Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Wikimedia Australia 2022 - 2025

statusYear 3 plan funded
Wikimedia Australia 2022 - 2025
start date2022-07-012022-07-01T00:00:00Z
end date2025-06-302025-06-30T00:00:00Z
budget (local currency)941908 AUD
amount requested (USD)668839 USD
amount recommended (USD)668839
grant typeWikimedia Affiliate (chapter, thematic org., or user group)
funding regionESEAP
decision fiscal year2021-22
funding program roundRound 2
applicant and people related to proposalAlex Lum: Canley Pru Mitchell: Pru.mitchell
organization (if applicable)Wikimedia Australia Inc
Midpoint Learning Report 
Final Learning Report

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Applicant details

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Wikimedia username(s):

Alex Lum: Canley

Pru Mitchell: Pru.mitchell

Organization:

Wikimedia Australia Inc

G. Have you received grants from the Wikimedia Foundation before?

Applied previously and did receive a grant

H. Have you received grants from any non-wiki organization before?

Yes

H.1 Which organization(s) did you receive grants from?

Australia Council for the Arts in 2022

M. Do you have a fiscal sponsor?

No

M1. Fiscal organization name.

N/A

Additional information

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R. Where will this proposal be implemented?

Australia

S. Please indicate whether your work will be focused on one country (local), more than one or several countries in your region (regional) or has a cross-regional (global) scope:

Local

S1. If you have answered regional or international, please write the country names and any other information that is useful for understanding your proposal.

T. If you would like, please share any websites or social media accounts that your group or organization has. (optional)

Website: https://wikimedia.org.au/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wikimedia.au Twitter: https://twitter.com/wm_au Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wikimediaau/

M. Do you have a fiscal sponsor?

No

M1. Fiscal organization name.

N/A

Proposal

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1. What is the overall vision of your organization and how does this proposal contribute to this? How does this proposal connect to past work and learning?

Wikimedia Australia is the Australian chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation. It formed in 2008 as an independent, not-for-profit organisation and registered charity. Our mission (in alignment with the Wikimedia Foundation) is to engage with and support our members and the broader community to contribute to Wikimedia platforms through events, training and partnerships.

Our mission is outlined here: https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Strategic_Plan_2022-2025#Mission

Wikimedia Australia’s constitutional purpose is to:

  • grow and promote the development and sharing of free knowledge through open source software systems
  • develop educational resources to grow participation in Wikimedia platforms and projects
  • increase public awareness and support for Wikimedia platforms and projects

This proposal contributes to our mission by focusing on three core strategic pillars: 1) engagement 2) equity and inclusion 3) capacity building

This proposal connects to, and builds on our learning from three previous Simple Annual Plan Grants and two strategic plans. It builds on a period of organisational development including our first experience of dedicated personnel working for our chapter. This application supports our recently-developed three-year strategic plan which aims to grow and develop the capabilities of the chapter and of the editing community across Australia and the Asia Pacific region in inclusive and equitable ways. While our governance processes are well-established we require dedicated staff to support our capacity to deliver the recently ratified multi-year strategic plan and annual program, co-designed with our community that addresses key priorities for our movement in Australia and across our region.

2. What is the change that you are trying to bring about and why is this important?

Our theory of change is premised on the view that the success and sustainability of Wikimedia Australia requires a strategic focus on expanding and diversifying the community of skilled and engaged Wikimedia contributors through engagement, equity and inclusion and capacity building.

The need for this change is underscored by a number of challenges consistently raised by the Australian community including:

1. The need to grow number and capacity of contributors to support ongoing maintenance Regular community engagement with members highlights a number of concerns, including disillusionment from many of our longer-term active administrators, facilitators and editors regarding the limited number of new contributors, combined with the increasing load of maintenance work required to keep Australian content relevant and accurate. To address this Wikimedia Australia has developed a three-year strategy to increase the number of editors working on Australian content, while supporting growth in capacity of existing editors by providing better tools and support for maintenance and administrative work.

2. Increasing engagement Wikipedia is the sixth most visited website in Australia.* Yet, despite being more than 20 years old, public participation and engagement with Wikimedia platforms is still relatively limited and uneven across Australia and our region. Growing public literacy and advocacy for our movement and its guiding principles as well as building contributor recruitment and engagement among individuals and organisations will be essential to the growth and sustainability of Wikimedia platforms in Australia and across our region.

