysis of the consequences the European Court of Justice decision on the “right to be forgotten” could have on demands for content to be deleted in the WP based on data protection legislation. WMDE has already informed both the legislature and the community of possible consequences to user-generated content projects: http://blog.wikimedia.de/2012/10/17/datenschutz-vom-vergessen-und-vergessenwerden/
Staff
  • Volunteers: 52 in total
    • Eight volunteers are members of the core team of Lokal K in Cologne; they are responsible for organizing and running the location.
    • Ten volunteers are members of the WikiCon organizing team.
    • 17 volunteers took part in preparing the Kurier special edition on Wikimania.
    • Two volunteers are helping to organize the pre-Wikimania workshop.
    • One volunteer community member translated the Wikimedia Foundation’s survey on MediaViewer.
    • Two women helped organize the edit-a-thon; five attended the WikiWomen network meeting.
    • One volunteer organized the first Wiki Dialogue.
    • One volunteer is on the program team; six are involved in documentation and local support.
  • Paid staff: Please see the FTE table below
Activities conducted.
  • Please see the table below
What worked and what did not?
  • The Wikimania grant recipients received their grants in good time, enabling them to plan their projects well in advance. Because there were so many high-quality applications, the grant contingent was subsequently increased from 35 to 47. Wikimedia Deutschland as a Chapter allocated the grants according to its own criteria for the first time. However, the lack of participation by the community in the selection process was criticized; in future, the process will take place even earlier to avoid this problem.
  • Wikimedia Deutschland facilitated the WikiCon organizing team’s work through mediation and moderation, helping the volunteers to jointly develop collaboration strategies.
  • The first Wiki Dialogue (on quality) went very well. The cMOOC format is being received well and promotes a very constructive, solution-oriented discussion culture. This is also due to the topic - quality - which is of great interest to the community. It is important that the opportunity to collaborate is openly structured, while also making it sufficiently low-threshold that people can collaborate without conceptual preparation.
  • Women Edit: The first edit-a-thon was successful, thanks to the experienced volunteer Silvia Stieneker who ran the event together with newbies, ensuring the transfer of knowledge of WMDE funding criteria and of how to organize such events. Finding participants for the WikiWomen network and finding a date for the first network meeting took up a lot of time.
  • Chapters Dialogue: The final presentation at the Wikimedia Conference was attended by 120 people – a full house. It enabled participants to examine the movement as a whole, including a wide range of different viewpoints. Afterwards it nevertheless became clear that the “State of Wikimedia” is so complex that a continuation cannot be usefully prepared without continuing to pursue the structured, coordinated approach. Unfortunately we did not schedule enough time for the documentation, so we were not able to publish the report and the final film in Q2.
  • Wikimedia Conference: The collaboration with the Wikimedia Foundation and the professional communication and organization by our event team worked well. The strict division of responsibilities (logistics: WMDE; programs: international program team) should have been more clearly communicated in advance. As it was, expectations of the program team and those of the participants themselves at the event itself were not clear to all those involved. Equally, not all participants were in favor of the program team’s decision to focus the conference content mainly on the organizational structure and the future of the movement and less on reporting the content of individual projects or programs. However, a majority of the participants at the final event were in favor of continuing to hold the conference and against major alterations to the participant structure. The final assessment will take place in Q3 when the participant questionnaires have been evaluated.
  • Wikimania: we are represented in the program with 10 out of 15 program contributions.

Any additional details: Wikimania:

WikiCon:

Toolserver:

Mediaviewer:

Women Edit:

Wiki-Dialog (cMOOC): Project page:

First Wiki Dialogue:

Chapters Dialogue:

Session on WMCON:

Blog contribution by María Sefidari:

Wikimedia Conference:

Newspaper article in Tagesspiegel (print and online):

Radio Interview (Deutschlandradio Kultur):


Activities conducted
Keywords Measures Activities
Wiki Dialogue (cMOOC) Increased integrability of Wikimedia projects In a coaching session with two interested volunteers, the concept for the first Wiki Dialogue on the topic of quality was developed. The first Wiki Dialogue was started in June by a volunteer and continued until the end of June. The activities of Wikimedia Deutschland took place in the background during this period. Comprehensive discussions took place on the discussion pages and there were two meetings in the IRC chat. Twitter was used to spread the word about the discussions to non-participants.
Women Edit (Developing women’s networks within the Wikipedia community) Increased integrability of Wikimedia projects Women Edit is a regular monthly meeting at which a group of women authors meet to engage with issues relating to Wikipedia. A core group of about ten participants attend the meetings with a further ten attending occasionally. Arising out of this series of events, the group of volunteer women multipliers, WikiWomen, carried out its first autonomous pilot project, independently of Wikimedia Deutschland: the first edit-a-thon on the topic of “Women in Science” took place locally and was streamed live. A total of 13 articles were newly created or considerably expanded. The WikiWomen network met for the first time for a two-day workshop to discuss the network’s work and possible pilot projects. Five women took part.
Newbies (facilitating the work of volunteers who support new volunteers) Increased integrability of Wikimedia projects

The selection process for a job posting is taking place to develop a help function in the navigation toolbar for Wikipedia newcomers. The project page has been moved to the public Wikipedia namespace.

Local efforts (making local venues available for direct exchange and collaborative work) Improvement of local collaboration

A local community space was set up in Cologne as a pilot project by a group of volunteers jointly with Wikimedia Deutschland. Wikimedia Deutschland has rented the space and covers the set-up and running costs.

Funding Program for Free Knowledge Supporting free knowledge ideas and projects

A funding portal was set up at http://ffw.wikimedia.de/ where ideas and funding applications can be submitted. A further meeting on the development of the funding program was held in Cologne, attended by six volunteers.

WikiCon (Organizational support for the main community conference in German-speaking countries) Improvement of collaboration in the German-speaking Wikimedia movement

The WikiCon organizing team held three planning meetings for the supra-regional community meeting.

WMF Techkomm Volunteer Support and WMF software developers work together productively

An additional position was created in the volunteer support department for the communication, dissemination and support of technical innovations in Wikimedia projects, marking the development of a new field of work. The first step was a review process to identify problem areas, contact partners and other stakeholders and to analyze existing comparable processes such as the test phase of the Article Feedback Tool or the introduction of Echo (notifications). With this new field of work, it was possible to inform the community in good time about the impending introduction of the Media Viewer; they were also encouraged to take part in the process and supported in doing so. The survey on Media Viewer was translated by a voluntary member of the volunteer support department and disseminated by Wikimedia Deutschland through various channels. The German-speaking community’s feedback was passed on to the Wikimedia Foundation to ensure that its voice was heard. The German-speaking community’s lively and constructive participation in the discussion on Media Viewer, chaired by Wikimedia Deutschland, was demonstrated in over 900 comments.

