Grants talk:Simple/Applications/Wikimedia Chile/2018

Eligibility

WMCL is eligible to apply for a grant of up to 12 months and 50,000 US dollars and with up to 0.5 FTE staff for a maximum period of 6 months. See comments on WMCL's midpoint report for a review of their recent work. Winifred Olliff (WMF Program Officer) talk 03:23, 24 February 2018 (UTC)

Questions from SAPG members

From Philip Kopetzky

Hi dear WMCL, thank you for your application! :-) I've read your application and midpoint report with great interest and have a few questions regarding some of the points you make in your application. Please feel free to answer in-line where possible ;-)

Staff

The proposed staffing model says that one person should work as a "general coordinator" for 20 hours a week for 3 months, while administrating back office duties, implementing activities, writing a 2019 grant and evaluating and coordinating the different parts of WMCL. This list of tasks seems a bit daunting for one person to complete successfully - would you consider narrowing down the tasks to make it more likely for one person to succeed in this role? On the same note, while thinking about the tasks that staff should perform, did you consider how board and staff would work together? Would the board still be a operational board supplemented by staff? Or would staff be working more autonomous, making the board less operational? Best, Philip Kopetzky (talk) 10:14, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

Hi Philip, thanks for your questions. The general coordinator is intended to be mainly in charge of writing the final reports for this term (March-December 2018) and the grant for 2019. That's the reason we are asking this staff position only for the last three months of this year. This staff will not have many "office" duties, and definitely (s)he will not implement the projects -- these last issues will continue being dealed by the Board. We hope that the chosen person could continue next year in a full-time & more autonomous function, obviously depending on his/her performance. --Warko (talk) 02:42, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

Thanks for the clarification! I think my follow-up question is covered by Alleycat's question below. Philip Kopetzky (talk) 07:57, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

WLE 2018

I'm glad to see that you are planning to take part in Wiki Loves Earth 2018! :-) It would be interesting to know why you stopped participating in WLM and why participating in WLM again wasn't an option this year, considering that starting a whole new project like WLE is probably way more effort than starting WLM back up again. Philip Kopetzky (talk) 10:30, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

Secondly, how many volunteers are involved in WLE? Is there a long-term plan to do WLE every year from now on? Philip Kopetzky (talk) 10:30, 7 February 2018 (UTC)

I will answer both questions. Regarding WLM, we made the contest for two years with more than 7,000 photos. WMCL decided not to continue with the contest because Chile does not have a big amount of national monuments compared with other countries, so we would not have many innovation in new WLM versions. Instead of WLM, in the following years we decided to make other contests related with Chilean culture, focused for example on cuisine and science. Considering that Chile is internationally known by its natural landscapes, we decided to join WLE this year, and we are planning to have support from some local touristic institutions. The project will be lead by our Board Member Carlos, who has being involved with the chapter's photograph projects in the last two years, and the technical duties will be seen by Dennis. After this first version of the contest, and having a long-term strategy for WMCL, we could only evaluate if WLE will be replicated in future years. Best, --Warko (talk) 03:31, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

Great, thanks for the explanation! Of course that makes a lot of sense :-) Philip Kopetzky (talk) 07:52, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

From Ido

Hi, thanks for submitting!

• I would like to ask how some of the goals from the midpoint report look like today, especially the goals around WikiPuente (trial period, materials, involvement in university programs).

• What will be the success measures for the coordinator staff to continue work as a "permanent" staffer? How do you see the job breakdown in the 3 months and how is that expected to change afterwards?

Alleycat80 (talk) 02:31, 11 February 2018 (UTC)

Thanks Ido for your questions!

• Regarding the first question about the goals from midpoint report, as you correctly said both things that are still pending (but currently on track) are related to the Education program. Wikipuentes site is already activated and we are working with the designer of the Argentinian version to set the definitive skin of the platform. Despite that, we are now testing the MOOC with 4 local teachers, and we will have their feedback by February 25th. Regarding the education (and outreach) materials we are working in the content of the videos, and we have already contacted a designer that will make them.
• We haven't still decided an evaluation pattern for the continuity of the staff for next year, as we are waiting to ve the funds approved to hire that position, and considering that we will have seven months since the start of the grant until the hire of the coordinator staff. We are planning to learn from the experience of other chapters which have staff, especially from countries that have cultural similarities with Chile (such as Argentina, or Spain). In order to do so, we are planning to have conversations with other chapter representatives and staffers in WMCON.

