Community Survey Edition 2025

Between February 2025 and March 2025, Wikimedia CH has conducted the fourth community survey. In order to create a basis for comparison, a large portion of the questionnaire of 2017 was used. These questions cover a variety of topics. The aim was not only to accumulate feedback concerning the association's efforts and strategic direction but also, and above all, to better understand the needs, concerns, and ideas of the different communities in Switzerland.

Without the community and without members, there would be no Wikimedia CH. Therefore, Wikimedia CH places the utmost importance on listening to the Swiss community and its association members, and serving them to the best of its ability.

Wikimedia CH actively asks for feedback and input during in-person events, using the information received to adapt its services and make its work more effective. The ideas and comments regarding its strategic framework find their way into future plans and further strategy discussions. The Wikipedia Day in Bern marked the beginning of collaborative discussions on the next Wikimedia CH association strategy for the period 2027–2031. If you wish to participate in the strategic process, you can simply drop Wikimedia CH a message with the subject "Next Strategy" via info@wikimedia.ch.

The survey has been hosted on LimeSurvey.org. It was available online in four languages (de, fr, it, en) from February 14th onwards. The survey link was communicated on the central notice banners on all project platforms in all languages for all logged-in users in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It was also sent via email mailing lists.

Banner Text

Wikimedia CH values your feedback to support community development. Please share your thoughts in this survey. Thank you!

Results

Glossary

n = respondents
a = number of mentions in multiple-answer question

Q2. Which statement best describes you? 

n=105, question to all participants

The survey results show that the majority of participants are Wikipedians who are not also members of Wikimedia CH. This result demonstrates that the survey also reached non-member contributors and that they are willing to participate in the association’s development process. This pattern has also been observed in previous years, which indicates a steady interest of non-member contributors in the association's activities. Compared to 2016, there has been a slight decrease in the relative number of participants who are both contributors and association members, the proportion of participating non-member contributors grew.

Questions related to Wikimedia projects

Q3. For how many years have you been contributing to Wikipedia and/or other Wikimedia Projects, like Wikimedia Commons?

n=94, question to contributors only

More than three quarters of the survey participants (85%) have been active for at least a year, half of the participants have even been contributing for five years or more.

The time series suggests that contributors who have been active for between one and five years are the most vocal. Compared to 2016, the proportion of long-standing contributors voicing their opinion has increased substantially, while the proportion of contributors who have been involved for under a year has decreased. Future initiatives must consider how to also engage new contributors.

Q4. On which Wikimedia Projects do you contribute?

n=94, question to contributors only; multiple answers possible, a=198

Survey participants are predominantly contributors to the main Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata), with Wikipedia at the top. However, contributors also engage across a diverse spectrum of other Wikimedia projects.

Other projects, with fewer than five mentions in 2025, are: Wikivoyage (1), Wikiquote (1), Wikibooks (1), Wikinews (1), Wikiversity (4), Wikispecies (1) and Wikifunctions (1).

Q5. Which of the following groups support you in your work as Wikipedian and/or Wikimedian (in Wikimedia Projects)?

n=94, question to contributors only; multiple answers possible, a=152 

Many contributors either share their time in connection with other users that they know or don’t know, or they are satisfied without support when contributing. However, 17 of the survey participants desire more support. To this effect, several possibilities to get in touch have been offered throughout the survey.

Questions related to Wikimedia CH membership

Q6. For how long have you been a member of Wikimedia CH?

n=31; members-only question

While two-thirds of members have belonged to the association for 1-10+ years, nearly 20% of participating members have joined within the past year. Even though long-standing members form a large majority, newcomers actively voiced their opinions too.

Q7. What were your main reasons for becoming a member of Wikimedia CH?

n=31; members-only question; multiple answers possible, a=84

The survey results show that the Wikimedia CH membership is perceived as an important way of supporting access to free knowledge and Wikimedia projects. Members also identify the association as a platform for meeting like-minded contributors and participating in activities with other members and contributors. The responses are distributed similarly as they were in 2016, indicating that members' priorities remained relatively stable over time. However, there has been a shift in focus from supporting Wikipedia and free knowledge toward contributing to association's activities.

Q8. Do you participate in Wikimedia CH's activities and/or events?

n=105, question to all participants

Compared to the previous surveys, a new category, "Sporadically", has been added to differentiate more clearly between the possible answers and to better understand how community engagement in the context of association activities happens.

As shown by the collected answers, just under a third of the survey participants participate in activities of the association, while 60% do not use the offer.