Chapters Dialogue International collaboration

The interview phase was completed in Q1; in Q2 the findings were synthesized and prepared for presentation at the Wikimedia Conference in early April. Around 120 people (Chapter, WMF, AffCom, FDC) attended the final presentation at the conference; around 50 took part in the follow-on session on the second day of the conference. A large number of conversations and discussions also took place on the sidelines, addressing the findings and the issues arising from them and ways of continuing the project. 90 interviews are available as audio files and transcripts for internal use. Our Facebook page has 250 likes. Nicole Ebber and Kira Krämer produced a final film in Q2 and have prepared the written report; these will be published in Q3.

Wikimedia Conference WMCON International collaboration

Nicole Ebber finalized the program for the Wikimedia Conference (10- 13 April 2014) in agreement with the two moderators, the speakers and the international program team. A total of 30 sessions with around 50 speakers took place. 150 participants from Wikimedia Affiliates, WMF, AffCom and FDC attended the conference. Six WMDE colleagues and two members of the supervisory board gave talks. The volunteer documentation team was able to publish the transcripts of all sessions just a few days after the conference; the speakers and photographers uploaded their presentations and images to the Commons (over 400 files in all). The event team organized the whole event and took care of the participants as well as coordinating the supporting program (e.g. a joint evening meal and get-together in the WMDE offices). The participant questionnaires are currently being analyzed with the help of the evaluation team. The data will be available in Q3.

Wikimania, WMDE Sharing experiences

A two-hour kick-off meeting was held in the Berlin offices to allow WMDE staff and the supervisory board to prepare more thoroughly. First, Nicole Ebber introduced the WMDE participants’ overarching objectives under the motto “Network and Enable”, after which each department presented its plans, identified synergies and planned the programs for their own booths. Wikimedia Deutschland will be represented by a total of 10 program contributions (keynote speeches, talks, participation in panel discussions). The departments and the events team also undertook the travel planning; several Hangouts have also taken place for knowledge transfer and planning the Community Village with Wikimania organizers and other Chapters.

Wikimania, Volunteer Support Improvement of collaboration in the German-speaking Wikimedia movement

47 travel grants for Wikimania have been awarded; the participants were also given advice and organizational support. A collaborative organizational process for a Wikimania preparatory workshop on July 12-13 is currently taking place. All current information on Wikimania will be published in a Kurier special edition. Wikimania Deutschland has gone to great lengths to prepare the grant recipients thoroughly for Wikimania; for example, there is a Wiki page and a special edition of the Wikipedia Kurier with current information and details on the topic. A mailing list has also been set up where participants can exchange views. Wikimedia Deutschland has also provided services for individual grant recipients; for example, WMDE advised some participants on the design of flyers for Wikimania and carried out the registration procedure for others who do not have credit cards.

Toolserver migration (existing tools continue to be available to the community) Improvement of software

The Toolserver migration was facilitated with communication and active support, including offers to write help scripts. The tool supervisors were repeatedly reminded of the migration and back-ups for the accounts were secured. Online consultations in English, primarily intended for the developers, and a German consultation, aimed at the community and users, gave participants and interested observers the chance to clarify issues, apply for assistance and to collaborate with Wikimedia Deutschland in seeking solutions. Information on bugs reported by the community was passed on to the Wikimedia Foundation. Relevant information on the migration was also disseminated in English and German via various channels such as the Kurier, mailing lists and the Village Pump.

Legal advising Improvement of legal certainty

This service was not called upon on the second quarter.

Processes for improvement of structures
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.

A change model will be developed in 2014:

  • Initiatives/social processes have contributed to the improvement of structures in the Wikimedia movement
Indicators

A change model will be developed in 2014:

  • Our observations: What were this quarter’s most important topics/initiatives/social processes for improving the structures within the Wikimedia movement?
  • Our observations: To what extent did work on these topics/initiatives/social processes contribute to the improvement of structures in the Wikimedia movement?
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?
  • The project took place in the first quarter.
  • No further changes took place in the second quarter compared to the first.
Staff
  • Freiwillige:
  • Paid staff: Please see the FTE table below
Activities conducted.
What worked and what did not?

Any additional details:


Program 2: Institutional Partnerships[edit]

Declarations of Intent to makeing free content available
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • Institutions have committed themselves to making free content available.
  • Institutions have developed an understanding of how free knowledge works.
Indicators
  • Type, number and quality of requests
  • Type and number of declarations
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?

Shaping Access: The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation has increased its budget considerably and is more actively involved. This is shown by the fact that they are providing a prestigious location, the Hamburger Bahnhof, for the conference. The event is expanding beyond the region and now has partners from all over Germany. The German Commission for UNESCO has agreed to be the patron. Firm funding commitments have already been made six months before the event. The increased significance and great success of the conference series is reflected in the huge increase in the budget (from €60,000 to €90,000), resulting from the acquisition of new partners.

HIVE Berlin learning network: Images and developments which emerge from the Geek Girls Carrots’ SCRUM workshop will be made available under an open license. As a partner in the network, HIVE Berlin is offering a small financial contribution and the use of its offices. Several possible ideas for collaboration were discussed during the monthly events, e.g. with a Berlin high school.

Science Year 2014: As part of the Science Year, a two-day bar camp on the topic of “Society 2.0” took place Barcamp zum Thema “Gesellschaft 2.0”. The event was carried out jointly with Science in Dialogue and the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society. Ten institutions – ranging from a scientific foundation to a publishing company – were made aware of the topic of free knowledge. The agenda also included the opportunities offered by the web 2.0, from the wiki to cloud computing.

Staff
  • Volunteers: 6 (MS Wissenschaft and Science Year 2014)
  • Paid staff: Please see FTE table below
Activities conducted.
  • Please see the table below
What worked and what did not?

Shaping Access: The cooperation agreement is complete. Formal validation of the cooperation agreement has not gone through precisely on schedule. We are delighted with the number of new partners at this early stage and the financial commitments they have made. The financial plan still has to be consolidated. Wikimedia Deutschland is responsible for designing one of the four program blocks.

Hive: The monthly network-meetups worked well, mostly due to the participating institutions and individuals from the education sector. The "Lightning Talks" Format was well received and led to lively discussions afterwards. However, the network is still too noncommittal, the parties involved change very often, thus impeding the necessary continuity to integrate the subject of Free Knowledge and the Wikimedia projects into the institutional context. There have also been requests to involve more participants with an explicit focus on media education. This is going to be one task of the new freelance project coordinator.

Any additional details:


Activities conducted
Keywords Measures Activities
Shaping Access presents the idea of free knowledge to GLAMs to encourage them to make knowledge freely available in future. Symposium on the cultural and political dimensions of free access to digitized cultural heritage

A conference location was found in Q2. It will take place on November 13 and 14 at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin. Nine partner institutions and a sponsor have already committed themselves. The outline program planning is complete; the topics of the talks will include the continuing use of free content, e.g. from Wikipedia Commons or following the example of the cultural hackathon Coding da Vinci, and on open data legislation in Norway. A save-the-date email and a flyer have also been sent out.

Hive HIVE has helped institutions to develop an understanding of how free knowledge works and of the idea of making knowledge freely available in future.

