Grants:Project/WikiInAfrica/WikiFundi/Midpoint

This project is funded by a Project Grant

Report accepted

This midpoint report for a Project Grant approved in FY 2017-18 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:Project/WikiInAfrica/WikiFundi.
You may still review or add to the discussion about this report on its talk page.
You are welcome to email projectgrantswikimedia.org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.

Welcome to this project's midpoint report! This report shares progress and learning from the grantee's first 3 months.

Summary

In a few short sentences or bullet points, give the main highlights of what happened with your project so far.

Tech part of the project very much delayed (due to missing human ressources in the Kiwix team)
Communication part a bit light so far (but not a very big issue given that the tech is late)
Content part on track
finances ok

Methods and activities

How have you setup your project, and what work has been completed so far?

Describe how you've setup your experiment or pilot, sharing your key focuses so far and including links to any background research or past learning that has guided your decisions. List and describe the activities you've undertaken as part of your project to this point.

Technology 1

100% # Analysis of bugs and suggested additions

100% # Evaluation of effectiveness and benefits of required changes and additions,

not started # Development of all elements and testing by increment

not started # Testing of changes and user experience

not started # Production of different deliveries (per language/both language, sofware with/without resources)

Status: is late. The tech project manager (Emmanuel) indicated that the tech team was very busy at the moment and could not take in charge WikiFundi at the moment. We went through the analysis of bugs and suggested additions, as well through the evaluation of effectiveness and benefits of required changes and additions. We are now looking for someone to actually do the work...

Resources and Tutorials

75% # Analysis of current resources, suggested adaptations to existing tutorials and suggested new tutorials and materials, incorporation of changes from Stage 1 into existing and new materials. Ongoing.

50% # Evaluation of the effectiveness and benefits of required creation, changes and additions. Ongoing.

50% # Writing, design and development of finalised elements. Translation of material. Ongoing.

0% # Proofing, reviewing of elements. Testing usage experience and elements, and isolating key benefits for inclusion at communications and partners stages.

Content :

10% all V1 WikiFundi pages have been properly archived

50% V2 pages are currently under work

25% Collection of resources to be added to the tool is currently ongoing

Tutorials

25% Creation of the tutorials have started [1]. In doing so, I realized that the use of cookies was mandatory and I am now wondering if cookies will work on WikiFundi... I need to further explore that point before seriously proceeding (which may imply waiting till a developer is actually available to work on the tech part). Might turn to screen videos (animated gif perhaps) if things turn technically challenging.

Videos (not originally planned)

100% Discovery videos (not originally planned...) have been recorded during WikiIndaba in 4 languages (English, French, Classical Arabic, and Dialect Tunisian Arabic).

10% Work on the videos have started. Ongoing.

UserGuide updates

0% Not yet done. Requires to finalize the pages and the wiki set up first (waiting for tech)

Status : currently ongoing. No specific problems met so far except on the tutorial issues that requires a bit of exploration and estimate of feasibility.

Draft versions of the introductory videos shoot during WikiIndaba. Those are draft, meaning testing different set-up, and are likely to be modified (those are my first videos... feeling very proud

With Erina in English (Uganda)
With Afek in Classical Arabic (Tunisia)
With Sami in dialect Arabic (Tunisia)
With Florence in French (France)
With Georges in French (Cameroon)

Explainer Videos

0% # Analysis of message to communicate. Analysis of current resources, and current technological options to create the video.

0% # Evaluation of the effectiveness and benefits of required creation.

0% # Scenario, writing, design, translation and then development of finalised elements.

0% # Editing, proofing, reviewing and testing usage experience and elements, and isolating key benefits for inclusion at communications and partners stages.

0% # Dissemination

Status: nothing has been done yet

Communications material and campaign

Analysis of the target markets, of existing resources and of what is needed to reach the target markets; incorporation of changes and additions from stages 1, 2 and 3 into the comms as relevant.
Evaluation of the distribution and engagement methods, adaptation of the materials to the target market and their needs, isolation of delivery channels.
Creation of campaign, design of materials, translation of material, creation of delivery mechanisms.
Printing, publishing and distribution of materials to identified areas. Ensuring campaign informs the project expansion stage.