I hope I have answered your questions. Best, --Warko (talk) 15:53, 14 February 2018 (UTC)

Yeah, you did and thanks Warko. I guess it makes sense to get an understanding of the scope for a staffer to provide targets. Alleycat80 (talk) 07:18, 22 February 2018 (UTC)

From Rohini

¡Hola colegas en Wikimedia Chile! He leído sus aplicación y el informe de punto medio. Felicidades por tu gran trabajo. Hablo un poco de español pero no chileno. Así que voy a pedir a mis preguntas en inglés.

Equipment

I see you purchased some equipment in 2017 (Line item number 1.3 in the 2017 expenses, DSLR lens and monopod). How is the equipment being used now? Will you continue to require it? If not, I suggest turning it into a community asset that people who need photography equipment for Wiki activities can use.

Hi! The photograph equipment is currently used by our Board Member and "Sports and other events coverage" project leader Carlos Figueroa. Carlos keep a list of the events he has photographed in our internal wiki. You can see his 2017 photos and the last event covered (a rock festival last January). We are open to lent the equipment to other community members who need it but until now, that hasn't been requested. --Warko (talk) 18:36, 25 February 2018 (UTC)

My suggestion is that you could inform the community or the members of the chapter that they could borrow the equipment for Wiki-related activities when it's not in use. -- Rohini (talk) 07:05, 1 March 2018 (UTC)

Education program

• Now that the education program is on track, I'd like to know more about how you plan to address the questions I previously asked here about evaluating the impact and retaining editors in the long term.
• What license would be applied to the Wikipuentes Chile content? I am trying to figure out the potential for the material to be shared and built upon.
• From observing Wikipedia education programs in India and other developing countries, my intuition is that the targets you have set for yourself in terms of the number of institutions, students and teachers are a bit high, especially for a program that is just starting. I would recommend you have some room in your project plan and budget for course-correction just in case you are not able to reach the expected numbers. (Please correct me if I am mistaken; I am not aware of the specifics of the university and elementary education scenario in Chile.) I would be happy to discuss this over email or VoIP call if you would like to.

-- Rohini (talk) 22:33, 18 February 2018 (UTC)

I will answer your questions in the same order:

• Retention is always a challenge, especially on the Education track, where the users are drived to edit Wikipedia because it is a class assignment and not necessarily by their own interest. We are planning to address this topic in two ways: first, supporting edition clubs which gather the students who are really motivated to continue editing Wikipedia and include them in other chapter activites. We have had a similar experience with our work with the researchers that created last year's Women Artists edit-a-thon, who have continue editing after the main activity, and are planning a second one this year. The second way is having more reach through social media, using new platforms (as Instagram) and producing videos to spread in these sites. Of course, this is only a first step, which is coherent with our realistic approach to challenges.
• Wikipuentes has a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license, allowing the use and translation by other affiliates.
• Yes, the numbers could sound a little bit high, but it is because we are making efforts to increase the reach of our Education program in comparison with the past years. Our Wikipedia in the University program is not something new, it started in 2012, so we have enough experience to take that step. This is in line with our Work Plan 2017-2018. In the case of Wikipuentes, the new program we will be running this year, the resources for its design were covered by the last grant. Of course we will track the numbers in the course of the year, but in terms of budget it should not be a trouble since the implementation of Education programs is not so high ($1,650).

I hope this answer your questions. Best, --Warko (talk) 20:46, 26 February 2018 (UTC)

Thank you for your answers. Congratulations for your new round of funding! -- Rohini (talk) 07:07, 1 March 2018 (UTC)

From Chinmayi

Hello , Thank you for this submission. I really love how you have designed your outreach activities especially around building value and support systems. My comments for your application would be around Wiki Loves Earth. Though it is a great program given your context and experience i think instead of just running the contest and inviting pictures may I suggest that you build partnerships with ecological and conservation based organisations to help them with their work. That would make this a far more effective effort. -- Chinmayisk (talk) 12:46, 21 February 2018 (UTC)

Hi! Indeed, out last goal is to have a long-term partnership with public and private institutions related with tourism and environment. We are thinking Wiki Loves Earth as a first step to accomplish this, because this kind of international contest could be really attractive to this kind of institutions. If they join us as sponsors of WLE, then could be more easy to build a strong partnership in the near future. Best, --Warko (talk) 19:46, 25 February 2018 (UTC)

Simple Annual Plan Grant Committee Recommendation

Committee recommendations

Funding recommendations: We recommend that this application is fully funded in the amount of 17,250,000 CLP for 10 months. Our primary concerns are related to WMCL’s plans for hiring staff. While we see the argument for hiring a staff person at the end of this year, it does not seem like WMCL is yet prepared to take on this responsibility. We understand that WMCL will have more than 6 months to prepare for hiring this staff person, which is why we are willing to move forward with funding this grant, with the clear expectation that WMCL have concrete, detailed, and realistic plans in place before they move forward with hiring. The committee members will work with WMCL to start defining their staffing plans at the Wikimedia Conference and will expect plans to be completely finalized by the time WMCL submits their midpoint report. If these conditions are not met, the committee recommends that WMCL not go forward with hiring the staff person as planned.

