Product and Technology Advisory Council/Year1 Reflections and Proposed Way Forward 2026 Update

Purpose and Background

The Product & Technology Advisory Council (PTAC) was created as a one-year experiment in response to the Movement Charter’s call for deeper collaboration between technical contributors and the Wikimedia Foundation. The intention was to bring diverse technical voices closer to Foundation decision-making and help shape a more resilient, future-proof platform for contributors and readers.

As we approached the first-year mark, we completed a retrospective and reviewed PTAC’s role, impact, and challenges. Overall, PTAC members and Product and Tech Leadership agree that, as a pilot, PTAC was a success yielding impact and useful lessons. This update summarizes a proposed path forward based on what we’ve learned.

PTAC year one was successful because:

Recommendations translated into action: PTAC’s recommendations were taken seriously by WMF leadership (100% agreement among PTAC members when surveyed) and meaningfully influenced Product & Technology direction, including incorporation into the Annual Plan through a repeatable, improvable process.
Volunteer success criteria were met: When surveyed, members consistently reported feeling heard, respected, and that their time and contributions were meaningful, with strong trust in the council and no signs of disillusionment.
New ways of working with the movement were established: Year one intentionally focused on testing and learning, resulting in stronger staff–volunteer collaboration, in-person engagement at events such as Wikimania, and the use of working groups to tackle concrete issues—insights that directly inform improvements for year two.

After weighing several options, our proposal is to continue PTAC with targeted improvements. This approach preserves what worked while improving communication, participation, structure, and transparency.

Improvements Planned for 2026

Below are the key adjustments we propose for the next iteration of PTAC based on our retro discussions and feedback from the council:

Strengthen PTAC communication and transparency
Adjust PTAC ways of working
Clarify expectations and roles
Revisit PTAC composition for Year 2
Publish topics for 2026 in advance

1. Strengthen Communication & Transparency

Provide clearer, more complete documentation on Meta (meeting notes, project descriptions, recommendations, progress updates).
Share regular reports summarizing PTAC’s impact, including an annual update (e.g., Diff post).
Clarify (1) how PTAC engages directly in the Wikimedia Foundation’s Annual Plan (APP) process, and (2) how PTAC recommendations made outside the APP cycle are later incorporated into Annual Plan priorities and key results.
Develop a list of all PTAC projects and recommendations as well as an impact section to highlight the improvements that resulted from the council’s work.

2. Adjust Ways of Working

Establish working groups for the main topics of focus (each PTAC member participates in at least one).
Increase collaboration between meetings through async work or smaller group check-ins.
Shift from monthly large-group meetings to fewer, longer, more structured sessions (exact cadence TBD).
Explore support for regional collaboration (e.g., a CEE-style model in additional communities).

3. Clarify Expectations and Roles

For WMF staff

Communicate roadmaps and active work areas more clearly.
Share impact-oriented metrics, not only progress updates.
Ensure alignment between PTAC recommendations and WMF workstreams.
Provide a clear WMF primary point of contact and defined staff roles for WMF council-members.

For PTAC members

Actively participate in PTAC meetings and working groups (target: ~3–4 hours/month).
Contribute constructively, openly, and transparently.
Serve as a bridge to their communities — gathering input and sharing back discussions.
Volunteer or rotate into supporting roles (e.g., working group leads, note-takers, comms coordination).

4. Revisit PTAC Composition for Year 2

Confirm which current PTAC members have the capacity and interest to actively participate in Year 2, recognizing that continued participation is not automatic and that membership may evolve over time.
Strive for representation across regions, projects, and technical audiences, recognizing that PTAC representation is shaped by member availability, expertise, and the many ways the movement can be represented.
Invite members to confirm they are willing to contribute to the priority topics for next year.

5. Publish Topics for 2026 in Advance

To help members self-select based on interest and capacity, WMF will publish the strategic technical problem spaces for 2026 early in the new year.

These topics will be:

Informed by data and year-one experience.
Chosen for feasibility and impact.
Open to refinement as new issues emerge during the year as identified from global trends data and community input.

Next Steps

WMF-led (with PTAC consultation and input)

Define priority problem spaces for 2026

Timeline: January 2026. Note: The process for selecting priorities is driven by the Global Trends report, which looks broadly at trends globally, as well as movement trends.

Draft the PTAC “Charter” outlining expectations and ways of working

Timeline: January 2026.

Share the Charter with PTAC members and request explicit commitments

Timeline: End of January 2026.

Joint WMF + PTAC

Hold a workshop to discuss 2026 topics and alignment with the Annual Plan

Timeline: January – February 2026.

Set new meeting and working-group cadences for 2026

Timeline: February 2026.

Closing

Year 1 of PTAC was an experiment which surfaced clear value, strong community interest, and meaningful lessons.

With the improvements outlined above, we believe PTAC can become a more focused, impactful, and transparent advisory structure that strengthens collaboration between contributors and the Wikimedia Foundation.

We welcome community feedback on this proposed direction and look forward to building Year 2 together. If you have feedback on the direction, please feel free to respond via the Talk page by February 28, 2026.

Appendix

PTAC Year 1 Evaluation: Summary of Survey Results

As part of PTAC’s Year 1 retrospective, the Wikimedia Foundation conducted an evaluation survey with PTAC members to assess whether the pilot met its intended goals and to inform proposed adjustments for Year 2.

Key takeaways relevant to the proposed way forward:

PTAC functioned as an effective advisory body. All surveyed members agreed that PTAC recommendations were taken seriously by Wikimedia Foundation leadership and influenced Product & Technology direction, including inputs into the Annual Plan. This supports continuing PTAC as an advisory structure, while improving how its work is communicated externally.

Volunteer experience met success criteria, but surfaced limits. Members consistently reported feeling heard, respected, and that their contributions were meaningful. At the same time, the survey highlighted constraints around capacity, clarity of expectations, and the need for more structured ways of working which is why we propose changes to meeting cadence, working groups, and clearer role definitions.

Community connection requires strengthening. While PTAC members viewed themselves as effective bridges between the Foundation and technical communities, survey responses reinforced the need for more transparent documentation, clearer articulation of PTAC’s role, and more visible pathways for community input. This feedback underpins the emphasis on improved on-wiki communication, clearer Meta documentation, and explicit expectations around community engagement in Year 2.

Important scope note: This survey reflects the experiences of PTAC members themselves and does not measure broader community sentiment. For this reason, the proposed changes focus not on declaring success in representing the community, but on addressing known gaps particularly around transparency, clarity, and communication to better support that goal going forward.