Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/General Support Fund/Integrating Medical Knowledge in a Disintegrating World

Comments from Redwidgeon

I appreciated reviewing ProjectMed's proposal for 2026-2028. My impression is that this is a very strong proposal, well organized & well-supported with metrics. The progession of activities over the 3-year plan (1: Broadening Foundations; 2: Scaling and Standardization; & 3: Consolidation and Impact) seems reasonable & the 3 focus areas (Language Empowerment, Global Access, & Rich Content) seem well-suited to achieve project goals. Your metrics are ambitious but nevertheless realistic based on project history.

A couple of questions:

• How do you elicit, consider, & respond to user feedback? I couldn't see any mention of how these tasks were addressed in your proposal.
• Do you have any processes in place or contributors assigned to review and update information as needed?
• Is there /could there be a role for AI in some aspects of the project?

Thanks again for submitting your proposal.

Redwidgeon (talk) 19:19, 4 November 2025 (UTC)

Thanks User:Redwidgeon

• With respect to feedback, this depends on the project in question and with whom the discussion is occurring. For example you can see our discussions with the EN WP community about rolling out OWID here. First discussion, Second discussion, Third discussion, and Fourth discussion. Which was finally followed by rollout on EN WP were it is currently live in 80 or so articles.[1] Similar discussions have occurred on Commons and to a lesser degree in the other 5 languages in which the OWID gadget has been activated.
  • With respect to our translation efforts we receive / reach out for feedback on Wikipedia and at Wikimania. Plus this year we visited the Uganda, Rwanda, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia communities in their respective countries to garner feedback in person.
  • With respect to working with our external partners like Our World in Data, Translators Without Borders, ProZ Probono, and OLI this is mostly done by email.
  • We also are part of WP:Data Visualization on EN WP.
• With respect to updating information it depends on the project. So for example with respect to our shipping of Internet in a Box this has been disrupted by US tariffs as well as Canadian postal strikes and we try to keep those interested updated via here. With respect to OWID software development we have this page. With respect to some of our translate efforts we have this and special coordinator tools for our coordinators.
• With respect to AI, we have considered it with respect to our image efforts and VideoWiki[2][3]. AI however requires a great deal of human oversight and for subject areas that lack a large corpus is poor.

Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 19:02, 9 November 2025 (UTC)

Comments from Emjackson42

Thanks for this thoughtful and interesting proposal. Can you please address the following questions?

• Can you please elaborate on what the "Impact Support" line item will be used for?
• I am confused at the IIAB boxes. You state that they are sold at cost. In 2024, I see 11/50 boxes shipped. Does that mean that costs were recouped for 11 boxes in 2024?

Thank you again for your proposal. I look forward to hearing from you. Emjackson42 (talk) 01:49, 7 November 2025 (UTC)

User:Emjackson42

• With respect to "Impact Support: To provide dedicated tracking, and strategic bolstering of high-impact reporting and metrics, plus innovating in grassroots and philanthropic fundraising efforts, allowing us to measure and maximize the effectiveness and impact of our programs. This funding will help ensure growth while exploring strategies for long-term sustainability."

This refers to our contractors who manage fundraising including grant applications and reporting on our work to those who provide us grants.

• Yes IIAB is sold at cost which means we recoup some funds. We have moved to 63 USD per standard unit and also do customizations at 83 USD. This includes global shipping and assembly and we have brought on contractors in both Canada and the USA to manage various aspects of the efforts. While shipping was previously handled by the Wikipedia Store we have taken on this role due to the complexities of the new US tariffs. We also fund development of the underlying software and hold inventory of up to 50K as well as uSD card duplicators now in two countries.
• I am not seeing the "11/50 boxes shipped" in 2024. We actually shipped 307 devices in 2024 and have so far shipped more than 800 devices in 2025 despite the global disruptions in shipping.

Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 19:22, 9 November 2025 (UTC)

General Support Fund proposal approved in the amount of 540,000 USD

Congratulations! Your grant is approved for full funding in the amount of $180,000 USD each year for the grant term starting 1 January 2026 and ending 31 December 2028. The funding will be distributed over the three-year period in the following manner:

Year 1: 180,000 USD

Year 2: 180,000 USD

Year 3: 180,000 USD

The Regional Committee supported fully funding the Wiki Project Med Foundation on the basis of its clear and solid mission, well-defined roles and activities, and relevant metrics. The Committee also appreciated your specific plans to secure external funding. While the organization maintains a larger number of contractors compared to most affiliates, these roles are well-defined, scoped appropriately, and have clear relevance to broader programmatic and organizational goals. We hope the multiyear funding offers greater stability to your organization and more capacity to plan more complex programmatic work over the next three years.

We do have one comment for you to consider: as the IIAB program is designed to be cost-neutral, we will likely not continue to support it after this round. It would be preferable to list IIAB as a balanced item on your budget; or your organization could adjust the pricing such that it continues to be a source of revenue for your organization.

We look forward to the Wiki Med Foundation’s contributions to the Wikimedia movement and open knowledge of medicine over the next three years. On behalf of the Regional Fund Committee, Redwidgeon (talk) 19:31, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

Thank you. Doc James (talk · contribs · email) 10:14, 1 March 2026 (UTC)