The high number of non-participants could be a sign that the existing formats haven’t reached their full potential yet or are not in line with the needs of survey participants, a fact that will need to be considered in the new strategy process. Also, it is crucial to consider that many projects financed as grants, microgrants and scholarships may often not be identified as activities from the Wikimedia CH association, but rather as community-driven activities or perceived as events provided by Wikimedia CH partners.

Q10. How happy are you with your experience as a Wikimedia CH member?

n=31, members-only question

Results for 2025 show that 58% are fully or rather happy, followed by 16% taking a neutral stance and 9% that are rather or not at all happy with their experience as Wikimedia CH members.

To better understand areas for improvement, Wikimedia CH asked members who expressed lower satisfaction levels to identify unmet expectations. Areas included:

more evenly distributed presence of Wikimedia CH across Switzerland, especially in remote areas;
better targeted workshops such as for photos with follow-up activities;
continued education about Wikimedia projects;
concerns about past internal conflicts that affected member "happiness".

Additional feedback covered various operational and communication aspects.

Q11. "I would recommend a friend to become a member of Wikimedia CH."

n=31, members-only question

A good third would or would rather recommend Wikimedia CH membership (see graph above, Q10), while close to 20% remain neutral and 14% would rather not or not at all recommend a membership. Investigating to understand the reasons behind these responses can provide valuable insights for the association's future growth and sustainability.

Q14. Does the following statement apply to you: "I have a feeling of 'belonging' to the Swiss Wikimedia community."?

n=105, question to all participants

This question changed substantially since previous surveys. Back then, the goal was to assess whether participants felt a sense of belonging to the formal association. For this edition, the focus was on understanding whether there is a feeling of connection to a broader Swiss Community, both within and outside the association. Therefore, the results of this question are not suitable for a time series.

The results show that a short third of the participants experience the feeling of belonging to a Swiss Community, while about 40% do not feel this connection. Future initiatives could further dig into factors that may influence the community of Swiss contributors to better understand how connected the neighbouring communities are.

Q16. How valued or appreciated do you feel by Wikimedia CH?

n=105, question to all participants

In this question, 40% chose "No answer". Just under a quarter of the participants expressed their satisfaction, and for another quarter, the appreciation by Wikimedia CH doesn't matter. The negative responses represent areas the association will address, while maintaining satisfaction among those who currently feel valued.

The percentage of respondents for whom the appreciation doesn’t matter at all has increased a lot, while the percentage of participants feeling valued has overall decreased, and the percentage of participants feeling unappreciated has increased. The right measures in coming years will hopefully reverse this downward trend.

Questions related to the Wikimedia CH strategy

Q18. Were you aware of the fact that Wikimedia CH has a strategy?

n=105, question to all participants

Over half of the respondents stated that they were not aware of the fact that Wikimedia has a strategy. A quarter of the answers were from participants who were aware of the strategy. Clearly, the high number of people unaware of the association's strategy shows Wikimedia CH needs to improve its communication outreach in this matter.

This question is also important because the strategic process for the period 2027 to 2031 has just started. Wikipedia Day 2025 was offered as a kick-off and gathered about a hundred contributors, members and Wiki-fans to identify the cornerstones and foundations of the new strategy. Wikimedia CH will continue to involve the community and association members in the new strategy creation process. See the call at the beginning of this page.

Q19. Are you satisfied with the strategic direction of Wikimedia CH?

n=105, question to all participants

People who knew about the strategic direction, as well as people who didn't initially know about it, are mostly satisfied or don't care. 7% are not satisfied, but "No answer" was chosen by around half the survey participants.

Q21. Are you aware of how Wikimedia CH spends its money? For budget and spending information please consult the Progress Report.

n=105, question to all participants

Most survey participants are not aware of how Wikimedia CH allocates its spending throughout the year, even though it is all public information. However, by far not everybody is reached, and budgets might not be of the same interest to everyone.

Q22. Are you satisfied with the way Wikimedia CH spends its money (taking into consideration the high cost of operating in Switzerland)?

n=105, question to all participants

The results show that people are equally divided between those who are satisfied with Wikimedia CH's spendings, those who are not satisfied, and those who do not care about how the money is ultimately spent. The reasons for disapproval need to be further investigated.

Q24. Are you satisfied with the level of transparency around Wikimedia CH's strategy and budget?

n=105, question to all participants

The levels of satisfaction, dissatisfaction and disinterest regarding transparency are similar to those regarding spending (Q22). This question was first asked in 2017. Then as now, most participants were satisfied or did not answer the question.

The proportion of people who do not care about the level of transparency, however, was almost cut in half. This and the stark uptick of people who are not satisfied needs to be analysed and addressed in the future.