The Australian community also reports that it feels its distance and isolation from the wider international movement, in terms of equity of access for engagement with events and movement wide discussions across time zones. Therefore this application aims to enable the positioning of Wikimedia Australia as a key link to grow connection to international Wikimedia Foundation opportunities, trends, and discussions, working closely with other affiliates and user groups in our region

3. Diversity As well as increasing the number of editors and contributors, growing the diversity of our movement across our region is critical and presents some unique challenges. Core to Wikimedia Australia’s identified strategic priorities is the aim of growing linguistic, cultural and geographic opportunities as well as gender diversity on Wikimedia platforms. Of particular focus is the tension between free knowledge principles and First Nations knowledge and cultural protocols. By developing key partnerships and relationships with First Nations scholars, organisations and research institutions, Wikimedia Australia aims to develop a set of First Nations protocols for discussion and begin to explore opportunities to improve cultural safety and control of content on Wikimedia platforms. This is a complex and potentially controversial area for our movement and will require time and resources to ensure we achieve a suitable outcome based on engagement and consultation across the community.

3. Describe your main approaches or strategies to achieve these changes and why you think they will be effective.

To realise this level of change, while ensuring a strong, professional, consistent presence for the Wikimedia movement in Australia, Wikimedia Australia has three key approaches established as strategic pillars in its recently ratified Strategic Plan 2022-2025. The following set of strategies were developed with the Australian community to achieve this change:

Engagement

  • Grow public understanding of the Wikimedia movement, platforms and guiding principles within Australia to grow advocacy, engagement and contributions
  • Deepen international engagement with the ESEAP and Oceania Wikimedia communities, the Wikimedia Foundation, and global affiliates and hubs to share knowledge, grow sustainability and ensure regional alignment

Equity and Inclusion

  • Cultivate a welcoming, safe, inclusive environment throughout all Wikimedia Australia activities through strong leadership and policies (in alignment with the Universal Code of Conduct) to ensure longer term and positive engagement
  • Promote equity and inclusion across the Wikimedia platforms and programs to represent and reflect diversity and grow relevance in Australia by:
  • Growing self-determined opportunities with First Nations peoples in Australia
  • Expanding participation and representation across Australia’s regions
  • Improving demographic diversity to ensure a sustainable movement

Capacity Building

  • Grow a skilled, active and engaged community of contributors, trainers and leaders who understand the Wikimedia movement, platforms and guiding principles to ensure quality and relevance of content
  • Develop a methodology for understanding and measuring community contributions to evaluate and develop activities over time
  • Grow governance and leadership capacity and capabilities to operate efficiently and ensure innovation
  • Operate sustainably by diversifying funding to grow capacity and opportunities
  • Operate in an environmentally responsible way

These strategies have been developed through extensive consultation with Wikimedia Australia members and various partners and stakeholders. Based on our understanding of the issues facing the Australian community, we believe these approaches will support expansion of contributors and sustainability for the chapter over the next three years.

4. What are the activities you will be developing and delivering as part of these approaches or strategies?

Wikimedia Australia’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025 outlines the following activities to achieve the aims of our three main strategic pillars.

Engagement

  • Develop and promote a range of inclusive and targeted workshops, events and training aimed at recruiting new editors, including regular edit-a-thons, GLAMR events and Fellowships.
  • Implement the Wikimedia Australia Communications Strategy in line with the Strategic Plan 2022-2025
  • Review, update and maintain Wikimedia Australia website content including training resources and community outreach.
  • Contribute regularly to ESEAP activities and report to Wikimedia Australia members
  • Facilitate attendance at global movement events, meetings and/or conferences
  • Identify and engage with Wikimedians across the Oceania region and grow inclusion in programming

Equity and Inclusion

  • Engage with the Universal Code of Conduct development and consultation process
  • Monitor and communicate legislative changes for members and make submissions to relevant consultations (e.g. online safety and copyright reform)
  • Offer cultural training to Facilitators in line with Safe Spaces Policy
  • Work with relevant Wikimedia movement groups and networks in our region and internationally to improve inclusion and responsiveness
  • Develop incentives and recognition of outstanding community work
  • Hold regular mentoring, networking and editing sessions for members/existing contributors
  • Develop a Content Development Strategy to set priority areas (in line with but not limited to equity goals)
  • Establish a First Nations reference group
  • Prioritise promotion and facilitation of training to regional communities & organisations
  • Promote and support university engagement and Wiki Scholar and Residence programs
  • Review membership rules and fee structures