Strengths identified by the committee: WMCL has presented a particularly interesting and diverse program plan for an organization of their size. Not only is WMCL focusing on building a foundation in different areas of expertise that are relevant locally, such as education, but they are also contributing to projects that have an impact in the global community. We see a mix of successful ideas that are being thoughtfully adapted in WMCL’s context, and new ideas that are being tested. In particular, we are impressed with the coordinating role WMCL has played in organizing the contest among Latin American and MENA communities and the value it brings in terms of motivation and bringing different parts of the world closer together. We also like how WMCL is adapting WMAR’s approach to a massive online course for teachers through their adaptation of Wikipuentes and therefore are leading the way in adapting this useful model in other countries. We appreciate the efforts that WMCL has put into executing a successful transitional grant, including producing a timely midpoint report of very good quality. We see they have implemented improvements to their approach to budgeting, as previously recommended by the committee. We appreciate WMCL’s measured approach to growth and willingness to incorporate feedback. Based on WMCL’s midpoint achievements, we are optimistic that they can achieve more results now that the organization is stabilizing and intending to bring on their first staff person.

Concerns identified by the committee: Concerns are mainly about the staffing plan (see recommendations above). Right now, expectations about what this staff person will do are not realistic, and roles among staff and board should be better defined. WMCL will need to put in place the appropriate policies before taking on staff management. Examples for definitions of roles among staff and board can be found on the Board Member Support page.

On behalf of the Simple Annual Plan Grants Committee. Philip Kopetzky (talk) 20:03, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

WMF decision

Decision from WMF

Funding decision: Thanks to WMCL for this application and to the committee for their recommendations. This grant is approved in the amount of 17,250,000 CLP for 10 months beginning 1 March 2018, in accordance with the committee's recommendations. As recommended, we will work with WMCL and the committee to monitor preparations for the hiring of WMCL's first staff person, to support WMCL in preparing before this person is hired. Winifred Olliff (WMF Program Officer) talk 21:07, 27 February 2018 (UTC)

Midpoint notes from I JethroBT (WMF)

Hi B1mbo and Warko, and thanks for meeting with Wolliff (WMF) and myself to discuss your midpoint report. Here some general comments and specific recommendations from our discussion:

Finances

• There is an underspend we discussed related to travel funds that you do not plan to use for travel. In terms of how to use those remaining funds, please meet to decide on how to reallocate these funds soon. Once you've decided, please make a formal request to Winifred via e-mail.
  • One area to consider moving them to is in your reserves in anticipation of future staff needs, but there are other possible areas you discussed with us that could also benefit from these funds.

Outreach

• Excellent work reporting your progress with the Aysén Regional Museum. As you are expanding programs into less populated areas, we recommend creating a map to show where all these events have happened, and where future events are planned. This can be used on reports and other materials to help illustrate this work more clearly.
  • An approach we recommend is trying to work at the national level to begin new partnerships or grow existing ones. Find the right contacts and connections to the Ministry of Education is an important place to start this work.

Education

• Great to read about the launch of Wikipuentes, some initial learnings you have received through program contractor from participating teachers, and some initial changes you have made based on that feedback.
  • Providing an incentive for teachers to participate may help some of the issues you are facing around participation. Others in the movement have petitioned their government for certification for Wikimedia-related training, and we can connect you to them to guide you through their experience and help you plan for this work.

Content creation

• While it is clear the progress being made in this area is good based on your goals, the purpose and direction of this work in content creation needs better definition.
  • This is also true for some other current programs as the chapter is growing, but this is just one example.

Next steps

• Wikimedia Chile should begin thinking about its next annual plan, and should begin drafting and prepare to submit the annual plan application and budget. We would like to see more information about the larger strategy that these or other programs will support. Plan to have this ready by November 1st.

Thanks again for your work so far and for preparing this midpoint report. We look forward to seeing Wikimedia Chile's achievements in the remainder of your annual plan. Take care, I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 22:18, 25 September 2018 (UTC)

Extension of final reporting deadline until 17 February

WMCL has requested an extension of the final reporting deadline until 17 February, and we have approved the extension. Final report should be posted here by 17 February. Best, Winifred Olliff (WMF Program Officer) talk 00:01, 17 January 2019 (UTC)

Prórroga del plazo del informe final hasta el 15 de marzo

Aprobado, Winifred Olliff (WMF Program Officer) talk 00:18, 26 February 2019 (UTC)