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Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Annual Plan Grant for Wikimedia UG Georgia, 2022/Final Report

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Final Learning Report

Report Status: Accepted

Due date: 31 January 2023

Funding program: Wikimedia Community Fund

Report type: Final

Application Midpoint Learning Report

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General information

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This form is for organizations, groups, or individuals receiving Wikimedia Community Funds or Wikimedia Alliances Funds to report on their final results.

  • Name of Organization: Wikimedia Community User Group Georgia
  • Title of Proposal: Annual Plan Grant for Wikimedia UG Georgia, 2022
  • Amount awarded: 32475 USD, 101599.8 GEL
  • Amount spent: 100800 GEL

Part 1 Understanding your work

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1. Briefly describe how your proposed activities and strategies were implemented.

All activities and goals for 2022, which were pre-planned by the User Group, were successfully implemented. 2022 has been one of the most successful years for UG.

Specifically, the affiliation was able to hold all planned events, as well as additional meetings and activities.

In addition, this year UG added new government and non-government institutions to its network of partners. One of the important events was the signing of a memorandum of cooperation with the Administration of the President of Georgia.

Also, this year, UG was able to fully utilize its budget without any leftovers. This happened for the first time since 2020.

2. Were there any strategies or approaches that you felt were effective in achieving your goals?

Since the beginning of 2022, we have changed our strategy for developing projects and the Wikimedia Movement locally. These changes have allowed us to invest more in developing the skills of the local community and developing a network of partners for our organization. Specifically, we applied the following steps/strategy:

1. We invested more in developing the skills of online project editors through training and camps.

2. Actively used personal connections to establish partnerships with various organizations.

3. We did more work to promote Wikimedia projects in social networks and not only.

4. Conducted meetings with various stakeholders and organizations for new collaborations.

Together, all these efforts and steps have given us a positive result. The organization has expanded its network of partnerships, increased the capacity of editors, and popularized Wikimedia projects, attracting new editors to local projects.

3. Would you say that your project had any innovations? Are there things that you did very differently than you have seen them done by others?

New this year has been our approach to developing partnerships and contributing to human development, both within our organization and for all contributors to Wikimedia projects. Specifically:

1. We used active relationships with potential partners, including using personal connections or those of our existing partners. This was an innovation for us and it worked very effectively, so we will continue to use this approach in the future. I think this has become an innovation not only in our country but also possibly in the global movement.

2. We have previously focused on the development of content in Wikimedia projects, but have not paid enough attention to the skills of our contributors. But for two years now we have been paying more attention to developing the skills of our contributors, and this year we have added more projects to develop skills.

3. Also, we are focusing more on different Wikimedia projects than just Wikipedia. Therefore, we started to take care of such projects, which are currently in the incubator. Our goal is to add the number of active projects in the Georgian language.

4. In addition, we actively care about the human potential within our organization. We actively involve new members in our organization and take care of the necessary skills for existing members. Also, Wikimedia UG Georgia is growing in an administrative way, where the number of paid employees is increasing, in proportion to the growth of projects and work of Wikimedia UG Georgia.

4. Please describe how different communities participated and/or were informed about your work.

The local community is constantly informed about the work of Wikimedia UG Georgia, through social networks and various meetings. We hold various meetings and events where we share news and plans for the future. Also, at the end of the year, we host a local community WikiConference during which the community listens to our progress and plans for the future.

We are constantly inviting community members to participate in all of our activities and almost all members of the online and offline communities of the local Movement remain involved in our programs, projects, and events.

In addition, we periodically update the Global Community on our progress. This happens through the news on our social networks, and also representatives of our affiliation participate in various regional and international Wikimedia events (CEE meeting, Brussels meeting, Istanbul WikidataCon, and online meetings), where they represent the work of the local movement.

5. Documentation of your impact. Please use the two spaces below to share files and links that help tell your story and impact. This can be documentation that shows your results through testimonies, videos, sound files, images (photos and infographics, etc.) social media posts, dashboards, etc.

