Grants:IdeaLab/Future IdeaLab Campaigns

Idealab

Future IdeaLab Campaigns

What IdeaLab campaigns in the future can help support your work and other efforts on your Wikimedia projects?

idea creator• I JethroBT (WMF)

project manager• I JethroBT (WMF)

created on22:28, 2 December 2015 (UTC)

Project idea

What is the problem you're trying to solve?

The concept of running future IdeaLab campaigns along a particular topic was met with a lot of interest after the Inspire campaign. The campaign also brought in 16 proposals which were funded by Wikimedia Foundation grants.

Your guidance is needed to help select and develop new topics for future IdeaLab campaigns.

What is your solution?

Your suggestions and feedback on IdeaLab campaign topics are welcome on two platforms:

• AllOurIdeas, a surveying tool that uses pairwise comparisons to help gauge preferences among a large number of choices (About AllOurIdeas)
• This IdeaLab talk page.

In addition to the survey, please:

• Use the IdeaLab talk page to contribute or comment on IdeaLab campaign topics
• Review current campaign topics.

Your ideas and comments in either place will help decide the next IdeaLab campaign starting in early 2016 in addition to future IdeaLab campaigns.

Timeline

4 December 2015	Future IdeaLab Campaigns survey open for participation
5 January 2016	Feedback for 1st IdeaLab campaign closed, survey remains open for later campaigns
12 January 2016 25 January 2016	Announce first campaign
28 February 2016 to 29 March 2016	First IdeaLab Campaign
March 2016	Open Call for Round 1 Individual Engagement Grants begin
April 2016	Round 1 IEG Proposals due

FAQ

Why run IdeaLab campaigns?

Contributors to Wikimedia projects have a diverse set of needs depending on many factors such as the projects they contribute to and their own experience as a contributor. Campaigns through IdeaLab are a useful way to not only bring attention to a particular topic, but help develop concrete ideas that solve problems or fulfill a need voiced by contributors. These ideas can consequently become grant proposals, and can also help structure formal proposals for community discussions on a local project, on meta, or elsewhere. Campaigns also help elevate important issues lacking community discussion or resolution that adversely affect the content and the communities of Wikimedia projects.

Will upcoming campaigns work similarly to the Inspire campaign?

Yes and no. Let's start with the main differences:

• The Inspire campaign included a special grant reviewing committee to evaluate proposals related to increasing gender diversity on Wikimedia projects. Future IdeaLab campaigns will not have a separate grant reviewing committee. Instead, ideas generated through the campaign will use the standard grant submission processes to request funding.
• Campaign-related grant proposals will be reviewed using the same criteria as other grant proposals. Proposals outside the scope of IdeaLab campaigns, therefore, are just as likely to receive funding as proposals within the scope of the campaign.

That said, similar to the Inspire Campaign, the general goal of future IdeaLab campaigns will be to encourage more proposals along a particular topic, and help turn them into action with IdeaLab as an initial step. That action may be a grant proposal, a report on phabricator, a local community discussion, or something else.

Why use AllOurIdeas as a surveying method? How does it work in practice?

AllOurIdeas has a lot of useful features when trying to answer questions about preferences in large communities. A few of them include:

• Participants can add choices. You can add new topics to the survey at any time and can be incorporated into the survey to compare against existing options.
• You can stop when you want. You can take the survey as long as you want to, and are not required to make a decision for every possible comparison. This method still yields accurate ranked results when assessing preferences. New topics will be tracked on this page to prevent redundant options from being added.
• AllOurIdeas is difficult to manipulate. While the survey can be taken indefinitely, pairs of choices are presented randomly, and it is easy to identify attempts to game the system.

You can read more about AllOurIdeas here.

How many times should I choose preferences in the AllOurIdeas survey?

Click as many or as few possible pairs as you want. You can even come back again later to consider new ideas that have been added by others! There is no minimum or maximum required number, so you can stop at any time. There are several options, and as you suggest applicable campaign ideas, they will be reviewed and added to the options.

Are there limitations on submitted campaign topics to AllOurIdeas?

Yes. Submissions can be no longer than 140 characters, and cannot include external links. Please try to post a simple description of the campaign topic in non-jargon language so that others may easily understand what it is. Submissions will also need to be reviewed before they are included as options that participants can choose from. Submissions that duplicate existing options will not be included, but will be recorded here.

How will you use feedback on IdeaLab campaign topics? Is this a popularity contest?

Your feedback on the discussion page and on AllOurIdeas will be used to help the Community Resources team decide on what IdeaLab campaign topics to run in the future. The main factors that will be used to make those decisions is whether the topic:

• addresses a strategic problem or need in one or multiple Wikimedia projects,
• has at least a nominal level of interest by community members, and
• currently lacks organized initiatives or active projects working to address the specific problem.

Consequently, the results of AllOurIdeas and other feedback will not be used strictly like a popularity contest if they do not meet the above criteria.

Results from this survey and the consultation generally will be available here by the end of January 2016.

Legal Notification

Your privacy is important to us. Please note that this survey is hosted by AllOurIdeas, a third-party service – please read the AllOurIdeas privacy policy to find out more about their privacy practices. By answering these questions, you permit us to record your responses and agree to donate them to the public domain. This allows us to freely share your answers with others for the purpose of open analysis, research, and study. We will not share publicly your personal information, like your email address, except as permitted by the Wikimedia privacy policy. This commitment assumes you do not incorporate your personal information in response to a question that doesn't ask for it. By answering our questions, you consent to the transfer of your responses to the United States and other places as may be necessary to carry out the objectives of this project and you permit us to record and indefinitely retain your responses for research purposes.

Get involved

Help select IdeaLab campaign topics here!

• The talk page is also available for discussion, questions, or comments on campaign ideas.
• Review current IdeaLab campaign topics.

Participants

• Project manager Feel free to get in touch with me regarding IdeaLab campaigns or any questions about how to get involved here! I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 22:37, 2 December 2015 (UTC)

Endorsements

• The idea of a roadmap of viable ideas is compelling and can help prioritize today as well as the future. Jeffmcneill (talk) 04:04, 5 December 2015 (UTC)