Capacity Building

  • Implement and promote a certified facilitator program
  • Develop and release training resources for contributors
  • Hold regular community meetings, meetups and outreach for members and contributors
  • Develop Wikipedian in Residence programs (themed or organisation-based)
  • Conduct stakeholder analysis for partnerships (with reference to the equity goals)
  • Set up a dashboard of key data on Wikimedia Australia’s activity and impact
  • Regularly gain access to and analyse data on Australian editing activity
  • Coordinate geonotice banners on Wikimedia platforms to promote relevant Australian events and projects
  • Establish, document and review Wikimedia Australia policies and procedures
  • Provide training and development for staff and committee members
  • Develop and review financial policies for WMAU and third party events, consultancy and activities
  • Monitor Wikimedia Foundation strategies and policy development and participate in the expanding role of chapters
  • Monitor and apply for Wikimedia Foundation funding for research and technology projects that extend and develop community capabilities.
  • Provide funding opportunities and facilitate and support partners to apply for external funding for Wikimedia projects as requested

5. Do you want to apply for multi-year funding?      

Yes

5.1 If yes, provide a brief overview of Year 2 and Year 3 of the proposed plan and how this relates to the current proposal and your strategic plan?

N/A

6. Please include a timeline (operational calendar) for your proposal.

While this application is multi-year, attached below is a one-year timeline for the initial funding period of 2022-23.

7. Do you have the team that is needed to implement this proposal?

Wikimedia Australia is currently governed by a volunteer committee supported by one part-time staff member approximately 14 hours. As activities have grown in momentum over 2021-22, this part time staffing model is not longer sufficient to deliver the level of programs and organisation growth we are experiencing.

Therefore, in order to deliver the Wikimedia Australia Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and the key elements of this proposal over the next two years, this proposal will fund the expansion of staffing to two full-time equivalent positions, an Executive Officer and Project and Communications Coordinator. Draft position descriptions for both positions are attached. Reporting to the Committee, the Executive Officer will provide dynamic, strategic leadership, enabling the organisation to grow whilst ensuring its vision, mission and values are adhered to. The Project and Communications Coordinator will report to and support the Executive Officer by providing communications, project, event and outreach support to the community and beyond. To build additional capacity we also seek funds to outsource specialist tasks such as data integration and technical tasks to consultants and contractors.

Staff

Caddie Brain (she/her) has been Wikimedia Australia's part-time Executive Officer since July 2021 (User:Tenniscourtisland). This role has already provided considerable growth in communications, volunteer engagement and development, and general administration for the Wikimedia Australia committee and wider community. The continuation of this position will contribute to the development and implementation of Wikimedia Australia’s communications strategies and 2022-23 annual plan through coordination of online and in-person events where possible, expanding partnerships, and supporting the organisation and administration of the Wikimedia Australia Committee.

The Wikimedia Australia Committee

President - Alex Lum lives in Melbourne and works in the higher education sector. He has been an editor on Wikipedia since 2005, an administrator on the English Wikipedia since 2008, and is a prolific contributor to Wikidata and OpenStreetMap. User:Canley

Vice-President - Tom Hogarth lives in Perth, Western Australia.. He is at times preoccupied by WikiClubWest. User:JarrahTree

Secretary - Amanda Lawrence is a researcher at RMIT University in open knowledge systems. User:AmandaSLawrence

Treasurer - Pru Mitchell is based in Melbourne and works in the education and GLAM sectors.. User:Pru.mitchell

Member - Sam Wilson lives in Western Australia and works as a Software Engineer for the Wikimedia Foundation. User:Samwilson

Member - Dr Bunty Avieson is a researcher at University of Sydney. User:Doctor 17

Member - Michael Barritt is a passionate wildlife photographer and educator from the Northern Territory. User:Michaeljbarritt

Member - Paige Wright is the Special Collections Librarian at the University of Newcastle Library. User:Webpaige02

8. Please state if your proposal aims to work to bridge any of the identified CONTENT knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select up to THREE that most apply to your work.

Content Gender gap, Geography, Cultural background, ethnicity, religion, racial

8.1 In a few sentences, explain how your work is specifically addressing this content gap (or Knowledge inequity) to ensure a greater representation of knowledge.

