Grants:Project/WM HU/Editor retention program/Final/2

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Report under review
This Project Grant report has been submitted by the grantee, and is currently being reviewed by WMF staff. If you would like to add comments, responses, or questions about this grant report, you can create a discussion page at this redlink.



Welcome to this project's final report! This report shares the outcomes, impact and learnings from the grantee's project.

Part 1: The Project[edit]

Summary[edit]

This grant funded the extension of the editor retention program in the Hungarian Wikipedia between July 2021 and August 2022. (The project was originally running between April 2019 and December 2020, and used about half of the grant). The project aims to retain editors by helping and motivating both new and old editors; improving the community atmosphere and strengthening the community cohesion, the Wikipedian identity, the sense of mission and pride in Wikipedia. The extension period focused on the following topics:

  • improvement the local technical environment (tools, gadgets, editing surface),
  • development of the statistical portal,
  • preparation of a new experimental communication channel for the community,
  • translation of important policies and software surfaces to local language,
  • offering frequent community meetups.

Project Goals[edit]

Through solving the problems that have negative influences on the editor retention in the Hungarian community, the goals of the project are

  • decreasing the negative experiences and
  • strengthening the positive experiences

of editors in order to allow a larger part of the newly registered users to become active members of the volunteer community, and to keep the activity and enthusiasm of the experienced editors.

Additional goals of the project are

  • improving the community atmosphere and friendliness and
  • strengthening the community cohesion, the Wikipedia identity, the sense of mission and pride in Wikipedia.

Project Impact[edit]

Important: The Wikimedia Foundation is no longer collecting Global Metrics for Project Grants. We are currently updating our pages to remove legacy references, but please ignore any that you encounter until we finish.

Targets[edit]

  1. In the first column of the table below, please copy and paste the measures you selected to help you evaluate your project's success (see the Project Impact section of your proposal). Please use one row for each measure. If you set a numeric target for the measure, please include the number.
  2. In the second column, describe your project's actual results. If you set a numeric target for the measure, please report numerically in this column. Otherwise, write a brief sentence summarizing your output or outcome for this measure.
  3. In the third column, you have the option to provide further explanation as needed. You may also add additional explanation below this table.
Planned measure of success
(include numeric target, if applicable) 		Actual result Explanation
Surveys, statistics
  • Regularly updated activity statistics will be available for the different user groups
  • Regularly updated list of the new editors
 Surveys, statistics The new modules of the statistical portal provides up-to-date values of the manually generated user lists used in the earlier phase of the project (see more in the #Methods and activities section)
Guidelines
  • Checking and updating the Hungarian translation of the most important interfaces, policies and guidelines outside of Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, Meta-Wiki) where the editors are redirected from Wikipedia. Translating these pages where there is no translation yet.
  • Developing a new, alternative learning method with small learning steps, a gradual learning process
 Guidelines
  • Large number of interface messages and several pages have been translated and updated in the course of the extension of the project (see in #Methods and activities)
  • Implementation of the Newcomer tasks (developed by the Growth Team)
 The gradual learning process has been developed by the Growth Team, but feedback from the Hungarian Wikipedia (as early adopter) has been taken into account
Welcoming new editors
  • Creating a tool and starting a community discussion about systematic, preferably personal welcoming, guiding and warning solutions for the new editors
 Welcoming new editors The newcomer's homepage has been developed by the Growth Team, but feedback from the Hungarian Wikipedia (as early adopter) has been taken into account, and operation of it (for example mentoring) is being done by local community members
Motivate the contributors
  • Developing and introducing a general motivation system based on editor contribution
  • Developing a system which helps in the recognition of editors doing background and maintenance activities
  • Developing a system which helps in the recognition of editors who reach major milestones
 Motivate the contributors
  • Community service awards: the new module of the statistical portal provides automatic updates
  • The new module of the statistical portal provides up-to-date toplists for major contributor groups on the Hungarian Wikipedia
  • Introducing prizes given to the most active contributor groups in each fields (under community consultation and implementation)
Events for in-person meetings
  • Organizing regular meetups / trainings (at least 8 meetups)
 Events for in-person meetings
  • 18 meetups all together: 7 in-person meetups with about 80 participants in total, and 11 online meetups (5 online meetups in the granted period) with over 200 participants (about 90 participants in the granted period) in total;
 Note 1: Because of COVID-19 measures, until June 2021 and between October 2021 and March 2022 we organized only online events.
Note 2: The original grant period ended December 2020 and the extended period started in July 2021. The 6 online meetups were organized in between the two granted periods are considered as part of the project but outside of the granted periods. No costs have been charged for this time interval.
Communication, online community building outside of Wikipedia
  • Setting up a support service for beginner Wikipedians on social media
  • Setting up contact channels on platforms outside Wikipedia and building up an online community around them
 Communication, online community building outside of Wikipedia
Technological environment, tools, gadgets
  • Overview and research about the technological environment, tools, gadgets and their problems on Hungarian Wikipedia (which tools do we have, which ones do we use, where do we need development, which are the critical bugs)
 Technological environment, tools, gadgets
  • Evaluation of the local technical wishlist, looking for developers fixing the problems, contracting them, and managing their activities (see results in the #Methods and activities section)
  • Investigation the possibility of the Matrix bridge


Story[edit]

Looking back over your whole project, what did you achieve? Tell us the story of your achievements, your results, your outcomes. Focus on inspiring moments, tough challenges, interesting anecdotes or anything that highlights the outcomes of your project. Imagine that you are sharing with a friend about the achievements that matter most to you in your project.

