Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Alliances Fund/Reflections and Learnings

Reflections and learnings from the Wikimedia Alliances Fund programme (2021-2024)

As we bid farewell to the Wikimedia Alliances Fund funding programme, we pause to look backwards to connect the dots on our learnings and explore how we can apply relevant learnings in a changing landscape of: external trends; multi-generation Wikipedia, annual plans and wrap-up of the Knowledge Equity Fund.

Context

The Wikimedia Alliances Fund program was a 3-year pilot programme to invite mission-aligned organisations to partner with the Wikimedia Movement to amplify each other's work. The original intent was to create a space and platform to welcome expertise, and innovative practices to deepen our reach into regions and communities that are underrepresented within our movement; the idea of the grant programme was seeded as a response to community consultations conducted as part of the 2020-2021 grants strategy relaunch.

Between 2021 and 2024, 1.38 million USD was awarded across 29 grants across Central & Eastern Europe & Central Asia (CEECA), East, Southeast Asia, & Pacific (ESEAP), Latin America & Caribbean (LAC), Middle East & North Africa (MENA), North America (NA) and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) funding regions.

During the three-year pilot, yearly revisions were made to the grant programme based on budget availability and regional demand/engagement;

The annual programme budget was decreased from 700,000 USD/year in the first year to 250,000 USD in the final year of the programme. Resourcing for Wikimedia community funds was prioritised.
Likewise, the call for applications was adjusted to match the smaller resourcing pool. Year 1: Open call for applications. → Year 2: Prioritising specific regions/ projects (sample prioritisation matrix below) → Year 3: By invitation only.

Prioritisation matrix we used in Year 2
Type of organisation	Thematic focus	Scope of the issue?	Context	Product/value
Is it the type of organisation we want to fund? Would they be easily funded to do this work through other sources?	Are they focusing on X thematic area that is important to the movement or context of the movement?	Helping to solve a movement-wide problem?	Is it responding to the need for building an emerging community? Is it responding to a need an affiliate or group of affiliates has?	Is it adding value? How is this value transferred? How long will this take?

Key learnings

The projects which demonstrated favourable outcomes (i.e. process, contribution, sustained efforts) and experience as a grantee, shared the following key characteristics:

The genesis of the project was to address a compelling community need. For example: Wikigraphers: Visualising Open Knowledge (CEE Region).
Wikimedia projects served as a galvanising tool to organise, collate, inform or create and the team also imbued/shared in values key to the Wikimedia Movement (i.e. open source/learning/transparency etc) as a tool/approach in their working style.
Projects/teams which proactively build multiple touchpoints within the movement, have access to/tap onto their volunteer base and amplify their work by collaborating with partners within and outside the movement have a stronger affinity and longevity within the movement. While tapping on the movement, they also find ways to contribute in various ways including but not limited to: variation of addressing content, skills, awareness, audience networks, representation needs. For future: An added element to consider is to make space for selected mission-aligned partners to also attend in-person gatherings to contribute and learn amongst the affiliates. For example: Promoting Open Knowledge practices in African Libraries through WikiData (SSA Region); An alliance against disinformation: journalists & Wikimedia (LAC Region).
The Alliances Fund was the turnkey opportunity/co-funding component that jumpstarted the project (with the caveat that many of these projects would benefit from project continuity or unlocking other partnerships if funding was sustained). For example: Auckland War Memorial Museum (Project grant (2021) → Alliances fund (2023) → Knowledge equity fund (2024)
Intentional approach to learning and sharing. Project teams that have the capacity and make the connection to apply the learning across the project lifecycle tend to document and produce resources and tools that can be adapted and built on by others in the movement. For example: Wikidata and the Linked Open Data Ecosystem for the Performing Arts (NA Region)

Grant programme continuity and clear funding pathways for grantees were essential for

grantee’s planning purposes: it helps organisations new to the Wikimedia movement understand and test out how and where they fit and gauge the potential runway for collaborations;
supporting a gradual project maturation process: it opens the potential for projects to adapt and move across phases from changing hearts (i.e. attention, reaction, connection) to changing minds (i.e. insight) to changing lives (i.e. action)^[1] which takes time. For example: the possibility of nurturing communities and networks locally;

fostering a learning and reflection process that can take place across project cycles: while we had learning conversations and mid and end-point reporting that enabled peer learning, the rigour of reporting was taxing for non-profits with limited resources.^[2] This was especially so when there was limited clarity on the upside of peer learning and/or continuity of investment.