Growing gender equity on Wikipedia remains a focus for our editing community particularly during Women's History Month, International Women's Day, as part of Art+Feminism and the Know My Name initiative so we will continue to grow our support of these activities over 2022- 2025.

Our GLAMR Training program will engage regional cultural organisations to develop a network of new skilled contributors and facilitators outside urban areas.

Wikimedia will also look to grow the inclusion of First Nations content in a self-determined and culturally safe way through the formation of First Nations Reference Group, a discussion paper and protocol development and Wikimedian in Residence program.

9. Please state if your proposal includes any of these areas or THEMATIC focus. Select up to THREE that most apply to your work and explain the rationale for identifying these themes.

Education, Advocacy, Culture, heritage or GLAM , Diversity

10. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Please note, we had previously asked about inclusion and diversity in terms of CONTENTS, in this question we are asking about the diversity of PARTICIPANTS. Select up to THREE that most apply to your work.

Gender Identity, Geographic , Ethnic/racial/religious or cultural background

11. What are your strategies for engaging participants, particularly those that currently are non-Wikimedia?

Our theory of change is predicated on growing the number people who engage and contribute to Wikimedia platforms and activities. To do this we will:

  • Develop and promote a range of inclusive and targeted workshops, events and training aimed at recruiting new editors, including regular edit-a-thons, GLAMR events and Fellowships
  • Implement our Communications Strategy in line with the Strategic Plan 2022-2025
  • Grow and maintain Wikimedia Australia website and social media content including training resources and community outreach
  • Survey new and existing Wikimedians to better understand their recruitment pathways and what retains their participation

Engaging with active contributors across Australia, who are not necessarily members as yet, is a priority area for our strategic plan which aims to grow connections as a community, ensure retention, grow expertise, mentoring and support between new and more experienced participants and tell the broader stories of our regional movement. We plan to undertake a quantitative and qualitative survey of well known Australian participants to better understand their recruitment pathways and what retains their participation. We will also survey participants at our events and workshops to better understand what they may require to keep participating.

In prioritising gender diverse and regional contributions, targeted edit-a-thons delivered through strategic partnerships with aligned or relevant organisations is key to meeting these goals. This may require travel or deployment of regional facilitators to access and reach regional, rural and remote areas. Offering a regular program of online training through our new GLAMR Training program will also help to bridge this regional divide.

Social media and traditional media engagement also provides an opportunity to grow literacy about the Wikimedia movement and its underlying principles, to tell local stories of engagement, inspired contributions, share interesting content and justify our value and contribution to the online world and beyond. Continued development of the Wikimedia Australia website as an engaging and informative source of information will make it easier for the Australian media and the public to find out about activities in their area of interest.

12. In what ways are you actively seeking to contribute towards creating a safer, supportive, more equitable environment for participants and promoting the UCOC and Friendly Space Policy, and/or equivalent local policies and processes?

Wikimedia Australia is dedicated to providing a welcoming experience for everyone it engages with, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, appearance, race or religion. We work to ensure a supportive and inclusive environment for participants, minimising any form of harassment at events and meetups, predominantly through the implementation of our Safe Spaces Policy, which was established in 2016. It sets clear guidelines for community gatherings which advise that all participants seek to encourage a positive and constructive experience for all other participants. This policy is shared at the beginning of all Wikimedia Australia events for reference.

Wikimedia Australia has also participated and facilitated community participation in the Universal Code of Conduct (UCOC) development process and consultations, keeping members and the community informed as it progresses through its different milestones. Upon finalisation, Wikimedia Australia will amend its Safe Spaces policy to directly align with the UCOC and facilitate any community information or education sessions required as part of its broader implementation.

Wikimedia Australia's Safe Spaces Policy: https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Safe_Space_Policy

13. Do you have plans to work with Wikimedia communities, groups, or affiliates in your country, or in other countries, to implement this proposal?

Yes

13.1 If yes, please tell us about these connections online and offline and how you have let Wikimedia communities know about this proposal.

Wikimedia Australia is the only member-based organisation supporting the Wikimedia movement in Australia. To deepen international engagement with other Wikimedia communities in our region, we will continue to participate, engage and facilitate connection to movement groups, affiliates and hubs.