The HIVE Berlin learning network met in April and June for a network meeting (MeetUps), attended by between 10 and 15 educational institutions and individuals. The first pilot project was set up after the MeetUp in June with HIVE Berlin as a partner: the workshop workshop “Introduction to Scrum” of the Geek Girls Carrots Berlin which took place on June 21. A freelance project coordinator was also appointed to work with the network, to approach and invite educational institutions and to support the initiation of pilot projects. She will plan an end-of-year event in collaboration with the WMDE project team and the partner. Mozilla Foundation.

MS Wissenschaft (MS Science) WMDE is contributing to the floating exhibition with an exhibit on the topic of the digital society. The exhibition will be travelling through Germany and Austria from May to October.

Wikimedia Deutschland organized an event on the MS Wissenschaft in Bremen: “Get on board!” – MS Wissenschaft and Wikipedia in Bremen”; several members of the Bremen Wikipedia group Bremer Wikipedia-Stammtisches took part. Around 30 visitors listened to Bremen university professor Prof. Dr. Jörn Bleck-Neuhaus speak about how scientific writing in WP has changed, based on the WP article on the atom. A short introduction to writing and editing was also given via Live Editing. The Bremen Wikipedia group then presented its work on monuments in Bremen with the QRpedia code and gave a report on the Bremenpedia Bremenpedia. The two-day bar camp event on “Society 2.0” “Gesellschaft 2.0” was also organized and advertised. People interested in the topic were able to submit their questions and propose topics in advance via the Dialogplattform platform. Over 50 participants and a large number of organizations took part in the event itself.

Free content and best practices from institutional partnerships
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • Institutions have contributed free knowledge to the Wikimedia movement.
Indicators
  • Type, quantity and quality of the free knowledge that has been contributed.
  • best practice success stories from joint projects are documented and made available within the Wikimedia movement
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?

Coding da Vinci: The first event forming part of the culture hackathon Coding da Vinci was held in the second quarter, with four partners. The event attracted 154 coders, designers and culture lovers and 16 cultural institutions have made data sets available under an open license for the first time. Some of the data sets were compiled especially for the hackathon. Further presentations of the project that will help raise public awareness and provide an opportunity to present best practices: re:publica, MAI event, Berlin Open Data Day, Wikimania, Shaping Access, etc.

GLAM on Tour: Both institutions and volunteers regard the tour stops as an attractive service. A local Wikipedia support point is being planned in Braunschweig which could guarantee the long-term sustainability of the collaboration. The participating GLAMs continued to demonstrate openness for the Free Knowledge concept even after the event; for example, the Upper Lusatian Library of Sciences in Görlitz produced all the scans for a virtual project library and helped ensure that the monuments authority in Saxony published lists of monuments in the districts of Görlitz and Bautzen. The Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn aims to integrate Wikipedia links in their exhibition catalog and may use QR codes to Wikipedia in the exhibition. The GLAM on Tour concept will be presented at Wikimania.

Census: The census project has been postponed because the partners are currently not in a position to get involved in a project of this kind. However, we as Wikimedia Deutschland are still collaborating with the intended partners; joint projects are listed accordingly as open data collaborations in the progress report.

Staff
  • Volunteers: 9 (GLAM on Tour)
  • Paid staff: Please see FTE table below
Activities conducted.
  • Please see the table below
What worked and what did not?
Culture Hackathon Coding da Vinci (photo: Volker Agueras Gäng, CC-BY-SA 2.0)

Coding da Vinci: Finding large numbers of interested participants worked well. It was striking that about 30% of the audience were women, in contrast to many other Wikimedia activities. Mixing partners from the cultural field and the open data / free knowledge fields is helpful, because both perspectives are essential to implementation. We aim to provide the data sets in a more user-friendly form (ready for download) in the new edition of the format. The funding framework is very tight. More resources for rent, travel grants for participants, event technology and PR work will be needed next year. Finding a location for the awards ceremony was difficult due to the limited funding and because a large number of guests (200) is expected. In view of the short preparation time (four months), however, the project has gone very well.

GLAM on Tour: The events are all completely different from each other and some are more complex to organize than others. Individual negotiation with the partners is necessary in each case, because what they are willing to contribute also varies widely. In some cases, the volunteers also require comprehensive support. The meetings are based on specific topics and therefore appeal to differing numbers and groups of Wikipedia contributors, so participant numbers vary. The topics and thus the possible activities (e.g. excursions) are closely linked to the institutions involved.

Census: See Progress (outcome)

Any additional details: Coding da Vinci:

GLAM on Tour: Seifhennersdorf:

Bonn:

Stuttgart:

Braunschweig:


Activities conducted
Keywords Measures Activities
Ideally, Coding da Vinci could even provide best practices. The two-part hackathon competition with GLAM content demonstrates the exciting and innovative potential of digital cultural assets to GLAM institutions and programmers alike.

27 projects are currently being developed in the working phase of the hackathon up to early July, based on freely licensed data sets. 17 of these are taking part in the competition. Before the event, we anticipated that 5 data sets would be released and are delighted that the total was in fact 20. The 154 people attending the event were programmers, designers and people involved in the cultural sector. The planning for the second part of the project also started in the second quarter: finding a location for the awards ceremony, a barbecue and coming up with the five main prizes.

GLAM on Tour gets volunteers to produce content in collaboration with GLAMs. GLAM institutions work together with local Wikipedians, preferably in small and medium-sized towns, since the cultural sector in Germany is primarily organized at federal level. The parties learn about and gain an appreciation of each other’s work, with a view to building trust and establishing a long-term relationship between the GLAM sector and the Wikimedia movement that will result in more free content from the cultural sector.

Five meetings of this kind took place in the second quarter: in Seifhennersdorf (organized by Volunteer Support), two events in Bonn in collaboration with the Art and Exhibition Hall, one in Stuttgart (in collaboration with the Südwestrundfunk broadcasting corporation) and finally the tour stop in Braunschweig with the Braunschwiegische Landesmuseum. We are working intensively on preparations for the tour stops in Vienna, Brilon and Dessau and negotiating cooperation agreements.

Census releases content relevant to Wikidata. Wikimedia Deutschland is building on the work of OKFN’s Open Data Census. We are working for the release of key representative data sets and their integration into Wikimedia projects (wherever this is useful and desired by the community).

Regular coordination meetings with the partners.

Program 3: Legal and Social Framework[edit]

Strengthening advocacy capacities
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • The Wikimedia movement has improved its specialist knowledge and method-based skills.
  • The Wikimedia movement is part of a network of allies.
Indicators
  • Specialist knowledge within the Wikimedia movement
    • the Wikimedia movement has formulated its key issues
    • our argument for why more state-owned works should be in the public domain has been finalized and recognized within the Wikimedia movement
    • our position on open educational resources (OER) has become clear and recognized within the Wikimedia movement
  • Method-based skills within the Wikimedia movement.
    • the Wikimedia movement has established reliable communication channels
    • the share of EU chapters with guidelines for writing EU statements
    • the share of EU chapters with defined contacts at the Wikimedia Foundation
    • the Wikimedia movement has established binding decision-making processes, regular discussions, and contacts in order to position it at the EU level
  • Network of allies
    • Scope of cooperation with the allies
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?