Q25. Wikimedia CH's strategic priorities for the coming years are Education, Community, GLAM, Innovation, and Outreach. Which of these programmes do you actively follow?

n=105, question to all participants; multiple answers possible, a=177

The interest in all programmes is more or less equal with a somewhat lower turnout for outreach. A comparable number of people do not actively follow any of the associations’ programmes.

Q26. Are you satisfied with the individual strategies for each direction?

n=105, question to all participants

The Annual plan summary for all programmes was provided with this question. On average, half of the respondents skipped or indicated that they don't care about this question. One third were satisfied with the programmes, while one sixth were dissatisfied. The results show differences in satisfaction levels between programmatic strategies that require further analysis to understand underlying factors and inform the new strategy process that has just been launched.

Questions related to Wikimedia CH activities

Q27. Which of the following services of Wikimedia CH are of (greatest) importance to you?

n=105, question to all participants; multiple answers possible, a=248

"Providing information about the Wikimedia movement and Wikimedia CH" is understood as one of the core services of the Wikimedia CH association. This was already the case in 2017, while the importance of other services has shifted. Notably, the need for supportive activities like organizational support, scholarships and, most prominently, the provision of networking contacts, has increased. In-person events have gained significance for the community as well.

As "Other" were indicated:

copyrights
assisting contributors
support for first-time contributors
common access
a 100 CHF book voucher every year would be nice to have

Q28. Do you actively follow the activities of Wikimedia CH?

n=105, question to all participants; multiple answers possible, a=166

The results show that the newsletter has become the primary channel for following Wikimedia CH activities. While in 2016, of all the survey participants, the largest proportion used to not follow any association activity at all, in 2025, the collected data draws a vastly different picture. The newsletters, the Wikipedia channels and the mailing lists enjoy a growing popularity and only few survey participants are getting their information over non-Wikimedia-fuelled channels. Actively following activities of Wikimedia CH, whatever the channel, has greatly increased over the years and this is one of the most dashing changes in the whole survey analysis.

Q29. Do you feel adequately informed about the activities of Wikimedia CH?

n=105, question to all participants

A third of the survey participants feel adequately informed about Wikimedia CH’s activities, a third do not, and the remaining third did not provide an answer.

Sharing information about Wikimedia CH's activities, the movement, and the association is one of the organisation's highest priorities. Understanding the underlying causes for this development will therefore be of importance.

Q31. Are you interested in receiving a thematic newsletter?

n=105, question to all participants; multiple answers possible, a=210

Half of the respondents are content without thematic newsletters. Of those who wish for a thematic newsletter, the topics generating the most interest are GLAM, Artificial Intelligence, Technology and Community.

As "Other" were indicated:

most relevant books and journals

progression of Wikipedia articles in French

Individual Feedbacks & Comments

At the very end of the survey, the participants had the opportunity to share comments or feedback. The following list isn't complete but represents some topics and type of comments which were made. Please note that not all individual comments have been published to respect the anonymity of the survey participants.

The Wikimedia CH staff wants to mention that lots of the provided comments and feedbacks were highly positive and the team wants to thank everyone for his/her/their kind words, which are truly inspirational and motivating!

More than welcome critical opinions and feedbacks to highlight:

More timely (beforehand) communication about events
More targeted help to members within the 'jungle of wikis' and specific help for contributing (license questions, ...)
Better communication about hiring new team members
A better system for member fees with an email that clearly differs from common information emails

Questionnaire

Technical Info:

The whole questionnaire can be downloaded as a PDF-file below. Depending on indicating being a Member or not being a Member of Wikimedia CH and/or being an active Wikimedian (e.g. contributing to at least one Wikimedia Project), the questions displayed varied. Multiple participants did not complete the whole questionnaire. Regarding questionnaires that were fully completed, questions have been answered by up to 105 respondents (n=105). Due to wishes expressed through earlier surveys, the results will be made available in all national languages via this page. Please note that the list of questions shown above is not continuous because Q1 showed the privacy statement, and originally some of the questions were used as technical filler in the survey software. In detail, this means Q12, Q13, Q15, Q17, Q20, Q23, and Q30 were used for a special rule function in the survey software for comments from the participants. While Q9 was not shown to survey participants at all, as it was used for a special rule function in the survey software itself. Please do not hesitate to contact Wikimedia CH if you wish to discuss any part of the analysis or if you catch an error. This survey was open from February to March 2025.

Time series:

Some relevant results were selected and presented in the form of time series graphs to inform the collaborative strategic process that began at Wikipedia Day 2025. All other comparisons can be made using the numbers in the Annex. 
If the 2016 numbers are available, they are compared with the 2025 numbers to create a 10-year interval. Otherwise, the year for comparison is 2017.
The tables which display all quantitative data collected since 2015 will be made available as a downloadable PDF at the bottom of this page too.