We are active contributors to the ESEAP hub, engage regularly in SWAN meetings and other movement consultative groups. We are also available to offer support to groups across our region at different stages of their development. For example, we have been supporting the development of the Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand User Group, offering administrative support, knowledge sharing and expertise in programming, production of marketing materials and through co-delivery of collaborative campaigns such as #1Lib1Ref and Wiki Loves Earth. In 2023 we will co-deliver a Wikidata Fellowship to a recipient in Aotearoa New Zealand as well.

14. Will you be working with other external, non-Wikimedian partners to implement this proposal?

Yes

14.1 Please describe these partnerships and what motivates the potential partner to be part of the proposal and how they add value to your work.

Wikimedia Australia works closely with a wide range of organisations across Australia and will strategically and sustainably expand this network through this proposal. We currently partner to deliver edit-a-thons and training, both in person and online, through differing levels of in-kind, venue, program development, collection access, facilitation and/or financial support to develop customised programs to improve the discovery of content, collections and data on Wikimedia platforms.

These current partnerships (https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Partnerships) currently fall under four main areas:

  • GLAM-based gender equity initiatives: including Art+Feminism, the National Gallery of Australia as part of the Know My Name, Franklin Women, the University of Divinity’s Women in Religion, the Women Write Wiki group, Women’s Art Register, Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art, Parlour: Women, architecture and equity
  • Australian Music Project: Australia Council for the Arts (financial support), Australian Music Vault (current Wikimedian in Residence program), APRA AMCOS (communications support), Country Music Association of Australia (in-kind), Australian Music Centre (in-kind), Surround Sounds Geelong (financial support)
  • Libraries: City of Sydney, State Library New South Wales, Libraries and Archives NT, State LIbrary of Queensland, Australian Library and Information Association
  • Universities: the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society at RMIT University (current Wikimedian in Residence program), University of Western Australia, UNSW, Australian National University, University of Sydney

This proposal will target expansion across the following areas:

  • First Nations: AIATSIS, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, UTS, MusicNT (grant support)
  • GLAMR Sector: rollout of the new Wikimedia Australia GLAMR Training Program (https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/GLAMR_Training) across small to medium regional GLAMR organisations (in-kind)
  • Universities: establishment of annual Wikimedian in Residence program (financial support) and offer WIkimedia expertise to related university courses teaching with Wikipedia

15. How do you hope to sustain or expand the work carried out in this proposal after the grant?

As outlined, this proposal reflects our recently ratified three-year strategic plan. This proposal outlines just the first of three years of our multi-year application. Many of the programs and strategies are annual, or feature additional components planned for future years, designed to build consistency, continuity and momentum. There is also a focus on exploring additional funding and grant sources to grow and diversify financial sustainability.

16. What kind of risks do you anticipate and how would you mitigate these. This can include factors such as external/contextual issues that may affect implementation, as well as internal issues, such as governance/leadership changes.

From an organisational perspective, ensuring that Wikimedia Australia has adequate and consistent administrative, staff and board capacity to deliver on the commitments outlined in this proposal presents potential risks. While Wikimedia Australia has been operating under a stable and well-established governance model for well over a decade, success in this next phase of our organisational maturity requires a careful transition to a staffed structure. Providing adequate support to staff, preventing burnout, protecting corporate knowledge/documentation for succession planning and appropriate recruitment will be essential. Having clear strategic priorities, realistic work plans and strong policies, procedures and delegations and adequate board consistency and experience will be essential in managing this transition.

Australia has a highly diverse and vast geographical footprint. We do not have enough people to adequately service every region which requires significant travel, something that remains unpredictable and difficult to accurately budget for due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. This requires careful ongoing planning, prioritisation, recruitment and growth supported by a Facilitator program, to grow our footprint strategically and sustainably.

Beginning to explore and openly discuss First Nations engagement with Wikimedia movements will be complex and potentially controversial. It will require self-determined program design, transparency as well as sustainability, support and the appropriate recognition for key First Nations participants through formation of a reference group and partnerships with relevant First Nations organisations. Without a First Nations staff member, program design will require a highly sensitive, responsive and adaptive approach. The production of a draft discussion paper or recommended best practice protocols for First Nations content on Wikimedia platforms will not guarantee implementation, uptake or cultural changes across the wider movement. Resistance to change among non-member contributors to Wikimedia platforms in Australia who are involved in consensus decision making is apparent, which could be disillusioning for First Nations contributors or worst case scenario, leave them feeling and communicating within their communities that Wikimedia platforms are unsupportive or unsafe. Culturally sensitive program design, cultivation of a supportive and safe discussion environment and management of expectations up front will be critical in navigating this challenging terrain.

17. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select a maximum of three options that most apply.

Increase the Sustainability of Our Movement, Provide for Safety and Inclusion, Invest in Skills and Leadership Development

18. Please state if your organization or group has a Strategic Plan that can help us further understand your proposal. You can also upload it here.  

Upload Strategic Plan
https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Strategic_Plan_2022-2025

Learning, Sharing, and Evaluation

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19. What do you hope to learn from your work in this fund proposal?

Our movement is only as strong as its contributors and readers. The success of our engagement and programming funded through this proposal, will ensure the sustainability of Wikimedia Australia as an organisation and ultimately contribute to the health of the Wikimedia movement in our region. One of the core elements that will underpin the success of our strategic priorities and program design is the need to evaluate, understand, and iterate on what it is that attracts and retains contributors to Wikimedia platforms and makes that a safe, satisfying and rewarding experience. Is it a sense of community and adequate ongoing support? Philosophical alignment with the movement? The design and quality of outreach events and/or associated training resources? Opportunities to explore a particular or niche interest? A motivating desire to address bias or a particular issue? The availability of organisational opportunities to participate as part of work or a job? Or is it related to the phase of life and/or socioeconomic or demographic context of contributors? Both quantitative and qualitative data will hold critical insights required to answer these kinds of questions. Recognising that there won’t be one single answer as such, this data will enable us to maximise and strategically direct our resources in designing a more targeted range of customised programs appropriate to our region’s diverse contributors.

20. Based on these learning questions, what is the information or data you need to collect to answer these questions? Please register this information (as metric description) in the following space provided.

Main Metrics Description Target
Members Number of paid members of Wikimedia Australia 100
Events No. of events (from Wikimedia Australia Events page https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Past_events). 40
Partnerships Number of partnerships (from website and any additional relevant agreements https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Partnerships) 10
Media stories Media engagements (inclusive of radio, print, online etc https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Media) 10
Participation at events Number of post or during event surveys of how participants heard about the event? Ideally this metric is represented in a graph format to better understand how participants are finding out about our events. 10

Here are some additional metrics that you can use if they are relevant to your work. Please note that this is just an optional list, mostly of quantitative metrics. They may complement the qualitative metrics you have defined in the previous boxes.

Additional Metrics Description Target
Number of editors that continue to participate/retained after activities Wikimedia Australia is committed to working with the Wikimedia Foundation and affiliates to determine a methodology to measure editor retention from Wikimedia Australia events and activities. As a result of this proposal, it will share a methodology for measuring retention. We will also undertake a qualitative survey and brief discussion paper about retention at the end of this 12 month cycle. 1
Number of organizers that continue to participate/retained after activities Number of volunteer facilitators and organisers that participant in more than one event, meeting or activity within 12 months. 10
Number of strategic partnerships that contribute to longer term growth, diversity and sustainability Number of partnerships with organisations across Australia to deliver events, edit-a-thons and training, both in person and online, and,or develop customised programs to improve the discovery of content, collections and data. 10
Feedback from participants on effective strategies for attracting and retaining contributors Number of post event surveys (as per main metric 5) 10
Diversity of participants brought in by grantees Number of strategic partnerships that contribute to longer term growth, diversity and sustainability of diverse participants and identified target groups 5
Number of people reached through social media publications Twitter: 10,000 tweet impressions per month, 120,000 yearly

Instagram: 40 likes per month, 480 yearly Facebook: 10,000 reach per month, 120,000 yearly

250000
Number of activities developed Non event-based programs, such as Wikidata Fellowships https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Wikidata_Fellowships 5
Number of volunteer hours Inclusive of 150 hours of committee meetings and 50 hours of facilitators at events 200

21. Additional core quantitative metrics. These core metrics will not tell the whole story about your work, but they are important for measuring some Movement-wide changes. Please try to include these core metrics if they are relevant to your work. If they are not, please use the space provided to explain why they are not relevant or why you can not capture this data. Your explanation will help us review our core metrics and make sure we are using the best ones for the movement as a whole.