BXL Infrastructure (working space): We have rented a working space in Brussels. This permanent address and a landline number in Belgium will serve as a point of contact for decision-makers and allies. Having a working space here will give the Wikimedia network more weight at EU level, which is one of the prerequisites if decision-makers and influential institutions are to perceive the Wikimedia movement as a lobby group for free knowledge. The working space is equipped with two desks which also provide volunteers and paid Chapter staff members a workplace with the necessary infrastructure when they visit Brussels. This will enable the Wikimedia movement to increase its specialist knowledge and method-based skills.

BXL Infrastructure (Big Fat): The Big Fat Brussels Meeting Vol. 2 was the second meeting of the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU, which brings together Chapters and other participants to plan and coordinate activities at EU level. The groups refined their political positions and started work on initiatives and projects for the second half of the year. Participants also had the opportunity to gain a more detailed insight into every-day business in Brussels. These measures focused on the basic requirement to arrange physical meetings alongside list communication (at advocacy-I), to allow concrete arrangements to be made with a higher degree of commitment. This means that the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU will be able to take swift joint action to communicate with the outside world and to increase its specialist knowledge and method-based skills.

BXL Infrastructure (Wikimedia Conference): To increase the Wikimedia movement’s specialist knowledge and method-based skills (Outcome F) and to ensure that it is capable of taking swift joint action to communicate with the outside world (Outcome E) it is essential to guarantee the regular exchange of information and expertise within the Chapters and the Foundation. At the Wikimedia Conference in Berlin we assembled the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU for a panel discussion on the topic of advocacy. Among other things, important feedback was given on work already done and preferences expressed on the approach to be taken in political emergencies (direct contact with the Chapters’ designated contact persons if time is short; otherwise Meta-Wiki and Advocacy mailing lists first). New Chapters were also persuaded to join the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group.

BXL Get Visible: An expert discussion for World Book Day was organized with the Flemish UNESCO Commission. The topic, “Mass Digitization and Access to Cultural Heritage”, allowed the participating Wikimedia volunteers to put questions on the topic of copyright to people working in the field of cultural policy and European Commission representatives. This enabled us to achieve Outcome C: “Decision-makers and influential institutions perceive the Wikimedia movement as a lobby group for free knowledge”. Cooperation with UNESCO and the involvement of institutions such as the British Library, PACKED, Constant VZW and Open Access Belgium brought us close to Outcome D “The Wikimedia movement is part of a network of allies”.

Get Visible: The European Commission has made the raw data of the answers on the copyright consultations available to us before publishing the actual evaluation (scheduled for Q3). This allows us to evaluate the data independently of the European Commission’s ongoing analysis – in particular on topics which are particularly important to us, e.g. the right to create hyperlinks and the issue of harmonized copyright legislation in Europe.

Monsters of Law: Two events in this series were held during the second quarter. 200 invitations were sent out for the topic “Data protection v. freedom of speech”; 60 of them were read and approx. 40 people took part. The video record was visited by 200 people and watched for an average of 12 minutes. The event was aimed at a highly specialist audience, so these figures should be seen as a good result. The series has generally been well received by legal experts, as reflected in the composition of the audience and the discussions following the talks. The timing of the first event on the eve of the ECJ’s decision on the “right to be forgotten” increased its relevance. Thorsten Feldmann, a lawyer specializing in copyright and media law, was the speaker, giving the event the benefit of his expertise and enhancing its PR effect. 350 invitations were sent out for the second event on the topic “Culture and knowledge”. The speaker will be Dr. Ellen Euler, deputy manager of the Deutsche Digitalen Bibliothek. News of the format is gradually spreading and we are getting requests from people to be included in the invitation mailing list.

Open Data: WMDE criticized the German government and the federal states heavily last year for the development of a “Data License Germany”. The term covers two different licenses based in principle on the Creative Commons cc-by and cc-by-nc licenses. Both data licenses contain unfavorable wording which exclude the possibility of using them for Open Data and thus for the Wikimedia projects. After we had intervened, work started on developing a 2.0 version. The defective Data License Germany 1.0 will now be replaced with an improved version 2.0 that does not have a non-commercial use clause. Wikimedia Deutschland was able to present itself as a competent partner at various talks on the topic of open data and make new contacts. In addition, the Open.NRW report was also published in June. Wikimedia Deutschland had the opportunity to emphasize the importance of open licenses, which was taken into consideration in developing the strategy.

The European Commission is currently implementing a project on the topic of harmonizing licensing conditions in Europe and invited WMDE to give expert feedback. WMDE’s Mathias Schindler will also be heard as an expert in the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament on the topic of the public broadcasters’ obligation to de-publicize content.

Staff
  • Volunteers: 25 (BXL)
  • Paid staff: Please see FTE table below
Activities conducted.
  • Please see the table below
What worked and what did not?

BXL Infrastructure (working space): It took much longer than planned to find an office but we finally succeeded in finding a space to share with an organization working on similar topics, which will generate synergies in monitoring and networking in Brussels. The cost of the two workspaces will be about one third less than originally estimated.

BXL Infrastructure (Big Fat): Participants from at least four more Chapters/countries could have attended if the date had been published earlier. Additional travel grants would also have made it easier for volunteers from countries without Chapters to attend. Despite this, the number of Chapters that took part this year was still more than last year.

BXL Infrastructure (Wikimedia Conference): Direct contact with Chapters about signing a Statement of Intent works extremely well; people who did not react to e-mails for months sprang into action immediately. The 45 minute slot was much too short; there was not enough time. In future, the session should also focus on individual topics and not advocacy in general.

BXL Get Visible: The plan was to set up a work of art as an eye catcher and conversation starter at the final cocktail reception. This aim turned out to be overambitious but this was not really noticeable in the course of the event. The event was postponed by one day at short notice and the seminar was even in danger of being cancelled altogether at one point, because the lead co-organizer pulled out at short notice. It is important to find committed partners for events. The pledging of funds is a good indicator of serious intentions.

Monsters of Law: The format is really easy to organize, but finding speakers and preparing a good mailing list is very time-consuming. The funding estimates turned out to be unnecessarily generous, because the speakers so far have not wanted to be paid.

Open Data: It is good to see that our expertise is taken seriously and where we have intervened, Open Data is planned with truly open licenses. Unfortunately the existing Berlin geodata were not available for a reasonable fee when the Data Filling Station was being set up, so we could not include them in it. We are pleased that the Data License Germany is now only available in an exclusively free version without the NC clause, thanks to WMDE’s intervention. The authorities still have no harmonized understanding about minimum requirements for open licenses.