While we were not able to explore continuity and funding pathways through the Alliances Fund due to resource limitations and re-prioritisation to other grant programmes, we could adopt some of these learnings to other Wikimedia funding programmes.

Context matters: We use a blend of macro and micro perspectives to help us to contextualise and prioritise projects;

The macro elements are anchored in our collective understanding of movement mission, movement strategy, thematic focus, regional lens and they form the basis of tagging or categorising a project for overall sensemaking.
At a more micro level, the prioritisation at a regional/ local level and whether the field is fertile for growth requires a deeper look at portfolio support, cross-pollination across teams, a blend of regional and/or in-country support (i.e. WMF regional team, Affiliate, peer support etc) and whether the grantee intentionally creates spaces for sharing, learning and engagement with the wider movement.
Context also requires nuancing because progress is not linear. And progress can look like preventing setbacks when status quo changes suddenly, “holding the line” and maintaining desired conditions when status quo is deteriorating; decreasing change that is directionally negative but nonetheless palliative compared to a status quo that is deteriorating profoundly or rapidly.^[3]

Tailored Support is valued and appreciated: Beyond resourcing of projects, we know our portfolio of partners appreciate when the Programme Officer (or the equivalent of a regional or community facing representative from the WMF) can step into a role to fill a gap that is needed. This role and function can take one form or multiple forms (i.e. non-exhaustive) from being a thought partner, collaborator, strategy planner, assessing risks, managing dynamics between stakeholders, organisational assessment, sharing learnings etc.

Geographic overview

Map of organisations that received Wikimedia Alliances Funds. Note that an organisation's location may differ from its activity regions in some cases. The pin color represents the fiscal year of the most recent grant received: blue for 2021–22, pink for 2022–23, and green for 2023–24.

Regional overview: A focus on ESEAP

Types of partnerships nurtured through Alliances Fund in ESEAP.

A regional overview of funded project types is presented below, using the East, Southeast Asia, and Pacific (ESEAP) funding region as an example.

Taiwan

Shin Leh Yuan Art Space - Pilot archive for alternative art space in Taiwan using Wikidata and Wikibase.
Open Street Map (Taiwan) Volunteer community - Mapping non urban street views in Taiwan onto Open Street Map and Wikidata.
National Cheng Kung University - History department applied Wikimedia projects to document shared history of local towns/communities - oral, digitisation, editing. Wikipedia, Wikidata, Wikiquote.

Indonesia

Open Street Map (Indonesia) - Reached out to and engaged young people as active contributors to Open Street Map and Wikidata through training, mapping, edit-a-thons, data validation and usage. Content contribution focused on mapping open access to culture and heritage institutions in Indonesia.
Creative Commons (Indonesia) Volunteer Community - Increased awareness (including copyright and open licences), used and created open educational resources among Indonesian educators (Government bodies and teachers) in both Western (more developed) and Eastern Indonesia using Wikibooks and Wikimedia Commons.
Indika Foundation - Created content in local languages, built the capacity of content creators and increased visibility of content created through social media and Wikimedia projects.

Australia

Analysis Policy Observatory - Added 100 reference sources on First Nations and Pacific islands published through policy reports and research recognised as reliable sources with the hope that Wikimedians can reference these sources in content creation across Wikimedia projects. It also seeks to import APO’s metadata into Wikidata.

Mongolia

Progress NGO - worked with a network of schools to increase awareness of Wikimedia projects and use Wikipedia as a tool to improve English language skills among high school students.

New Zealand

Auckland War Memorial Museum - Addressed the gap in local history resources by improving the quality of Auckland suburb and region articles on Wikipedia. It also allowed the Museum to engage at scale with the curriculum, making open access collections and knowledge available to a vast online audience.