  • This should not be a list of what you did. You will be asked to provide that later in the Methods and Activities section.
  • Consider your original goals as you write your project's story, but don't let them limit you. Your project may have important outcomes you weren't expecting. Please focus on the impact that you believe matters most.

During the project, the project manager was responsible for the coordination and management, and to a lesser extent the implementation of the tasks, while at the same time being responsible for the administration and running of the association (part-time in total). During the extended project period, it became clear that this was a bottleneck, which the association tried to solve by hiring a (part-time) project assistant to take over part of the administrative tasks (organizational capacity building). However, this solution temporarily delayed the project implementation, as the process of calling for applications, evaluating the hundreds of applications received, conducting several rounds of interviews (oral and written), signing a contract with the selected staff member, then training and gradually delegating the tasks took about half a year between November 2021 and June 2022.

Similarly, the implementation of the project was slowed down by other unforeseen/unplanned tasks such as legal issues related to the termination of the association's headquarters contract and the management of the new headquarters (search and agreement, convening a general assembly, contract conclusion, filing of amended by laws with the court); following the flooding of the warehouse where the association's assets were stored, salvage, inventory, then finding, agreeing, contracting, moving to a new warehouse provider due to the termination of the warehouse contract (by the service provider); finding, agreeing and contracting a new accountant due to the termination of the accountant contract, then setting up the appropriate access, establishing workflows; or adapting to unexpected changes in the national legal environment. Overall, the past year has required virtually continuous crisis management. These unexpected, but essential tasks for the legitimate functioning of the organization, in addition to the chapter's normal business (article writing and other competitions, editathons and other events, fundraising campaign, submission of statutory reports and statements), have meant a continuous extra workload and tasks between autumn 2021 and September 2022, slowing down and hindering the effective implementation of the planned project.

Survey(s)[edit]

If you used surveys to evaluate the success of your project, please provide a link(s) in this section, then briefly summarize your survey results in your own words. Include three interesting outputs or outcomes that the survey revealed.

Other[edit]

Is there another way you would prefer to communicate the actual results of your project, as you understand them? You can do that here!

Methods and activities[edit]

Please provide a list of the main methods and activities through which you completed your project.

Illustration of the new syntax highlighter and the new Edittools
Illustration of the ArticleInfo gadget
First module of the statistical portal
Second module of the statistical portal
Hungarian WP20 online meetup
Group photo of the international WP20 online meetup
Online training in February 2021
Online meetup with the first Wikipedian in Residence in Hungary
Wiki picnic in July 2021
Wiki picnic in August 2021
Online training in February 2022
Online training in March 2022
Meetup in April 2022
Meetup in May 2022
Wiki expedition in June 2022
Wiki picnic in August 2022
Group photo

Project resources[edit]

Please provide links to all public, online documents and other artifacts that you created during the course of this project. Even if you have linked to them elsewhere in this report, this section serves as a centralized archive for everything you created during your project. Examples include: meeting notes, participant lists, photos or graphics uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, template messages sent to participants, wiki pages, social media (Facebook groups, Twitter accounts), datasets, surveys, questionnaires, code repositories... If possible, include a brief summary with each link.

Learning[edit]

The best thing about trying something new is that you learn from it. We want to follow in your footsteps and learn along with you, and we want to know that you took enough risks in your project to have learned something really interesting! Think about what recommendations you have for others who may follow in your footsteps, and use the below sections to describe what worked and what didn’t.

What worked well[edit]

What did you try that was successful and you'd recommend others do? To help spread successful strategies so that they can be of use to others in the movement, rather than writing lots of text here, we'd like you to share your finding in the form of a link to a learning pattern.

  • Learning patterns/How to find the right person for a specific task
  • Volunteers do not want to be paid, but rather help as volunteers (even if the financial recognition is offered). A few good words and convincing of the usefulness of the completed work can be more effective. See the translator in the project and the investigating work about the Matrix development.
  • Finding a new contractor can also be used as a recruitment tool (but it requires a lot of time), they can stay as volunteers on long term. See the junior developer of the project.
  • One of the former volunteer developers is now working as a programmer and has developed the project's statistics portal. Despite his limited free time (and relatively low salary agreement), he worked on it with great enthusiasm, adding several ideas and features that were not part of his contract, and improving and modifying it several times even after the contract was closed.

