Community Resources and Partnerships/India Rapid Project

India Rapid Project

Partnership

The Rapid Project is one of the pilot resourcing projects for Wikimedia community members from India. You can learn more about the partnership on the main page.

How will this new pilot impact me?

If you are an existing (or new) movement organiser or an affiliate (recognised/ unrecognised) in India and would like to continue (or start) implementing projects in the country that need resourcing, you can do that by putting in a project proposal. Your project should support the achievement of Wikimedia's mission and strategic direction. It should aim at improving one or more of Wikimedia projects. To be in alignment with the global Wikimedia movement in project resourcing, please read the following sections before putting in an application: How to apply; What we fund; Eligibility requirements; Application process; and Timeline.

Additional care should be taken at these points:

• Pre-planning:  As this is a new process, we encourage first-time project applicants to be in touch with the South Asia regional programme officer, Jacqueline Chen (sa_fundwikimedia.org) on your draft project plan. Where needed, your programme officer may also connect you with CIS (or vice versa) so that they can provide further support to ensure your project is aligned with legal requirements in India and the reporting requirements of CIS and WMF.

• Documentation required upon submission of the project proposal: Proof of identity for individuals (i.e. Aadhaar card, PAN card); proof of non profit status for organisation and Goods and Services Tax identification number. These are also captured in the application form (i.e. section on applicant details).

• Budgeting: When putting together your project budget, you will need to apply the following line items to your project subtotals (see budget template)
  • A flat rate of 15% (of project subtotal) institutional development fee  - for CIS’ supporting role in the above process; and
  • Chartered Accountant fee  - Based on local context, while we understand the existing practice is to allocate INR 4000 - 8000 for this, do adjust your budget estimates based on the quote you received from your Chartered Accountant. The requirement of the Chartered Accountant is to provide a utilisation certificate for your project expenses (i.e. verified and signed on their letterhead to serve as the final financial statement). This should be submitted together with your final project report as a supporting document.
  • The grand total of your project budget should not exceed USD 5,000 (or the equivalent in Indian Rupees)
  • CIS will be reviewing your budgets for the above as part of their screening process

• Budgeting for equipment purchase: We do not support private purchase or ownership of equipment. While equipment purchase can be considered for groups, organisations and affiliates, projects that require the purchase of specialised equipment will need to clearly demonstrate the need, requisite experience and how the equipment will be shared with other community members. An equipment log or list must be publicly available for community members and included in the application. Please note that there is a possibility that the project may be partially funded (with the exclusion of equipment purchase support). For one-off projects with no or limited activity track record, please consider renting the equipment.

• Tax implications: In the event that you plan to budget for an honorarium fee in your project (i.e. fees for Independent Contractor or professional or technical services), and if the amount exceeds INR 30,000, CIS will deduct a TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) at 10% on the amount above INR 30,000, together with documentary evidence of remitting such taxes to the Government of India in Form 16A. In addition, Good and Services Tax (GST) will not be applicable to any services provided for your project. CIS will honour all supporting bills from you (and your project team) that includes GST, provided the bills are GST-compliant.

• Project cash flow: CIS will be disbursing your project funds in two tranches
  • Wire 1 (80% of project budget) upon completion of the onboarding process with CIS; and
  • Wire 2 (20% of project budget) will be released when you notify CIS to release the rest of the funds. See also the section on reporting.

• Application process: The current application process from submission of application to disbursement of payment is expected to take about 65 days (approximately 2 months) in total. As this working partnership with CIS continues to evolve, we look to shorten and simplify the process. We invite your patience, grace and feedback on this iterative journey.
  • At the same time, we are exploring working with different partners so as to make the process more efficient. We will gather the learnings from the pilot to inform similar partnerships in future.

• Onboarding process: Once your project is resourced, CIS will reach out to you to start the onboarding process. These include
  • Issuing Individual Contractor Agreement to the Individual Contractors
  • Providing necessary information on CIS policies
  • Making entry and registering the Individual Contractors in the system
  • Registration with required personal information and banking details from the Individual Contractors
  • Financial transaction

When will this pilot be implemented?

The pilot will kick off in October 2024 and we hope to continually learn and adapt with each rapid project cycle. We also plan to hold space to do a review of the pilot in time. Please reach out to your South Asia regional programme officer, Jacqueline Chen (sa_fundwikimedia.org) if you would like to be part of the review and we can formally invite you to participate in the  process when it happens.

