Talk:Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand Strategy 2026 2030/Strengthen Governance

Aotearoa New Zealand online meetup 68 held on 9 Nov 25

The strategy needs to include organisational capability, structure and staffing over the period to 2030. It would be useful to benchmark comparable chapters in similar-sized countries across Asia, Europe and South America looking at things such as budgets, staffing and programmes.

Although volunteers are mentioned in the draft strategy, I would like to see some strengthening of content about the critical need to recruit, recognise and retain volunteers for various project, support and governance roles to ensure the ongoing health of the organisation.

Insights gained from the ESEAP Regional Funds Committee suggest that it is unlikely that WANZ can expect significant increases in future WMF funding above the rate of inflation.

Maintenance of essential tools and applications may need to be funded by chapters in the future. Chapters are likely to be encouraged to “adopt” and maintain key tools that could be used by WiR, and other organisers; WANZ could take responsibility for supporting iNaturalist-related tools or similar initiatives and we should consider what skills and budget may be required to achieve this. CopperAlchemy (talk) 18:49, 10 November 2025 (UTC)

Noracrentiss (talk) 01:53, 24 November 2025 (UTC) The content of Goal 5 and the related actions seem to be a bit mixed up. Below are some suggestions on how to make “Goal 5” more strategic and the actions more closely aligned. To do this, I suggest an amendment to Goal 2 and the addition of Goal 6 which enables Goal 5 to remain focused internally on the health and strength of the organisation itself rather than on what WANZ is trying to achieve.

Suggested revised version of Strategic Goal 5, move some content to a slightly amended Goal 2 and add Strategic Goal 6.

We will build on the work we have done over the past years to establish a strong and resilient organisation. We will manage our funding responsibly and equitably and build on our policy and procedure development. We will continue to review, revise and improve on our ways of working for maximum efficiency and measurable outcomes. We aim to have less financial reliance on the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) in the future.

Commentary WANZ governance requires a greater commitment to the wider goals of our organisation and movement, separate from and in addition to the editing and administration skills used on Wikimedia projects. Successful committee members have a range and mix of skills, experiences, and cultural fit that recognises the community of editors and organisers the committee members represent. Recruitment and retention of highly effective committee members is challenging for WANZ. Succession planning adds another layer of complexity.

Objectives/Key Actions

1) We will trial different approaches and document our journey to better understand the most successful methods of attracting and recruiting potential committee members.

2) We will offer a “governance internship” to Māori or Pasifika youth for a 12 week period with an option to extend.

3) We will research funding opportunities to help ensure financial resilience and less dependence on WMF funding.

Change Goal 2 to read Increase the profile and impact of WANZ, Wikimedia projects, and New Zealand projects

Key actions:

ADDITIONAL: We will continue to monitor and evaluate all events and we will use this information to understand how and where we get the most impact. We will then build the insights into future events.

ADDITIONAL: We will develop and improve our metrics with a focus on impact over inputs.

SUGGESTED NEW STRATEGIC GOAL 6: Understand and influence the political environment in which WANZ operates

Commentary We will keep our eyes on potential legislation that may impact our mission, and we will be proactive with our Government, if and when required, ensuring we are in a position to advocate for and influence policy changes.

Key actions

1) We will improve our visibility of policy and regulatory frameworks in New Zealand (e.g. disinformation, AI governance, digital rights) to help ensure current and new legislation does not work against our mission.
2) We will strengthen visibility in national discourse around open knowledge and online platforms and where the Wikimedia projects fit within the online world.
3) We will develop our AI knowledge and associated tools.