Singapore

My Community - Piloted the development of a community archive in Singapore using Wikidata and Wikibase and setting up a community contribution pathway that is powered by a local volunteer network.

Acknowledgments

We extend our sincere gratitude to the Programme Officers of the Wikimedia Alliances Fund – Tanveer Hasan (2021-2023) and Jacqueline Chen (2023-2025) – for their dedication in supporting and managing the grant programme. We also appreciate the contributions of our colleagues at the Wikimedia Foundation, Regional Funds Committees, Wikimedia affiliates, allied and grantee organisations, and all Wikimedia groups and community members whose efforts have helped make this grant programme possible.

Additional information and questions

For more details on the Alliances Funds, visit the historical programme page. You can also explore the Wikimedia Foundation Funds grantmaking reports for insights into past funding. If you have any questions or feedback, please post on the talk page or contact us at communityresources wikimedia.org.

Funded grants with final reports

Fiscal year	Programme round	Grantee organisation	Project title	Final report link	Amount funded (USD)^[4]	Organisation country	Funding region
2023-2024	Round 2	Creative Commons Indonesia	Empowering OER Stakeholders and Educators in Indonesia	Pending Submission	$67,000.00	Indonesia	ESEAP
2023-2024	Round 2	Progress Gateway NGO	Wikipedia Educational Outreach in Mongolia	Pending Submission	$58,293.22	Mongolia	ESEAP
2022-2023	Round 2	Bisi Alimi Foundation	Wiki for change and inclusion in Nigeria	Final Report	$25,066.19	United Kingdom	SSA
2022-2023	Round 2	CooperAcción	Promoviendo la justicia ambiental en Perú a través de Wikipedia	Final Report	$16,537.00	Peru	LAC
2022-2023	Round 2	I'lam - Arab Center for Media Freedom, Development, and Research	Wiki Digital Volunteering Club - Palestine	Canceled	$30,399.02	Israel	MENA
2022-2023	Round 2	My Community Limited	Community Archives in Singapore	Final Report	$100,760.73	Singapore	ESEAP
2022-2023	Round 2	ONG Groupe Recherche et d'Echanges Technologiques (GRET Sénégal)	Wikipedia at the Thies University	Not submitted	$10,090.39	Senegal	SSA
2022-2023	Round 2	Yayasan Indika Untuk Indonesia	POSTCARD - Popular Sciences through Creative Contents for Indonesians	Final Report	$80,000.00	Indonesia	ESEAP
2022-2023	Round 1	Black Stripe Foundation NPC	ReCreate South Africa	Final Report	$50,000.00	South Africa	SSA
2022-2023	Round 1	Progress Gateway NGO	Wikipedia Educational Development Outreach in Mongolia	Final Report	$22,500.00	Mongolia	ESEAP
2022-2023	Round 1	Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Auckland War Memorial Museum	Understanding our past: using Wikipedia as a tool to support local history in Tāmaki Makaurau	Final Report	$32,405.87	New Zealand	ESEAP
2021-2022	Round 2	African Library and Information Associations and Institutions	Promoting Open Knowledge practices in African Libraries through WikiData	Final Report	$72,030.00	Ghana	SSA
2021-2022	Round 2	Analysis & Policy Observatory (APO)	The missing link: Incorporating policy reports into the the free knowledge ecosystem	Final Report	$41,234.00	Australia	ESEAP
2021-2022	Round 2	Asociación Civil El Faro Digital	Programa de Educación mediática e informacional para docentes (Media and informational education programme for teachers)	Final Report	$69,730.00	Argentina	LAC
2021-2022	Round 2	Cooperativa de Trabajo Periódicas Limitada	Guía de buenas prácticas en el uso de Wikipedia y Wikimedia Commons para periodistas y comunicadores.	Final Report	$22,115.00	Argentina	LAC
2021-2022	Round 2	Creative Commons Indonesia	Promoting and Fostering the Use of Open Educational Resources in Indonesia	Final Report	$56,949.00	Indonesia	ESEAP
2021-2022	Round 2	Moleskine Foundation Inc	Catalyzing Africa's knowledge creation ecosystem through AfroCuration: Building the connective tissue between the WikiMovement and cultural and creative organizations	Final Report	$60,000.00	United States	SSA