How can I find out more?

You can reach out to your your South Asia regional programme officer, Jacqueline Chen (sa_fundwikimedia.org) or join a scheduled conversation.

How to apply

1. Read about the project and who can submit a proposal below.
2. Go to Wikimedia Foundation Portal (Fluxx) and log in.
   1. If you do not have an account, click Register Now and provide the requested information. You will receive confirmation of your registration within two working day.
3. Go to the For community members from India section on the main page and click the Apply for Rapid Project button on the main page. Click Save and Continue or Save and Close to save the application.
4. Follow the instructions on the application form. You will need to give information about your project and upload several documents.
5. Click Submit to submit the application for review.

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• We accept proposals in any language. We will support translation for proposals and discussions as needed.
• The project proposal will be published to Meta-Wiki automatically within two days. This is done for community review and feedback.
• You can prepare the proposal offline. Make a copy of the form, answer the questions and copy the text to Fluxx.
• For first-time applicants, do factor in an additional 48 hours for your Fluxx account to be approved by the Grants Administration team after request.  

Application form: India Rapid Project (English)

Budget template: India Rapid Project (English)

What we fund

• Individuals coordinating local events related to a global campaign in their community.
• Informal and formal community meetup
• Wikimedia editathons and workshops
• Strategic and annual plans from Wikimedia affiliates
• Education projects, for example, reading or editing training on Wikipedia, Wikidata or other Wikimedia projects
• Cultural and heritage projects that support contribution of content, curation of the content and promote accessibility of that content.
• Gender and diversity projects, for example, bringing in and training women and gender diverse participants and editors. Also, creating content about women, gender diverse groups, underrepresented communities and their knowledge.
• Small-scale software development projects

Eligibility requirements

This fund is for you if you:

• Are applying for funds between 500 - 5000 USD and its equivalent in Indian Rupees at the time of the application. Funds are distributed in Indian Rupees.
• Are a Wikimedia community member, or part of a group or organisation from the Wikimedia movement.
• Have a 1-12 months-long project in mind. Projects must be for future, planned work.
• The total fund amount an individual can access per fiscal year (e.g. July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024) is up to USD 10,000. Individuals can have one open Project Proposal at any given time.
• The total fund amount an organisation or group can access per fiscal year (e.g. July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024) is up to USD 10,000. You are encouraged to have access to a joint bank account. Groups and organisations can have two open Project Proposals at any given time.
• Have current contribution history and experience on the target Wikimedia project(s) mentioned in your project proposal. You also need to have organising experience or training experience. For example, if you are planning to train newcomers on Wikidata, you must demonstrate editing and training history on Wikidata.
• Have informed the team members about your project proposal and involved the community in discussing the proposal.

You are not eligible for funding if:

• The project you have in mind aims to improve third-party websites.
• Works and contributions are not published under ethical, open-access agreements.
• If you receive project funding for an existing project from the partner (i.e. we do not recommend access to more than one funding with the same project)
• You are a board member, leader (contacts submitted to AffCom), president, bank account signatory, executive director, or other paid staff or contractor of a Wikimedia affiliate/group/organisation with existing Wikimedia Foundation Fund awards.
  • When there is no significant overlap between the volunteer role (especially board members), group activities, and individual proposal, the Program Officer may make exceptions to this criterion.
• You are an individual applying on behalf of different groups or organisations.

Legal and conduct requirements

Primary and secondary contacts, agreement signatories, bank account signatories, and any individuals in roles that direct the implementation of project activities, must:

• Follow the Universal Code of Conduct and Friendly Space Policies.
• Comply with all requirements and be in good standing for any current activities supported through the Wikimedia Foundation and partner organization.
• Be in good standing in regard to ethical behavior within the community (e.g. social behavior, financial behavior, legal behavior, etc.), as determined through the due diligence process of the program.
• Have no recent or recurring violations:
  • Must not be blocked on any Wikimedia project, even if the proposed work is unrelated to that project.
  • Within the past year, must not have been blocked, banned, or flagged by Wikimedia Foundation staff or affiliates for violations of the Universal Code of Conduct, Friendly Space Policies, or other conduct issues.
  • Must not have been repeatedly blocked or flagged for the same issue on a Wikimedia project.
  • If prior issues or blocks have occurred, must demonstrate learning and understanding in regard to the cause for the issue, such that they are ready to serve as a role model for others.
• Not appear on the United States Department of Treasury Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List (SDN).
• Not be staff members or contractors of Wikimedia Foundation or partner organization working more than part time (over 20 hours per week).
• Provide all information and documentation needed to receive the funding from the Wikimedia Foundation.