  • Upload Documents and Files
  • Here is an additional field to type in URLs.
1. Commons category for all Wikimedia UG Georgia events in 2022: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimedia_Community_User_Group_Georgia_events_in_2022

2. Press release of the President of Georgia on the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between Wikimedia UG Georgia and the Administration of the President of Georgia: https://president.ge/index.php?m=209&news_id=1516 3. WMGE social media post about the annual community meeting: https://www.facebook.com/wikimedia.ge/posts/pfbid02r32h52VnZMhsudiGj27WwGqZogQsamKiyzcfQcTZUSsUb6kaAQGvejGqAPEe4xspl 4. A post about the participation of WMGE representatives at the CEE meeting 2022 in Ohrid: https://www.facebook.com/wikimedia.ge/posts/pfbid0nRZnKXpDNjuvwxhcKoczPycoBjGo2ZA1PwUzgjM5TSh5enTRL9QtfBa7oPPf7CdXl 5. A post about the participation of WMGE representatives at the Istanbul WikidataCon 2022: https://www.facebook.com/wikimedia.ge/posts/pfbid02ATYQTv5oKTd4Nunhqz47NTiCuDm2vsFSLQVcZd7M9CEbRoQtf8eDATzUJqjArhgLl

6. To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding the work carried out with the support of this Fund? You can choose “not applicable” if your work does not relate to these goals.

Our efforts during the Fund period have helped to...
A. Bring in participants from underrepresented groups Agree
B. Create a more inclusive and connected culture in our community Strongly agree
C. Develop content about underrepresented topics/groups Agree
D. Develop content from underrepresented perspectives Neither agree nor disagree
E. Encourage the retention of editors Strongly agree
F. Encourage the retention of organizers Strongly agree
G. Increased participants' feelings of belonging and connection to the movement. Strongly agree

7. Is there anything else you would like to share about how your efforts helped to bring in participants and/or build out content, particularly for underrepresented groups?

Wikimedia UG Georgia actively hosts a contest (Women in Wikipedia) and an event (WikiGap) each year to eliminate the gender gap in Wikipedia content in the Georgian language. With the help of our projects, we have been able to reduce the gender gap in content and more contributors are already interested in contributing and creating articles about women on Wikipedia than before this.

Part 2: Your main learning

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8. In your application, you outlined your learning priorities. What did you learn about these areas during this period?

During this period, we were able to find out that:

1. Wikimedia UG Georgia, despite its size, is internal quite a strong organization that can overcome difficulties, both internal and external. This gives us the opportunity to develop the organization.

2. Wikimedia UG Georgia has the potential to develop and increase the number of its programs and projects, which is facilitated by an increase in human potential within the organization and stakeholders in helping.

3. We realized that our organization achieves its goals to a greater extent with the help of a developed strategy. But it is necessary to transform the strategy for the future to maximize the potential.

4. We realized that the current human potential is sufficient to exist in the current volume, but for the growth of the organization more human resources are needed and the organization is going to develop this direction to attract more people.

5. And finally, we already have a better understanding of our potential and needs for better planning and strategy for the future.

9. Did anything unexpected or surprising happen when implementing your activities?

During the implementation of our plan, two unexpected things happened, one positive and one negative, in concrete:

1. Our partner, the Administration of the President of Georgia, offered us to work together on the Freedom of Panorama initiative, after which we began to work together in the Parliament of Georgia on this.

2. In February the war broke out in Ukraine, which changed the economic situation in Georgia, as a result of which the Georgian Lari (GEL) strengthened and we had to make adjustments to our annual budget.

In addition to the above events, we didn't have any major changes or surprises.

10. How do you hope to use this learning? For instance, do you have any new priorities, ideas for activities, or goals for the future?

On the basis of our learning, we have made changes to the goals and plans for 2023 and hope to successfully implement them. Specifically:

1. We will pay more attention not only to the creation of new content in Wikimedia projects but will also take care of improving the content.

2. We will take care of developing the skills of contributors to Wikimedia projects.

3. We will actively cooperate with our existing partners to develop free knowledge in Georgia, and we will also try to develop our network of partners.

These are also our priorities for future work.

11. If you were sitting with a friend to tell them one thing about your work during this fund, what would it be (think of inspiring or fascinating moments, tough challenges, interesting anecdotes, or anything that feels important to you)?

I would say:

"We, together with the Global Volunteer Movement, are creating a unique project that will enable everyone, regardless of their status, to freely receive and share free knowledge. In Georgia, we are just a small team, but part of the Global Community."

12. Please share resources that would be useful to share with other Wikimedia organizations so that they can learn from, adapt or build upon your work. For instance, guides, training material, presentations, work processes, or any other material the team has created to document and transfer knowledge about your work and can be useful for others. Please share any specific resources that you are creating, adapting/contextualizing in ways that are unique to your context (i.e. training material).