Any additional details: BXL Infrastructure (Big Fat)/(Wikimedia Conference) & Brussels Get Visible:

Monsters of Law:

Open Data:


Activities conducted
Keywords Measures Activities
BXL: Infrastructure Ensuring the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group’s capacity to act over the long term by finding contact persons at all European Chapters and communities, establishing a main point of contact, building consensus on issues and developing a coordination model for responding to political events
  • Office infrastructure set up and equipped (lease, landline contract, technology)
  • A two-day meeting in Brussels with 15 representatives of European WM Chapters. Projects and plans for the next twelve months were developed (MEP mailings, appearances at Wikimania, exchange program for Wikimedians, political positioning, funding models).

During the evening program, all those who had travelled to Brussels were introduced to the informal aspects of political operations in Brussels (Netzpolitisches Bier [discussing internet policy over a beer], networking at the Place du Luxembourg).

  • Panel discussion during which communication channels and approaches were agreed on (e.g. for consultations: 1. Internal draft -> Meta-Wiki -> Development -> Make available to Chapters).
  • Two new Chapters signed the Statement of Intent, thereby officially joining the FKAGEU (WMPL and WMEE).
BXL: Get Visible Increasing our visibility in Brussels through the UNESCO World Book Day, brochures, catalogs of key pre-election questions and participation in politically important decision-making processes
  • An expert seminar was organized with speakers from the European Commission, the British Library, the Flemish UNESCO Commission and the Federation of European Publishers. Approx. 65 participants, including 15 Wikimedia volunteers.
  • The evaluation of the raw data from the copyright consultations took place in the second quarter.
Monsters of Law This series of events centers on increasing awareness about the conditions necessary for free knowledge, with a particular focus on copyright and liability issues in the context of open content.

One event was held, and the content prepared and followed up. The speakers were approached and a mailing list created targeting potentially interested people.

Open Data Open data cooperation
  • Conceptual design of a “Data Filling Station” which was then implemented. The idea behind it is to visualize the concept of open data and to open the debate to people who have not yet given the topic any thought. The Data Filling Station was already presented at the re:publica and the Berlin Open Data Day during the second quarter.
  • Various talks were held, e.g. at the advisory committee on freedom of information in Rhineland-Palatinate on the use of NC licenses in Open Data portals and at the meeting of the government and federal states’ sub-committee on law on the topic of Open Government.
  • An official WMDE statement on the national implementation of the amended PSI Directive is being prepared.
Being perceived as an advocate
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • Decision-makers and influential institutions perceive the Wikimedia movement as an advocacy group for free knowledge.
Indicators
  • Enquiries about key issues from decision-makers and representatives of influential institutions
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?

BXL Get Visible

  • Personal advisory meetings with MEPs and DGs regarding free knowledge
  • Advisory meetings and co-ordination meetings with stakeholders from industry and the civil society regarding Internet policy issues.
  • Invitation to and participation in the “Mapping the Internet” conference series
  • NGO networking meeting @ rp14

OER Conference:

  • WMDE was able to secure €65,000 in funding for the OER Conference 2014 from the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb). The bpb is the most important institution in the field of political education in Germany. The partnership shows that the importance of OER is now discussed at the highest political level, giving us the opportunity of a greater reach in transmitting the subject of free knowledge in the field of education.
  • WMDE convinced a number of other organizations to be partners of the conference. At the time this report was published, agreements have been signed for the patronage of the German Commission for UNESCO, as in 2013, and for werkstatt.bpb to take on a large part of the conference documentation. Further conference supporters are: Open Education Europe, Edutags, Collaboratory, Serlo and Creative Commons.
  • The KMK (Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany) is the coordinating organ of the German federal and state ministries of education. The KMK is currently preparing a statement regarding the government's approach to Open Educational Resources, which, in the opinion of WMDE, will greatly influence the future status of OER in the German education system. In the course of this advisory process, the KMK has asked the WMDE to submit a comprehensive statement on open educational resources. An influential political body thus regards the WMDE as an important advocate. KMK’s statement is expected to be published in November or December 2014. We will then evaluate if and to what extent they have followed WMDE’s recommendations.

OER Action Group (BW) The OER Action Group is currently in negotiations with around five civil society organizations that want to join the group. We are expecting concrete decisions to be made in the third quarter of 2014.

Science Year MS Wissenschaft (MS Science): Through our participation in Science Year and our exhibit in MS Wissenschaft, we have raised our profile as a competent advocate among scientific and political institutions. Talks are currently being held with a central Austrian science funding body on an international event on open science in Vienna, scheduled to take place in September in cooperation with WMAT and WMCH.

Digital Competences The event series "Digital Competences" is a cooperation project with the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research for Science Year 2014. Through its work with the ministry, WMDE has been able to form networks with influential educational institutions. With this event series, the WMDE has also been able to sensitize audiences to the competences required to navigate the digital world and actively take part in Wikimedia projects.

Staff
  • Volunteers: 5 (BXL), 1 (MS Wissenschaft – the Floating Science Center)
  • Paid staff: Please see FTE table below
Activities conducted.
  • Please see the table below
What worked and what did not?

BXL Get Visible: Successful first contact. At the first meeting, both sides still had to get to know each other, so that the examination of the most relevant policy areas for us was sometimes too brief. No concrete results, since the actors still need to make an analysis of the situation. However, a project idea for a round table was raised. The MAPPING project is a very good opportunity for networking. It is also an opportunity for us to bring our issues into academic circles that are somewhat under-represented in Brussels. The kick-off conference was nevertheless still a bit unclear regarding the direction of the content. Of course an exchange lasting only an hour and a half is not sufficient time to make headway on specialized topics. But such personal meetings fulfill the purpose of increasing visibility and trust with each other. In the future these meetings will be built upon and consolidated extensively under the patronage of European Digital Rights (EDRi)

Science Year 2014: Participating with an exhibit for the MS Wissenschaft exhibition, "Digital Unterwegs" (digital on the go) has been a great success: Besides the positive resonance positive resonance from the Science Tweetup, there was also positive feedback from the community (article in Wikipedia: Kurier).

OER Conference: The participation of the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) and the German Commission for UNESCO in the OER Conference is a great success. With 49 submissions, the call for participation was also a success.

OER Action Group: Getting more partners on board was not as successful as hoped. Many prospective partners are funded by government institutions and foundations and do not see themselves as being in a position to join a group with a clear political orientation.

Any additional details: BXL Get Visible:

Science Year 2014:

OER Conference:


Activities conducted
Keywords Measures Activities
OER Action Group Cooperation and networking project

The OER Action Group has prepared content to draw up a position paper with policy demands on the topic of open educational resources. The paper will include concrete recommendations for policy-makers to advance open educational resources. A group of OER experts will be set up to draft these demands in a political process over a period of several months. This process has been defined, discussed and adopted by the action group and will be implemented in the third and fourth quarter of 2014.