Youth safety

Youth Safety Policy must be in place for any activity that involves underage community members.

• If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, it also outlines compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provides documentation of the local laws in the annex.
• The proposal demonstrates how they will ensure the safe engagement of young people in all of the project’s activities.
• The proposal demonstrates that any adults who will be working in close contact with young people have been properly vetted and trained.
• The proposal outlines an action protocol in the case that incidents occur relating to the physical and psychological safety of young people.

Application Process

After submission, the application will be processed according to the following steps:

• Initial review (7 days)
  • CIS screening

• Review (28 days)
  • Eligibility checks
  • Review and feedback by Program Officer and/or Regional Funds Committee
  • Applicant receives and engages with feedback of proposal, making adjustments

• Decisions and agreement (18 days)
  • Decisions are announced by the Program Officer
  • CIS collects all required documents
  • CIS issues and signs contract with you
  • CIS starts onboarding; processes and makes the payment

• Project starts (21 days)
  • Project start date should be after all described steps are completed

• Reporting (30 days after the project end date)
  • If there are changes to your project plans, please provide an update on your talkpage (sample talkpage) and follow-up with an email to your South Asia regional programme officer, Jacqueline Chen (sa_fund@wikimedia.org) and copy CIS. Approvals will be required for changes in project line items (i.e. reallocation request) and extension of project duration or changes to final report submission.

Timeline

Here are the important dates for the upcoming two rounds:

Round 2:

• Submission deadline: 1 October 2024
• Review: 2 October  – 8 November 2024
• Decision date: 15 November 2024
• Contract, payment, and onboarding: November 16 November - 3 December 2024
• Project start date: after 4 December, 2024

Round 3:

• Submission deadline: 1 December 2024
• Proposal adjustments: 2 December 2024 – 15 December 2024
• Screening: 16 December 2024 – 22 December 2024
• Review: 22 December 2024 – 23 January 2025
• Decision date: 24 January 2025
• Contract, payment, and onboarding: 25 January 2025 - 10 February 2025
• Project start date: after 10 February 2025

Round 4:

• Submission deadline: February 15, 2025
• Review: February 16 – March 21, 2025
• Decision date: March 28, 2025
• Contract, payment, and onboarding: March 28 – April 11, 2025
• Project start date: after April 16, 2025

Round 5:

• Submission deadline: May 1, 2025
• Review: May 2 – June 6, 2025
• Decision date: June 13, 2025
• Contract, payment, and onboarding: June 14 – June 27, 2025
• Project start date: after July 2, 2025

How to submit a report

If your project proposal is approved, you will need to submit a final report (i.e. narrative and financial report) to WMF within 30 days after you complete the project.

1. Go to Wikimedia Foundation Funds Portal (Fluxx) and log in.
2. Find the Reports section on the left sidebar. Select the Upcoming link and you will see all upcoming reports.
3. Select the Rapid Project report and click Edit. Answer the questions in the form. You can write it in any preferred language.
4. When your report is complete, click Submit to send it for review.
   • You can prepare the report offline. Make a copy of the report form, answer the questions and copy the text to Fluxx.

In addition to the above, you are also required to reconcile your project cash flow with CIS at two points:

• (Point 1) After spending 80% of project budget
• (Point 2) After spending 100% of the project budget. Your final financial report should be verified and signed by a registered chartered accountant on their letterhead.

You can use the same financial reporting format for documentation to CIS and WMF.

Review proposals

FY 2024-25

Round 3
No pages meet these criteria.

Round 2
No pages meet these criteria.

FY 2023-24

Round 6
No pages meet these criteria. Community Resources and Partnerships/India Rapid Project/Santali Community Strategic Meet Community Resources and Partnerships/India Rapid Project/Outreach Campaign at Hyderabad National Book Fair - 2024-25 by TWUG