Grants talk:IEG/Wikipedian in Residence for Gender Equity

Eligibility confirmed, Inspire Campaign

This Inspire Grant proposal is under review!

We've confirmed your proposal is eligible for the Inspire Campaign review. Please note that the WiR's stipend can not be used for writing articles directly, the focus would need to be on facilitation and training. Please feel free to ask questions and make changes to this proposal as discussions continue during this community comments period.

The committee's formal review begins on 6 April 2015, and grants will be announced at the end of April. See the schedule for more details.

Questions? Contact us at grants(at)wikimedia.org.

comment from Thepwnco

@Carroll.Wilkinson: hello and congratulations on having your grant proposal confirmed as eligible for review! This is exciting news...but it's also unclear to me whether or not WVU Libraries has committed to this idea - are you able to confirm? (My experience is that new positions at university libraries sometimes have to be approved at various levels of governance, e.g. the university senate). cheers -Thepwnco (talk) 23:19, 5 April 2015 (UTC)

I am working on a response to your important question. I will post the response shortly.--CWWilkinson (talk) 18:01, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

You are asking a very important question. I will try to present a full, yet concise answer.

The University Libraries have new leadership since March, 2014. The new Dean of Libraries has made a strong commitment to the issue of reducing the gender gap in Wikipedia based in part on his knowledge of the life, work, and death of Dr. Adrienne Wadewitz. This public program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZisBB3N4gg&feature=youtu.be represented the first part of his long range plan to effectively address the gender gap in Wikipedia at West Virginia University. He joined forces in partnership with the Dean of the WVU Reed College of Media to produce this program.

We are excited to take this challenge farther and want WVU Libraries to eventually become known as an institutional leader dedicated to closing the gender gap in Wikipedia. Our Dean has the authority to adopt this initiative. We are implementing programs, finding resources, and trying to establish the Wikipedian in Residence for Gender Equity in collaboration with other steps he is taking in the highest level of the University administration to sustain this initiative. His vision is definitely a long range one for this initiative with part of the staffing for this position covered by a fellow from the Council on Library Resources (CLIR), a participant in the Libraries’ Residency program, or another revenue source that is provided by the University administration.

We recognize that Wikimedia’s partnership in this effort would be only for one year should partial funds be granted. But we anticipate that it will be a critical year in which we prove the viability of the initiative. We may want to apply for a second year of partial support. But we anticipate that in the near future our institution will take over full financial responsibility for the position.

Part of the rationale for the timing of our 2015 proposal is that in 2016 the University will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the graduation of women in 1891. This quasquicentennial commemoration will be highlighted throughout the year by special speakers, programs, publicity, learning experiences, and a symposium sponsored by the Libraries on the history of American education for women, among other activities. So to have the staff member in place as part of our structure will jumpstart our first year of operation.

One last point: tomorrow I will be tweaking my proposal to reframe the budget. We will aim for a partnership with the Wikimedia Foundation in payment of the WiR salary. I will clarify that the WiR will carry project management responsibilities identifying, training, and motivating the volunteer writers.--CWWilkinson (talk) 20:55, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

I did make changes in the proposal budget earlier today as I indicated yesterday I would.--CWWilkinson (talk) 19:19, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

Aggregated feedback from the committee for Wikipedian in Residence for Gender Equity