Status: not much done yet. Amongst the things done though

Website improvement : Some minor work done (but for some reasons, all the work has been invoiced in advance)
A newsletter has been written, but not yet sent (French and English)
More contacts have been added to the database
An interview has been done for the Wikimedia Foundation Offline series with Anne (not yet published)
Discussions with several others in offline activities to figure out how to cut on hardware costs, a critical element in the project evolution (at the moment, "a raspberry + 200GB card + time to install software" cost around 200 euros). Potential directions identified with wikimed.

Project expansion through partners

Research and analysis of potential partners within the education, offline and e-education phase, as well as possible partners within refugee, prison spaces.
Evaluation of the list and each target’s offering and the potential benefits of a partnership for the collective user.
Approach and discussion with targeted partners about possible collaboration or partnership.
Evaluation of partnerships, extensions and additional opportunities that have arisen out of this stage.

Status: work was done in four directions at the moment

Collecting interested stakeholders to feed a database (for use when sending newsletters etc.). More needed (see UserGroup planning below). It is quite difficult to identify all the stakeholders to contact. A good solution seems to first improve the collaboration between all the current wikimedia offline actors (see below about the UserGroup)
Several potential partners were contacted; 3 potential partnerships under discussion - 1) a company setting up hotspots in Africa and interested in working with us (that company is already a partner of Wikimedia France) to provide access to the tool in their own networks. I told them I would get back in touch with them when the software is getting ready 2) a Unesco refugee camp in Cameroon would be interested in working with us as well (in particular for using the software). 3) in talks with Libraries without Borders about potential collaboration
Regular discussions by email or hangout meetings with other wikimedians involved in offline projects, in particular around Async wikis (requests for funding to pay a developper to work on Async wikis)
We are currently considering creating an m:Offline Projects UserGroup.

Midpoint outcomes

What are the results of your project or any experiments you’ve worked on so far?

Please discuss anything you have created or changed (organized, built, grown, etc) as a result of your project to date.

Most of this is outlined in the previous section. Let me propose links to the various places of the current project

http://www.wikifundi.org (some improvements made to the website)
w:fr:Projet:WikiFundi main page for the new version
w:en:Wikipedia:WikiProject WikiFundi main page for the new version
w:fr:Projet:WikiFundi/Tutoriels working page for tutoriels
Tech brief
introduction videos

Finances

Please take some time to update the table in your project finances page. Check that you’ve listed all approved and actual expenditures as instructed. If there are differences between the planned and actual use of funds, please use the column provided there to explain them.

Then, answer the following question here: Have you spent your funds according to plan so far? Please briefly describe any major changes to budget or expenditures that you anticipate for the second half of your project.

Funds have been spend according to plan so far. There is no major change to budget. Finances table has been updated.

Technical budget was apparently planned too short, but I managed to find 2000 euros not spent from previous WikiFundi fund by Orange so reattributed it to tech development to increase the overall envelop.

Learning

The best thing about trying something new is that you learn from it. We want to follow in your footsteps and learn along with you, and we want to know that you are taking enough risks to learn something really interesting! Please use the below sections to describe what is working and what you plan to change for the second half of your project.

What are the challenges

What challenges or obstacles have you encountered? What will you do differently going forward? Please list these as short bullet points.

Tech issues. Devs not available. Trying to identify people with the right skills
Lack of availability of the Com manager.

What is working well

What have you found works best so far? To help spread successful strategies so that they can be of use to others in the movement, rather than writing lots of text here, we'd like you to share your finding in the form of a link to a learning pattern.

talking of the project to other parties or stakeholders, that brings in excitement, suggestions, and perhaps new paths

Your learning pattern link goes here

Next steps and opportunities

What are the next steps and opportunities you’ll be focusing on for the second half of your project? Please list these as short bullet points. If you're considering applying for a 6-month renewal of this grant at the end of your project, please also mention this here.

Need an extension to accommodate the lack of tech Human Resources
Finalize WikiFundi content.
Create explainer video and work on a communication/release strategy. The little challenge is that we originally planned to do that around Wikimania, which is likely a bit moot. Planning to do communication during Wikimania anyway (lightning talk, presentation poster), and a second wave at V2 release
Implement a distribution strategy; this include exploring this cost reduction strategy and change the website so that interested parties can request sets from it
Pursue the potential partnerships already uncovered and see for other options

Grantee reflection

We’d love to hear any thoughts you have on how the experience of being an grantee has been so far. What is one thing that surprised you, or that you particularly enjoyed from the past 3 months?