OER Conference Establishing a broad basis for free education, building competences
  • A large part of the practical and content-related preparations for the OER Conference 2014 took place in the second quarter of 2014. With the funding pledged by the bpb, WMDE can now plan the OER Conference for up to 500 attendees – 270 people attended the 2013 conference. The venue Urania in Berlin has been booked for the conference. The conference has been announced on the WMDE website and blog, and through its partners. The conference’s call for participation ended on June 17. WMDE invited 12 experts to assess the submissions, including recognized experts in the field of OER as well as representatives of the conference’s partner institutions. The twelve-person committee selected 30 from a total of 49 submissions. The preliminary conference program was announced at the end of June.
  • At the request of the KMK, the WMDE prepared a comprehensive statement on open educational resources, which was also published in the WMDE blog.
Digital Competences Event series

The event series Digital Competencies funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, started on June 23, 2014, with an opening event on the topic of "Data protection – an undervalued digital competency?". Around 45 guests attended, many of who came from the fields of science and education. Participants in the panel discussion were: Prof. Karsten Weber from Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus - Seftenberg; Dr. Imke Sommer, the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of the city of Bremen; Martin Müsgens, speaker from the EU Initiative Klicksafe.

Science Year MS Wissenschaft (MS Science)

Wikimedia Deutschland and the Open Knowledge Foundation’s joint exhibit was installed on the MS Wissenschaft in early May. The WMDE team, comprised of members from the software development and education & knowledge teams, took part in the opening and presented the exhibit at the Science Tweetup. The education & knowledge team also took part in the press conference that opened the exhibition, which was attended by the German Federal Minister of Education and Research, Johanna Wanka. Critical questions were raised regarding approaches to open science and the digital society. As already reported in the first quarter, our participation in the MS Wissenschaft has also opened up numerous contacts to scientific institutions.

BXL Get Visible Raising the profile in Brussels
  • Personal advisory meetings with 10 MEPs regarding free knowledge (in particular freedom of panorama) and with four representatives from DG MARKET and DG CONNECT. One direct consequence was that Neelie Kroes, Commissioner for Digital Agenda, included an example of freedom of panorama (the Atomium in Brussels) in her speeches.
  • seven coordination and advisory meetings with stakeholders from industry and the civil society on Internet policy issues, including "the right to be forgotten" by Google, and on the IP Observatory of Communia and Creative Commons.

Wikimedia has been invited to participate in an EU-funded project "Mapping the Internet", which is aimed at mobilizing a wide spectrum of Internet stakeholders.

  • On the occasion of the increasingly international Internet conference re:publica in Berlin, a short networking meeting of international NGO representatives was held in Wikimedia’s Berlin offices. 25 Internet activists, including representatives from Electronic Frontier Foundation, Access Now and the Open Knowledge Foundation, talked to Wikimedia representatives about current and upcoming legislative initiatives in Brussels.
regulations and incentive systems
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • The general conditions for free knowledge have improved.
  • Decision-makers have created legislative acts, institutional rules and specialist recommendations that facilitate the creation, collection and dissemination of free content.
Indicators
  • Monitoring and analysis: Monitoring of the most important conditions in the areas of copyright, culture, education, economy and science that concern the creation, collection and dissemination of free content.
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?

Data protection: In the case “Google Inc. against Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD)” from May 13, 2014, the European Court of Justice decided in favor of Mr Costeja González and obliged Google Inc. to take the necessary measures to remove his personal details from the search index and block access to this data in the future. A number of aspects in the ECJ’s judgment indicate that a strong "right to be forgotten" could also be included in the pending harmonization of data protection on an EU level. The extent to which WMF – as a data processing body and the platforms it hosts – will have to contend with tighter obligations regarding the deletion of data is currently the object of legal analysis.

Activities conducted.
What worked and what did not?

Any additional details:


Wikidata[edit]

Wikidata

Wikidata is a free database that can be read and edited by both humans and machines. What Wikimedia Commons is in regard to media, Wikidata achieves for other data: Wikidata centralizes the access and the administration of structured data such as interwiki-links, infoboxes and statistical information.

Wikidata development team (photo: WMDE, CC-BY-SA 3.0)
What are the objectives of this program? Please include metrics.
  • A change model will be developed in 2014
Progress against these objectives (include metrics and # of volunteers/staff involved)?

Debates in the second quarter focused on redesigning the user interface, connecting further sister projects to Wikidata, and extending the range of software. Progress was made in all areas of the set objectives. The involvement of the community in the process of software development was increased through target-oriented debates. The target group is thereby having a formative influence on the further development of Wikidata. Wikidata is a huge collection of data that strengthens its sister projects and the Wikimedia movement as a whole, and (as in previous quarters) has continued to develop in its own capacity as one of the most active Wikimedia projects, far ahead of most Wikipedias. In the second quarter, with the connection to Wikiquote, a total of 5 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia, Commons, Wikivoyage, Wikisource, Wikiquote) used Wikidata as the basis of their work. Our statistics for the second quarter show that Wikidata took fourth place among all Wikimedia projects in attracting new, active and particularly active authors.

Staff
  • Volunteers: Between five and ten volunteers very actively contributed to our software development with changes to the source code. Countless community members improved the project with feedback and bug reports. Some 13,000 active users have helped make Wikidata one of the most successful projects in the Wikimedia movement.
  • Paid staff: Please see FTE table below
Activities conducted.

Substantial expansions to the software behind Wikidata (Wikibase) were planned, programmed and implemented. Wikibase now has further data types for entering strings with fixed language attributes, e.g.: slogans for particular countries. It is now possible to make simple queries regarding data base content (“simple queries”). Having gained access to inter-wiki links, Wikiquote was also given access to all data at Wikidata in the course of the second quarter. Gradual improvements and new ideas regarding the design of the user interface will be discussed in dialog with the community. Further improvements to software are taking place in the area of redirection and in the annotation of attributes.

What worked and what did not?

We tackled many aspects of development during the second quarter: redirects, simple queries, UI redesign, etc. Although we did manage to complete the elements we started, and keep abreast of developments, a more focused approach during the quarter would have led to more satisfactory results. Plans for future development were changed in the light of these experiences.

Any additional details: Statistics on Wikidata:

Statistics on data in Wikidata:

Overview of the current subsections of software development in Wikidata (SCRUM sprints):


Miscellaneous[edit]

Additional internal and external events and Nachnutzungstool (Reuse tool)
Activities conducted.
Pavel Richter honouring volunteers at Zedler Prize 2014 (photo: Mathias Schindler, WMDE, CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Zedler Prize: The Zedler awards ceremony and the communication that accompanied it both before and afterwards, like the detailed presentation of the nominated articles and projects, for example, was a great opportunity to draw public attention to the concept of free knowledge both in- and outside the Wiki universe. The candidates that were recommended, nominated and awarded received appropriate recognition for their work. Wikimedia Deutschland worked closely with the jury comprised of ten volunteers and organized travel for the winners to and from the awards ceremony. The ceremony was covered in WMDE blog reports and all over Wikipedia, celebrating the individual award winners and their commitment to free knowledge. More than in previous years, coverage emphasized the breath and diversity of the award-winning articles and projects while also underlining the fact that these representatives of active Wikimedians are only a small segment of the world of free knowledge.