Core Metrics Summary
Core metrics Description Target
Number of participants Number of participants at events, workshops and training 400
Number of editors Number of contributors across all Wikimedia Australia events and activities 200
Number of organizers Number of facilitators in facilitator program and associated event organisers. 15
Number of new content contributions per Wikimedia project
Wikimedia Project Description Target
Wikipedia Based on Dashboard: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/wikimedia_australia_202122/programs 300
Wikidata Based on Dashboard: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/wikimedia_australia_202122/programs 1000
Wikimedia Commons Number of uploads to Wikimedia Commons for Wiki Loves Earth 1200
N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A

21.1 If for some reason your proposal will not measure these core metrics please provide an explanation.

N/A

22. What tools would you use to measure each metric selected?

We use the Wikimedia Event Dashboard for every event and program: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/wikimedia_australia_202122/programs

Financial Proposal

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23. & 23.1 What is the amount you are requesting from WMF? Please provide this amount in your local currency. If you are thinking about a multi-year fund, please provide the amount for the first year.

941908 AUD

23.2 What is this amount in US Currency (to the best of your knowledge)?

668839 USD

23.3 Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it.

Wikimedia Australia Budget:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FY05cs-MwDzvNCAnShUbefcaEn-ITY3G/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106870483675931458575&rtpof=true&sd=true

23.4 Please include any additional observations or comments you would like to include about your budget.

Please use this optional space to upload any documents that you feel are important for further understanding your proposal.

Other public document(s): Strategic Plan 2022-2025: https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Strategic_Plan_2022-2025

Wikimedia Australia Proposal Timeline also available here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1R1WnedRcUQUpoWRfVHVTjP7_POiFmsuLONv324jDTdU/edit?usp=sharing

Final Message

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By submitting your proposal/funding request you agree that you are in agreement with the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and the Universal Code of Conduct.

We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.

Yes

Year 2 Plan

Annual Plan for Year 2

1.1. Please upload or indicate a link for Year 2 Annual Plan. (required)


1.2. Please describe any major changes in your Annual Plan. If there are changes that require a budget change, please specify. (required)

There were three impacts on Year One of our Action Plan that have required unforeseen adjustments to our Plan. The first in-person ESEAP conference for many years was held in Sydney during November 2022 with WMAU as hosts and coordinators. This required a significant amount of staff and community hours focussed on organising a successful event. Additionally, the process of recruiting and onboarding a new Executive Officer has meant delays to some programs and deliverables, particularly in progressing some of the more complex projects. Due to capacity of staff and the reduced time frame some of our work programs will now be delivered in Year 2. Despite this WMAU has been able to complete some key work pieces in Year 1, and has also identified partners to co-deliver innovative projects aligned with our Strategic plan and deliverables. Finally, the steep increase in inflation has impacted our budget, particularly around travel and staff salaries. Additional funding in Year 2 will address this.

Budget for Year 2

2.1. Do you request an increase or decrease from what has been approved for Year 2? (required)

Yes, I am requesting a budget increase for Year 2

2.2. Please upload a detailed budget file or indicate a link to it for the Year 2 proposal. The revised budget should show your anticipated yearly budget from the beginning of Year 2 through the end date of the grant. (required)

2.3. What is the percentage increase you are requesting for Year 2 (with respect to the Year 2 budget submitted with your original proposal)?

20%

2.4. How much do you request for Year 2 in USD with the increase? (required)

223207 USD

2.5. How much do you request for Year 2 in your local currency with the increase? (required)

349226 AUD

2.6. Please describe the main major changes in your new budget. Your response to this question should provide a brief summary of the changes and give the reasons for them. (required)

Increase of 19.76% mainly covers staff salary indexed to CPI inflation, increase in travel costs and minor adjustments to programs. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation in Australia rose to 7.8% in the twelve months to December 2022 and is still increasing. Wage growth in 2022 ranged from 2.4% to 4.2%, so an increase to salaries of 3.5% is planned. This has a flow-on effect with an increase in associated staffing costs (superannuation, insurance, etc). Additionally, an increase in travel costs, particularly flight costs has occurred in Australia. Due to long distances and geographical challenges within Australia and the ESEAP region, WMAU uses online meetings as far as possible, but a return to some in-person conferences, training, strategy days and workshops has impacted our budget. We have also adjusted the amount needed to work with WMF on metrics for impact evaluation.