  • Upload Documents and Files
  • Here is an additional field to type in URLs.
WMGE WikiClubs Chanel with training videos about Wikipedia: https://www.youtube.com/@wikiclubs

Part 3: Metrics

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13a. Open and additional metrics data

Open Metrics
Open Metrics Description Target Results Comments Methodology
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Additional Metrics
Additional Metrics Description Target Results Comments Methodology
Number of editors that continue to participate/retained after activities Participants who will continue to participate in WMGE projects. 50 61 Individuals who actively participate in the projects and activities of our organization. Fountain and internal records
Number of organizers that continue to participate/retained after activities UG members who will continue to participate in WMGE projects. 10 12 WMGE staff, Board Members, Member of UG. Internal records
Number of strategic partnerships that contribute to longer term growth, diversity and sustainability New and existing partners. 7 10 Including new partnerships. Internal data.
Feedback from participants on effective strategies for attracting and retaining contributors N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Diversity of participants brought in by grantees N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Number of people reached through social media publications The total number of people who will see our publications in social networks. 10000 12000 Social media remains an important tool for outreach. Facebook metrics.
Number of activities developed Total number of projects (Trainings, lectures, sessions, edit-a-thons, contests, meetings). 20 22 Total number of projects (Trainings, lectures, sessions, edit-a-thons, contests, meetings). Fountain, internal data.
Number of volunteer hours N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

13b. Additional core metrics data.

Core Metrics Summary
Core metrics Description Target Results Comments Methodology
Number of participants The number of participants who will take part in all Wikimedia Georgia projects and programs. At least 30 participants were newbies. 150 144 At the moment, a total of 144 people have taken part in our events, of which 57 people are newcomers. Fountain, internal data.
Number of editors Number of editors who will participate in all Wikimedia UG Georgia projects. At least 20 will be newbies. 80 74 At the moment, a total of 74 people have taken part in our events (edit-a-thons, contests, meetings, training and etc.), of which 34 people are newcomers. Fountain, internal data.
Number of organizers Number of Organization Members who will oversee the implementation of Wikimedia Georgia projects and programs. 10 12 Active members of UG, who are involved. Internal data.
Number of new content contributions per Wikimedia project
Wikimedia Project Description Target Results Comments Methodology
Wikipedia New or improved articles 2000 2700 A total number of new and improved articles. Fountain, Xtools and internal data.
Wikimedia Commons New images 300 560 New photos were added to the Commons as part of the WMGE projects. Commons counter
Wikidata New or improved elements 200 1203 A total number of new and improved elements. Xtools.
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

14. Were there any metrics in your proposal that you could not collect or that you had to change?

No

15. If you have any difficulties collecting data to measure your results, please describe and add any recommendations on how to address them in the future.

N/A

16. Use this space to link or upload any additional documents that would be useful to understand your data collection (e.g., dashboards, surveys you have carried out, communications material, training material, etc).

  • Upload Documents and Files
  • Here is an additional field to type in URLs.
N/A

Part 4: Organizational capacities & partnerships

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17. Organizational Capacity

Organizational capacity dimension
A. Financial capacity and management This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
B. Conflict management or transformation This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
C. Leadership (i.e growing in potential leaders, leadership that fit organizational needs and values) This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
D. Partnership building This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high
E. Strategic planning This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
F. Program design, implementation, and management This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high
G. Scoping and testing new approaches, innovation This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
H. Recruiting new contributors (volunteer) This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
I. Support and growth path for different types of contributors (volunteers) This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
J. Governance This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
K. Communications, marketing, and social media This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
L. Staffing - hiring, monitoring, supporting in the areas needed for program implementation and sustainability This has grown over the last year, the capacity is high
M. On-wiki technical skills This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
N. Accessing and using data This capacity is low, and we should prioritise developing it
O. Evaluating and learning from our work This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
P. Communicating and sharing what we learn with our peers and other stakeholders This capacity has grown but it should be further developed
N/A
N/A

17a. Which of the following factors most helped you to build capacities? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.

Formal training provided by the Wikimedia Foundation, Peer to peer learning with other community members in conferences/events, Peer to peer learning with other community members in community/ies of practice* (structured and continuous learning and sharing spaces)

17b. Which of the following factors hindered your ability to build capacities? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.

Lack of volunteer time to participate in capacity building/training, Lack of training that fits contextual needs and interests, Barriers to access training because of language

18. Is there anything else you would like to share about how your organizational capacity has grown, and areas where you require support?