What didn’t work[edit]

What did you try that you learned didn't work? What would you think about doing differently in the future? Please list these as short bullet points.

  • The time needed to complete the tasks of the junior developer (both on the client and contractor side) was several times longer than originally planned, and some of the tasks ended up being solved by a WMF developer instead.
  • High potential payment in a contract is not a guarantee that it will be completed, if the applicant is not interested enough in the task (lack of intrinsic motivation). The project team spent about 3-4 months with the MediaWiki developer to help and guide him, without final result.

Other recommendations[edit]

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

  • The introduction of a healthy lifestyle was a new element at the 2022 meetups. Wikipedia and Wikimedia contributors typically spend a lot of time sitting in one place, in front of a monitor (which got worse by the restrictions during the pandemic), so we organized several meetups that took place outside in the nature, in the fresh air, and we made excursions and forest trips as well’, which provided active pastime. In addition, the range of food and drinks offered at the meetings has been modified and become more varied. Previously, it was only for sweet and salty snacks, but this has been expanded to include fruits and vegetables depending on the given season, bio and organic products with more natural ingredients. In some cases, we preferred the better quality products of local producers over the unhealthy mass products of supermarkets. Furthermore, during the meetings we took into account the needs of participants who required a special diet (e.g. gluten or lactose sensitive / intolerant), and we also offered them food options.

Next steps and opportunities[edit]

Are there opportunities for future growth of this project, or new areas you have uncovered in the course of this grant that could be fruitful for more exploration (either by yourself, or others)? What ideas or suggestions do you have for future projects based on the work you’ve completed? Please list these as short bullet points.

  • The WMF-funded project between 2019 and 2022 provided excellent foundations on which to build in the future, and Wikimedia Hungary is committed to continuing and expanding the editor retention program in the following years.
  • New feature roadmap and the new contract for the third module of the statistical portal is being prepared, and the Spanish chapter requested that their requirements for monitoring the impact of their activities be integrated into the portal, which Wikimedia Hungary had undertaken. (The statistical portal was developed in a way that adding other languages, wikis or modules with local configuration is relatively easy, so it can serve multiple communities in the future, upon request.)
  • There are still some uncompleted tasks listed in the project plan, there are some research related tasks which need to be repeated, and there are new ideas how to help increase retention rate and community growth on the Hungarian Wikipedia.

Part 2: The Grant[edit]

Finances[edit]

Actual spending[edit]

Please copy and paste the completed table from your project finances page. Check that you’ve listed the actual expenditures compared with what was originally planned. If there are differences between the planned and actual use of funds, please use the column provided to explain them.

Expense Approved amount Actual funds spent Difference
Community and project manager 1,402,149 HUF 1,530,752 HUF -128,603 HUF
Occasional contractors (developer, translator, tutorials) 394,537 HUF 277,565 HUF 116,972 HUF
State taxes 1,230,947 HUF 1,331,866 HUF -100,919 HUF
Event space 240,830 HUF 254,061 HUF -13,231 HUF
Wikicamp 125,781 HUF 0 HUF 125,781 HUF
Total 3,394,244 HUF
(~ 7,920 USD) 		3,394,244 HUF
(~ 7,920 USD) 		0 HUF

Notes:

  • The actual costs documented by the invoices exceeded the budget for the grant by 6147 HUF (about 14 USD), which Wikimedia Hungary supplemented from its own budget.
  • The transfer between expense groups did not exceed 300 USD (see column Difference).
  • The MediaWiki developer has not been paid.
  • It was not possible to organize a WikiCamp in 2022.
  • The USD amounts are based on the exchange rate of 30 September 2022 (428,57 HUF/USD). Exchange rate on 30 December 2022 was 375,68 HUF/EUR, which would make the indicated amounts 9035 USD. (official exchange rates of the Hungarian National Bank)

Remaining funds[edit]

Do you have any unspent funds from the grant?

Please answer yes or no. If yes, list the amount you did not use and explain why.

  • No

If you have unspent funds, they must be returned to WMF. Please see the instructions for returning unspent funds and indicate here if this is still in progress, or if this is already completed:

Documentation[edit]

Did you send documentation of all expenses paid with grant funds to grantsadmin(_AT_)wikimedia.org, according to the guidelines here?

Please answer yes or no. If no, include an explanation.

  • Yes

Confirmation of project status[edit]

Did you comply with the requirements specified by WMF in the grant agreement?

Please answer yes or no.

  • Yes

Is your project completed?

Please answer yes or no.

  • Yes


Note: Not all planned activities were implemented, but this was not the goal of the project either. The goals undertaken during the project application were already realized in the first phase of the project, and further developed in the extended period.

Grantee reflection[edit]

We’d love to hear any thoughts you have on what this project has meant to you, or how the experience of being a grantee has gone overall. Is there something that surprised you, or that you particularly enjoyed, or that you’ll do differently going forward as a result of the Project Grant experience? Please share it here!


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