Metrics for Year 2

3.1. Main open metrics (required)

Main Open Metrics
Metrics Name Description Target
Members Number of paid members of Wikimedia Australia 100
Events No. of events (from Wikimedia Australia Events page https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Past_events). 50
Partnerships Number of partnerships (from website and any additional relevant agreements https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Partnerships) 10
Media stories Media engagements (inclusive of radio, print, online etc https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Media) 10
Participation at events Number of post or during event surveys of how participants heard about the event? Ideally this metric is represented in a graph format to better understand how participants are finding out about our events 10

3.2. Core metrics (required)

Core Metrics Summary
Core metrics Description Target
Number of participants Number of participants at events, workshops and training 450
Number of editors Number of contributors across all Wikimedia Australia events and activities 250
Number of organizers Number of facilitators in facilitator program and associated event organisers. 15
Number of new content contributions to Wikimedia projects
Wikimedia Project Description Target
Wikipedia N/A N/A
Wikidata N/A N/A
Wikimedia Commons N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A

3.4. If you are introducing new metrics related to a major change in your budget or programmatic plans, please describe them below. (optional)

Based on Dashboard: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/wikimedia_australia_202223/programs

Additional information for Year 2

4.2. If there are additional links, files, or information you would like to share related to Year 2 planning, please add them here. (optional)

For more details, please see also year 2 timeline documents and follow-up questions (includes also more comprehensive list of metrics for year 2).

Year 3 Plan

Annual Plan for Year 3

1.1. Please upload or indicate a link for Year 3 Annual Plan. (required)


1.2. Please describe any major changes in your Annual Plan. If there are changes that require a budget change, please specify. (required)

A new item in our Annual Plan for Year 3 is to offer an Australian WikiCon national conference. We were able to provide our first successful Australian WikiCon during late 2023 for almost 30 participants, and we are planning another exciting learning opportunity for our members, community and like-minded organisations in late 2024. We will also increase both of our two part-time staff from 0.6 to 0.8 FTE (from 3 days per week to 4 days per week) to provide additional support for the increased workload, events and projects. We have adjusted some of our Year 3 Budget lines to help facilitate this.

Budget for Year 3

2.1. Do you request an increase or decrease from what has been approved for Year 3? (required)

Yes, I am requesting a budget increase for Year 3

2.2. Please upload a detailed budget file or indicate a link to it for the Year 3 proposal. The revised budget should show your anticipated yearly budget from the beginning of Year 3 through the end date of the grant. (required)

2.3. What is the percentage increase you are requesting for Year 3 (with respect to the Year 3 budget submitted with your original proposal)?

14%

2.4. How much do you request for Year 3 in USD with the increase? (required)

263612 USD

2.5. How much do you request for Year 3 in your local currency with the increase? (required)

398480 AUD

2.6. Please describe the main major changes in your new budget. Your response to this question should provide a brief summary of the changes and give the reasons for them. (required)

Metrics for Year 3

3.1. Main open metrics (required)

Main Open Metrics
Metrics Name Description Target
Members Number of paid members of Wikimedia Australia 100
Events No. of events from Wikimedia Australia Events page (1 July 2024 - 30 June 2025) https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Past_events 55
Partnerships Number of partnerships (from website and any additional relevant agreements) https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Partnerships 12
Media stories Media engagements (inclusive of radio, print, online etc) https://wikimedia.org.au/wiki/Media 12
Participation at events Number of post or during event surveys of how participants heard about the event? Ideally this metric is represented in a graph format to better understand how participants are finding out about our events 12

3.2. Core metrics (required)

Core Metrics Summary
Core metrics Description Target
Number of participants Number of participants at events, workshops and training 500
Number of editors Number of contributors across all Wikimedia Australia events and activities 300
Number of organizers Number of facilitators in facilitator program and associated event organisers 15
Number of new content contributions to Wikimedia projects
Wikimedia Project Description Target
Wikipedia Based on Dashboard: https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/wikimedia_australia_202425/programs 300
Wikidata Based on Dashboard:

https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/wikimedia_australia_202425/programs

1000
Wikimedia Commons Number of uploads to Wikimedia Commons

https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/campaigns/wikimedia_australia_202425/programs

1200
N/A N/A N/A
N/A N/A N/A

3.4. If you are introducing new metrics related to a major change in your budget or programmatic plans, please describe them below. (optional)

N/A

Additional information for Year 3

4.2. If there are additional links, files, or information you would like to share related to Year 3 planning, please add them here. (optional)

Feedback

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