At the moment, we do not need any support, but we would like to note that the UG is actively working on obtaining chapter status, which we plan to do by the end of 2023 or at the latest in the first half of 2024.

19. Partnerships over the funding period.

Over the fund period...
A. We built strategic partnerships with other institutions or groups that will help us grow in the medium term (3 year time frame) Strongly agree
B. The partnerships we built with other institutions or groups helped to bring in more contributors from underrepresented groups Agree
C. The partnerships we built with other institutions or groups helped to build out more content on underrepresented topics/groups Agree

19a. Which of the following factors most helped you to build partnerships? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.

Permanent staff outreach, Board members’ outreach, Staff hired through the fund

19b. Which of the following factors hindered your ability to build partnerships? Please pick a MAXIMUM of the three most relevant factors.

Lack of interest from partners, Difficulties specific to our context that hindered partnerships, Local policies or other legal factors

20. Please share your learning about strategies to build partnerships with other institutions and groups and any other learning about working with partners?

As we noted above, due to cultural differences in Georgia, we use different approaches to cooperate with different institutions, including government ones. We mainly use the strategy of personal connections, which is very effective in Georgia.

Part 5: Sense of belonging and collaboration

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21. What would it mean for your organization to feel a sense of belonging to the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement?

We, as UG, have been striving for many years to develop and strengthen the volunteer culture in Georgia, in order to strengthen the local Wikimedia Movement. This in turn will develop the Wikimedia projects in Georgian, which will enable people to access free knowledge in their own language. Therefore, it is very important for us to be part of the Wikimedia Movement and work for free knowledge.

22. How has your (for individual grantees) or your group/organization’s (for organizational grantees) sense of belonging to the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement changed over the fund period?

Somewhat increased

23. If you would like to, please share why it has changed in this way.

We began to work more actively with the global movement and began to actively share our knowledge with it. We feel more like we belong to the Global Movement.

24. How has your group/organization’s sense of personal investment in the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement changed over the fund period?

Increased significantly

25. If you would like to, please share why it has changed in this way.

Members of Wikimedia UG Georgia have increased their presence in the Movement by sharing their knowledge with regional and global partners.

26. Are there other movements besides the Wikimedia or free knowledge movement that play a central role in your motivation to contribute to Wikimedia projects? (for example, Black Lives Matter, Feminist movement, Climate Justice, or other activism spaces) If so, please describe it below.

Internet Society – with whom we cooperate to develop the Georgian part of the Internet.

Supporting Peer Learning and Collaboration

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We are interested in better supporting peer learning and collaboration in the movement.

27. Have you shared these results with Wikimedia affiliates or community members?

Partially

27a. Please describe how you have already shared them. Would you like to do more sharing, and if so how?

We shared our knowledge and progress partially during regional meetings (CEE, Istanbul WikidataCon, Local Wikimania meeting, Brussels meeting) and online meetings.

28. How often do you currently share what you have learned with other Wikimedia Foundation grantees, and learn from them?

We do this occasionally (less than once a month)

29. How does your organization currently share mutual learning with other grantees?

Via regional meetings (CEE, Turkic UG meetings and etc.) and online meetings.

Part 6: Financial reporting and compliance

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30. Please state the total amount spent in your local currency.

100800

31. Local currency type

GEL

32. Please report the funds received and spending in the currency of your fund.

  • Upload Documents, Templates, and Files.
  • Report funds received and spent, if template not used.
https://ge.wikimedia.org/wiki/ვმ_საქართველო/ბიუჯეტი/2022/ხარჯვითი_ნაწილი/01-12

33. If you have not already done so in your budget report, please provide information on changes in the budget in relation to your original proposal.

The only change was in the salaries of employees. Due to changes in the exchange rate of the national currency - GEL (due to its strengthening), we had to increase the budget for staff.

34. Do you have any unspent funds from the Fund?


34a. Please list the amount and currency you did not use and explain why.

N/A

34b. What are you planning to do with the underspent funds?

N/A

34c. Please provide details of hope to spend these funds.

N/A

35. Are you in compliance with the terms outlined in the fund agreement?


As required in the fund agreement, please report any deviations from your fund 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.

36. Are you in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations as outlined in the grant agreement?

Yes

37. 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 Funds as outlined in the grant agreement? In summary, this is to confirm that the funds were used in alignment with the WMF mission and for charitable/nonprofit/educational purposes.

Yes

38. If you have additional recommendations or reflections that don’t fit into the above sections, please write them here.