Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees/Call for feedback: Community Board seats/Timeline

Call for feedback: Community Board seats
Main Page
How to participate
Board ideas Ranked voting system Quotas Call for types of skills and experiences Vetting of candidates Board-delegated selection committee Community-elected selection committee Election of confirmed candidates Direct appointment of confirmed candidates
Community ideas Regional seats Specialization seats Candidate resources
Conversations
Reports
Timeline

This timeline complements the call for feedback’s Useful background section. It is not an official record of past events or future plans.

The future

These are current best predictions. The plans may change based on the outcomes of the ongoing conversations.

2021

• 2021-03-23: The complete Call for feedback's main report draft is ready for review.
• 2021-03-30: The Call for feedback's main report is delivered to the Board.
• 2021-03-31: The Board Governance Committee meets and makes a recommendation to the Board.
• 2021-04-15: The Board decides the process to select community- and affiliate- trustees. The process is activated to renew the three overdue seats and appoint the three new ones.
• May-July/November: The community process runs until completion. Its length will depend on the specific process approved. Meanwhile, the Board initiates in parallel the process to recruit trustees for the new three Board-selected seats.
• July/November-August/December: The Board appoints all the selected trustees, bringing the total number of trustees to 16.

The past

2015

• Wikimedia Foundation elections for the Board, the Funds Dissemination Committee and the FDC Ombudsperson (report).
• Creation of a standing Elections committee to advise on and help implement the community selection process of the Board and other bodies. It was preceded by committees created to run specific elections.
• A turbulent period for the Wikimedia Foundation. The Board votes to remove a trustee, and the Executive Director at the time departs.

2016

• Affiliate-selected Board seats process.
• The Funds Dissemination Committee recommends an external assessment of WMF governance.

2017

• Wikimedia Foundation elections for the Board, the Funds Dissemination Committee and the FDC Ombudsperson (report).
• The Board hires Consulting Within Reach to begin a governance review. The Board has a session with this firm in September 2017.

2018

• The Board decides to restart the governance review, and begins looking for a new outside firm to conduct it.
• The Board proposes a Bylaws amendment to include user groups in the Affiliate-selected Board seats process, to increase the terms of trustees to three years, and to reaffirm their commitment to diversity.

2019

• Amendment of the Bylaws following the proposal supporting the addition of user groups to the ASBS process, the extension of trustees' terms, and the commitment to diversity.
• The Board hires Board Veritas (then called Taylor Strategic Partnerships) to conduct the governance review.
• As part of the review, the trustees complete a Board self-assessment, the consulting firm reviews the Foundation’s governance documentation, the consultant attends the March 2019 Board meeting, and the consultant has individual meetings with current and former trustees, Board support staff, and community members.
• Affiliate-selected Board seats process (report)
• June: Board Veritas delivers a set of recommendations for the Foundation to better align with governance best practices.
• July: The Board begins to adopt the recommendations from Board Veritas by creating the Board Liaison position, extending the term length for Board officers and committee chairs to three years, and tasking the Board Governance Committee with developing recommendations for implementing additional changes.
• August: The Board revisits its governance reform plans in the context of setting its priorities for the 2019-20 fiscal year.
• October: The Board Governance Committee begins meeting monthly to progress on the governance reform work.
• November: Foundation staff begin planning for the 2020 community trustee selection process.

2020

• January: The Board Governance Committee requests volunteers and appoints members to serve on the Elections Committee. The Elections Committee meets on January 24.
• February
  • 13: Based on its ongoing work, the Board Governance Committee leads the Board in a discussion of Board expansion, trustee selection, and trustee behavior expectations. The Board commits to expanding to 16 seats, with three new community-sourced seats and three new Board-selected seats, and charges the Board Governance Committee with developing a plan to implement the expansion, including consideration of trustee selection.
    • As part of its discussion, the Board considers the differences, including advantages and disadvantages, of the existing and some potential new trustee selection processes.
  • 27: The Elections Committee meets to continue planning for the 2020 community trustee selection process.
• March: The Board begins considering postponing the 2020 community trustee selection process.
• April
  • 21: The Board resolves to postpone the community trustee selection process, to commit to resuming the selection process by June 2021, to extend the terms of the trustees in the affected seats, and to charge the Board Governance Committee with developing a recommendation for adapting to this change in plans. Trustees share the news of the Board’s decision at an Elections Committee meeting.
  • 28: The Board publishes an update announcing the postponement of the community trustee selection process and sharing information about the Board’s governance reform efforts, including the plan for Board expansion.
• May: The Board Governance Committee shares with the Board its recommendation for implementing Board expansion, including consideration of trustee selection and changes to the Bylaws.
• June: The Board considered publishing the proposed Bylaws revisions and draft trustee evaluation form for community review. There were not sufficient votes of approval in order to proceed.
• July: The Board Governance Committee considers edits to the proposed Bylaws revisions and draft trustee evaluation form suggested by trustees. The Board reschedules its August meeting for September.
• August: The Board Governance Committee discusses the timeline for completing the implementation of Board expansion, including conducting the processes for selecting trustees, with consideration of community feedback periods, the timing of Board meetings for important check-in and decision points, and the time it takes to prepare for and run a community trustee selection process. The committee discusses what changes to internal Board processes might be needed to enable a 16-person Board to operate effectively.
• September: The Board approves publication of the proposed Bylaws revisions and the draft trustee evaluation form.
• October
  • 7: The Board publishes the proposed Bylaws revisions and the draft trustee evaluation form for community feedback.
  • 27: The Board Governance Committee begins making edits to the proposed Bylaws revisions and the draft trustee evaluation form based on community feedback. The committee considers potential changes to the Board’s committee structure to help with operational effectiveness for a larger Board.
• November
  • 17: The Board Governance Committee discusses its proposal to the full Board regarding how to proceed with developing a new community trustee selection process. The committee runs out of time to discuss additional edits to the proposed Bylaws revisions.
• December
  • 9: The Board approves the Bylaws revisions, with some additional edits.
  • 16: The Board Governance committee further discusses its proposal to the full Board regarding how to proceed with developing a new community trustee selection process.

2021

• January
  • 8: The Board approves the Trustee Evaluation Form and the Board Governance committee’s proposal regarding how to proceed with a call for community feedback on developing a new community trustee selection process.
  • 21: The Board publishes an announcement about their latest decisions and updates the Bylaws.
• February
  • 1: The call for feedback about community Board seats begins.
• March
• 14: The call for feedback ends