2021-2022	Round 2	Open Environmental Data Inc	Supporting an Open Climate movement: Increasing the knowledge commons and collaborative communities of practice	Final Report	$40,000.00	United States	NA
2021-2022	Round 2	Perkumpulan OpenStreetMap Indonesia	Historical Crowd-Source Spatial Data for Sustainable Development and Inclusive Mapping	Final Report	$50,260.00	Indonesia	ESEAP
2021-2022	Round 2	Productions Rhizome	Pour une plus grande représentativité des arts littéraires québécois et canadiens francophones sur Wikipédia, sur Wikimedia Commons et sur Wikidata	Final Report	$50,317.84	Canada	NA
2021-2022	Round 2	Red de Periodistas Sociales - Periodistas a Pie Asociación Civil	Una alianza contra la desinformación: periodistas & Wikimedia	Final Report	$28,370.00	Mexico	LAC
2021-2022	Round 1	Canadian Arts Presenting Association	Wikidata and the Linked Open Data Ecosystem for the Performing Arts	Final Report	$27,672.96	Canada	NA
2021-2022	Round 1	Hacks Hackers, Inc.	Wikicredibility Initiative:Wikimedians Strengthening Knowledge and News Credibility on the Internet	Final Report	$100,000.00	United States	NA
2021-2022	Round 1	Investigative Journalists NGO	WikiGraphers-Visualizing Open Knowledge	Final Report	$60,000.00	Armenia	CEECA
2021-2022	Round 1	Media in Cooperation and Transition	Scaling Communities-Expansion of Wiki Networks through Partnerships, Infrastructure, and Outreach	Final Report	$96,539.00	Germany	SSA
2021-2022	Round 1	Media in Cooperation and Transition (MICT) Tunisie	Accessible knowledge digitizing Libyan culture	Final Report	$20,000.96	Tunisia	MENA
2021-2022	Round 1	OpenStreetMap Taiwan	各地街景踏查團 2022 Group for capturing Street-level Images in Taiwan 2022	Final Report	$7,172.78	Taiwan	ESEAP
2021-2022	Round 1	Shin Leh Yuan Art Space	臺灣替代空間藝術資料庫建置計劃：維基數據與 Wikibase 技術應用前期研究	Final Report	$20,820.20	Taiwan	ESEAP
2021-2022	Round 1	國立成功大學歷史學系 (Department of History, National Cheng Kung University)	維基融入歷史專業教學與研究：以成大歷史系及臺灣地方醫療史為核心	Final Report	$77,935.20	Taiwan	ESEAP

Notes

↑ Example from Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Audience impact model
↑ Grantee from North America region: “The final report seemed quite long and laborious to complete. There are many long-winded questions; the report questionnaire would benefit from being simplified. In our non-profit organization, there are few human resources, we are a small team, and the time required to answer all the questions in this report was quite significant. If I compare to other funding sources, for example, the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA), it took us 4 times longer to write the final report for the Wikimedia Foundation than the one for the CAC.”
↑ Not always movements: Multiple approaches to advance large-scale social change
↑ Note: The actual funded amount in the local currency may vary due to exchange rate fluctuations.

[1] Example from Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Audience impact model

[2] Grantee from North America region: “The final report seemed quite long and laborious to complete. There are many long-winded questions; the report questionnaire would benefit from being simplified. In our non-profit organization, there are few human resources, we are a small team, and the time required to answer all the questions in this report was quite significant. If I compare to other funding sources, for example, the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA), it took us 4 times longer to write the final report for the Wikimedia Foundation than the one for the CAC.”

[3] Not always movements: Multiple approaches to advance large-scale social change

[4] Note: The actual funded amount in the local currency may vary due to exchange rate fluctuations.

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