Links:

Wikimedia-Salon: An event in this series was held in the second quarter on the topic of "The book market: Open systems and success – a contradiction in terms?” Guest speakers were Kathrin Passig, Volker Oppmann, and Uwe Naumann. As on previous occasions, the event was professionally chaired and accompanied by an artistic contribution and a sound installation. Invitations were e-mailed to 500 people, 150 of which were read. Postcards were printed and placed in 100 Berlin restaurants, bars and cafes as well as in 60 theaters and cultural institutions. 160 people watched the video documentation for an average of 14 minutes. In the second quarter, a third event for the series on the theme of "Crowdrock: the music industry of the future" was designed, planned and speakers invited.

Links:

re:publica:

re:publica: Preparations for the re:publica presentation were finalized during the second quarter: the Data Pump user tour interface was programmed and successfully tested, and accompanying material produced; invitations for the NGO networking meeting scheduled to take place during the conference were internationally distributed in a targeted manner. We also invested in additional advertising for the OER Sprint. The re:publica presentation and the Data Pump were communicatively prepared in advance: a website was created for the Data Pump, two blog posts(in our own blog, as well as the well-frequented conference blog) were published. We also managed to successfully establish the #auftanken (#refuel) hashtag on Twitter.

Links: The Data Pump website:

List of data sets:

Blog post on re:publica blog:

Blog post on WMDE blog:

Prior to the conference we awarded five grants for applicants from the broad-based communities involved in free knowledge with the intention of strengthening the communities and drawing attention to the Association. To apply for a grant, applicants were invited to describe their activities and commitment to the cause of free knowledge in an e-mail. The top five applicants were awarded a grant comprising a ticket to all three days of the re:publica as well as their respective travel expenses in getting to the event. The grants were awarded to OER and open license activists. We had lengthy conversations with most of them in the course of the conference, and gained one as a speaker for our next OER Conference.

Link to the call for grant applications:

The conference took place in early May and the WMDE presentation was successfully carried out.

re:publica stand with the Data Pump: The well-placed and professionally curated WMDE booth with the Data Pump as a highlight attracted a lot of interest from the press and conference audiences. Journalists and bloggers from numerous media outlets took photos of the Data Pump and held interviews with WMDE representatives. The dpa (German press agency) even photographed the Data Pump, which was, of course, particularly pleasing. Our aim of creating a tangible symbol for open data was thus successfully achieved.

Media and blog reports:

The Data Pump also received a lot of attention from conference participants, who were mostly Internet enthusiasts, activists and media professionals. Booth visitors could find and “fill up” on open license data packages, music data, images, e-books and information material on free knowledge, with downloads through diverse interfaces onto their own electronic devices. In total, 162 open license data packages were downloaded. The Data Pump website had 500 “unique visitors” during the conference. The hashtags #auftanken (#refuel) and #datentankstelle (#datapump) became “trending topics” on Twitter.

The Data Pump was a perfect conversation opener for free knowledge, open licenses and the work of WMDE. We were given around 15 business cards from people interested in the work of WMDE and its cooperations, we distributed hand-outs (including 90 annual reports, 230 Data Pump flyers, approx. 130 brochures about open spaces and more). There was one setback: although we handed out 90 membership applications, we unfortunately could not track a single new membership to our presentation at re:publica.

The Data Pump was conceived as a permanent show-piece also after the re:publica and has now been set up in the WMDE offices for the community, visitors and guests. It can also be lent out to partners for events. We also set up a dedicated email address, where we have so far received six inquiries about exhibiting the Data Pump, amongst others: from the German Federal Ministry for the Interior for their congress on the future “Zukunftskongress”; from the Developer Week in Nuremberg and from the SWIB 14 Conference (Semantic Web in libraries). We are currently in the process of establishing guidelines for lending the Data Pump, such as transport and insurance costs and terms and conditions. At the moment we are considering whether it can be taken to Wikimania.

WMDE part of the program: We were represented in the program with our own talks. All of the talks were well visited and well received by audiences. “Zensurheberecht” (copyright as censorship) on state-owned works by Mathias Schindler: http://re-publica.de/session/zensurheberrecht “Weg von der Einheitslehre: Wildwuchs erkämpfen!” (Moving away from standardized teaching: fight for the unhindered growth of knowledge!) on OER by Sebastian Horndasch: http://re-publica.de/session/sciencelab-lightning-talks “Kulturerbe- analoger Staubhaufen oder digitale Schatzkammer?” (Cultural heritage, analogue dust-pile or digital treasure trove?) on the GLAM-Hackathon by Barbara Fischer: http://re-publica.de/session/lightning-talks Wikidata Editathon by Lydia Pintscher and Jens Ohlig: http://re-publica.de/session/wikidata-editathon

OER Sprint: On the day before the re:publica, participants raced each other to compile open educational resources on the topic of "digital society" in a moderated event at the WMDE offices in an informal atmosphere. The event was designed to create a concrete experience of OER. 23 participants from various educational institutions and organizations registered and 15 of those took part. Participants collectively put together four teaching units on the topic of "digital society".

Link to the resources:

Link to blog report:

  • NGO networking meeting:

The meeting took place on the second day of the conference in the WMDE offices. Approx. 25 international participants from interest groups working on digital rights (including EDRI; Access Now, EFF) took part in the meeting. The objective of this meeting was to encourage NGOs to agree on a better division of labor in regard to data protection and copyright law. We will only succeed in forging stable alliances through such face-to-face meetings. Whether the meeting has measurable results will only be apparent in the long-term in the course of the follow-on communication.

Reuse tool: In the second quarter, the requirements for the further development of the tool were analyzed (based on the collected user feedback), processed and prepared for a presentation at Wikimania. We also worked in close consultation with the legal consultants to ensure that the tool issues valid reuse recommendations. Programming and development work is continuing and a public version will be finished in time for Wikimania. The now released license version 4 from Creative Commons will be added to the previously supported licenses. The aim is to present the reuse tool to a wider user base at Wikimania and to gather further user feedback in order to continue planning and working on further function developments in 2014.

Europe goes OER: On April 3, the "Europe goes OER" discussion event took place in the WMDE offices. Jöran Muuß-Merholz presented the second edition of the OER white papers that he wrote with Felix Schaumburg for Internet & Gesellschaft Collaboratory (the presentation here) to the 50 plus guests. Professor Fred Mulder, Professor for Open Educational Resources at the Open Universiteit of the Netherlands, then talked about the situation of OER in Europe (the presentation here). This event was picked up in various blogs: (by Ingo Blees; Ole Wintermann; Kristin Narr, as well as open-educational-resources.de) and in the Wikimedia Deutschland blog.


FTE Table[edit]

This allocation is valid for the whole year 2013 and includes working students and interns. Note that it is not based on the time tracking system but on a qualitative allocation correspondent to skills and roles of the employees. The fundraising and programmatic FTEs have been allocated according to their work focus and the unit and executive office FTEs (International Affairs, Evaluation, Communication,Executive Office) have been allocated evenly to all initiatives and work fields (both programmatic and administrative) accordingly with their actual cross-departamental function. All FTEs with administrative roles, as well as supporting services (Finances, Event Management, IT, HR, Office Management) have been allocated as administration.


Program / Department key initiative FTE
Volunteer Support More attractive funding mechanisms 2,41
Free content from volunteer projects 3,09
Stronger initiatives and social processes 4,02
Processes for improvement of structures 1,47
Institutional Partnerships Declarations of Intent to makeing free content available 3,49
Free content and best practices from institutional partnerships 2,54
Legal and Social Framework Strengthening advocacy capacities 1,77
Being perceived as an advocate 4,77
regulations and incentive systems 1,52
Wikidata 12,19
Miscellaneous Additional internal and external events and Nachnutzungstool (Reuse tool) 2,12
Administration 10,52
Fundraising 5,95

Lessons learned[edit]

Lessons from this quarter[edit]

A key objective of the funding is to enable the movement as a whole to understand how to achieve shared goals better and faster. An important way of doing this is to identify lessons learned from entities who receive funds, and to share these lessons across the movement. The purpose of this section is to elicit some of these insights, which will be shared throughout the movement. Please answer the following questions in 1–2 paragraphs each.

What were your major accomplishments in the past quarter, and how did you help to achieve movement goals?

  • The Community Liaison (Technical Communication) managed to create the framework for continuous and regulated communication between the community and the Wikimedia Foundation during the launch of the Media Viewer and the deactivation of the Tool Server. Conflict potential was reduced by including feedback loops. The work of the Community Liaison (Internal Communication) established WMDE’s Wikimania grant program as not only the largest, with 44 recipients, but also the most thoroughly prepared, featuring separate media (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:KEX), chat features and weekend workshops (currently 27 registered participants).
  • In the last quarter we managed to significantly boost our third-party fundraising. For instance, we gained the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) as a sponsor of the OER Conference (OER = Open Educational Resources). In the bpb, one of the most important institutions for political education and educational policy in Germany, is publicly recognizing the importance of the OER issue. We intend to use the bpb funding to open up new groups to the issue of free knowledge and anchor it in the education sector. In addition, the event series “Digital Competences” is being funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research. This means greater visibility not only for Wikimedia as an actor in the science sector, but also for the issue of free knowledge.
  • Coding Da Vinci: All the milestones set for Coding Da Vinci: The Culture Hackathon for the second quarter were reached and some were even surpassed. More coders and designers took part than anticipated. At the same time a greater number of cultural institutions provided data sets than previously estimated. This also increases the likelihood that more applications will be developed by the end of the project than predicted. All applications and developments will be available under an open license. We will present the results and findings of the hackathon after completion of the project in the third or fourth quarter.
  • With a total of four volunteer-initiated GLAM-on-Tour events (GLAM = galleries, libraries, archives and museums) we have already reached one of the annual goals for 2014 (“Institutions are in dialog with volunteers and there are meetings to coordinate between those involved locally”) in the first six months. We are planning further GLAM events to build upon this great success in the second half of the year.


What were your major setbacks in the past quarter (e.g., programs that were not successful)?

  • Work processes are taking longer than planned and therefore hindering the progress of projects. In the Chapters Dialogue, for example, not enough time was planned for the thorough documentation and final film, which now makes it impossible to complete a prompt evaluation and continue with the project. It is essential to plan such time periods more realistically, including buffers, both in our internal cooperation and with the community and external service providers.
  • The creation of a position paper on open educational resources is being postponed to the second half of the year. In the first half-year an alliance of stakeholders was set up to make headway on the position paper. Unfortunately, since the project has been underway not as many stakeholders have joined the alliance as we had planned. In the OER sector there is a strong presence of public institutions that are not able to officially join an alliance. This is a factor that was underestimated. As a result, the alliance will be given a more informal set-up in the latter part of the year and will tackle the development of the position paper on this basis.
  • Key competencies that were requested from the Wikimedia communities, particularly in the field of “accompanying project management”, were in very limited supply.

What factors (organizational, environmental) enabled your success?

  • In Q2 we recorded a clear increase in the number and frequency of occasions where our event venues were used (April: WMDE: 10, Partners: 5; May: WMDE: 12, Partners: 13; June: WMDE: 6, Partners: 14). Currently we know of a total of 166 events in 2014 (WMDE: 83, Partners: 83), of which some have already been held and others are planned. We are receiving new requests on a daily basis. We have even had to turn down some requests due to insufficient capacities. Alongside events of the WMDE Berlin office and the communities, it is notable that many established organizations and groups from our broader network are also taking up our offer of event space. Our venues are increasingly becoming a center for everything related to free knowledge, open licenses, the free Internet and open data.
  • Among the stakeholder groups of free knowledge, Wikimedia Deutschland is now perceived as a relevant and reliable partner. This made it possible, for example, to quickly find a cost-neutral replacement venue for the Coding Da Vinci awards ceremony when the planned venue fell through due to insolvency.
  • The increasing trust in relations with the Wikimedia community lays the foundation for more intensive and constructive cooperation between volunteers and paid staff.
  • Thanks to its diversity, its commitment and high degree of autonomy, the Wikimedia Deutschland team is a key success factor in the work of WMDE. This is also shown by how it has coped with the challenge that arose when the Executive Director was removed from office. (see Challenges for details)


What unanticipated challenges did you encounter and how did this affect what you were able to accomplish?

  • The announcement of the premature dismissal of the WMDE Executive Director from office came out of the blue for the employees. This change is tying up personnel resources. On the one hand, three employees have been appointed to the Interim Commission (to seek a new executive director and manage the transition process), and on the other hand, the time commitments and tasks of the department and unit heads have increased. It is too early to say at this time how the removal of the Executive Director will impact the work of the Association.


What changes might you make in executing your initiatives into the next quarter?

  • Suggested changes: Wikimedia Deutschland needs to provide additional resources in order to ensure the reusability of free content from institutions for Wikimedia projects and to support community activities more thoroughly. We will analyze this identified requirement in the third quarter and propose an appropriate solution for the annual plan for 2015.

Additional information[edit]

Provide any other relevant information that may be helpful or relevant for the FDC (e.g., links to any media coverage, blog posts, more detailed reports, more detailed financial information).

Compliance[edit]

Is your organization compliant with the terms outlined in the grant agreement?[edit]

As required in the grant agreement, please report any deviations from your grant proposal here. Note that, among other things, any changes must be consistent with our WMF mission, must be for charitable purposes as defined in the grant agreement, and must otherwise comply with the grant agreement.

  • We described all the changes in the "Overview of this quarter/Changes" section.

Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement? Please answer "Yes" or "No".

  • Yes

Are you in compliance with provisions of the United States Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), and with relevant tax laws and regulations restricting the use of the Grant funds as outlined in the grant agreement? Please answer "Yes" or "No".

  • Yes

Signature[edit]

--Pavel Richter (WMDE) (talk) 17:24, 30 July 2014 (UTC)


Retrieved from "https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grants:APG/Proposals/2013-2014_round1/Wikimedia_Deutschland_e.V./Progress_report_form/Q2&oldid=15333572"