Scoring rubric	Score
(A) Impact potential Does it have the potential to increase gender diversity in Wikimedia projects, either in terms of content, contributors, or both? Does it have the potential for online impact? Can it be sustained, scaled, or adapted elsewhere after the grant ends?	7.0
(B) Community engagement Does it have a specific target community and plan to engage it often? Does it have community support?	5.0
(C) Ability to execute Can the scope be accomplished in the proposed timeframe? Is the budget realistic/efficient ? Do the participants have the necessary skills/experience?	7.2
(D) Measures of success Are there both quantitative and qualitative measures of success? Are they realistic? Can they be measured?	5.6
Additional comments from the Committee: Project seeks to increase gender diversity by creating a new position and the first of its kind to my knowledge - a Wikipedian in Residence for Equality. In doing so, it will endeavour to raise awareness about the gender gap on Wikipedia, and increase gender diversity for both content and contributors, at West Virginia University and globally, by leading specific information-literacy initiatives, e.g. guidelines for the avoidance of sexist language. Definitely potential for online impact - and may also lead to the creation of similar WiRs elsewhere. Would like to understand more about the sustainability strategy, funding for future years. Has the potential to focus on underrepresented area of the United States for both article creation and recruitment of women. I support the idea of having a Gender Equity Wikipedian in Residence to keep the project going. WVU seems committed to addressing the gender gap and creating a program that can be a model for other universities. There are plans for engaging on-wiki women/gender/feminist initiatives (e.g. WikiProject Feminism), plus faculty and students at the West Virginia University. Although on-wiki communities will be invited to provide feedback on the proposal, it'd be nice to also have them involved at other stages such as when creating the job description The plan to engage staff and students at WVU as well as Wikipedians. At this point it has not yet been well advertised on English Wikipedia, proposer will need support from Wikipedians to do this. Doesn't seem the potential grantee has any concrete experience with Wikipedia, but she has significant librarianship experience. I am satisfied with the information provided on the talk page regarding WVUL's commitment to creating the WiR position. I think the ability to execute other parts of the project (after hiring the WiR) will largely depend on who is hired - it would be nice therefore, to have a strong advisor(s) attached to this project if it is funded. While the budget is high, it seems reasonable and it's also nice to see substantial in-kind contributions, plans to work with the Wikipedia Education Program, and awareness from the grantee of the need to start sustaining the position beyond the funds provided to get it off the ground Proposer adjusted the budget so the cost of the WiR is shared between Wikmedia Foundation and WVU and that makes it more viable. Carroll is an experienced manager and has the support of the management above her to create the position. The measures of success seem very narrow. Would like to know how the success of a WiR at WVU will be measured. Measures might also want to consider the wider impact this position could have on Wikipedia Would like to see a more detailed work plan and more elaborate goals. I think WMF/past WiRs can help define a well-scoped, ambitious but realistic work plan that can add value. The idea of a WiR dedicated to Gender Equity could have the benefit of keeping the gender issue on the front burner in different topic areas.

Inspire funding decision

Congratulations! Your proposal has been selected for an Individual Engagement Grant.

The committee has recommended this proposal and WMF has approved funding for the full amount of your request, $27,100

Comments regarding this decision:
We appreciate that WVU has committed partial funding of this gender-focused Wikipedian in Residence, and that you plan on taking over funding in future years to sustain the role. Looking forward to partnering with you on setup over the first year. We believe that having someone with strong Wikipedia experience in the role to begin with will be important, and we encourage you to work closely with the advisors who have signed on to this project in order to setup this WiR for greatest impact! We’ll be in touch with more project setup details soon.

Next steps:

1. You will be contacted to sign a grant agreement and setup a monthly check-in schedule.
2. Review the information for grantees.
3. Use the new buttons on your original proposal to create your project pages.
4. Start work on your project!

Questions? Contact us.

outreach:Assessment of Belfer Center Wikipedian in Residence program

If the 2014 decisions have been reversed, please update the relevant page(s). --Nemo 18:29, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

Hi Nemo Thank you for your feedback, but I don't think that there is anything relevant to the Belfer Center WiR. The Wikipedian in Residence for Gender Equity is a position created from the Inspire Campaign and had strong community input as it is created. Thee WiR for Gender Equity will develop a training sessions and outreach methods that engages WVU libraries, WVU academic communities, members of the Wikimedia Community, and members of the public in creating content. The job position is being widely advertised, the job description was written with input from Wikipedians. Additionally, several experienced Wikipedian are acting as advisors:

(from the main Wikipedian in Residence for Gender Equity page):

Advisor Guidance and assistance selecting a WIR, tools for teaching Wikipedia to faculty/students Ocaasi (talk) 13:27, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

Advisor Continue to assist with advancing this project through guidance about selecting a WiR, setting appropriate measures for success, planning activities that have impact, and general advice about Wikimedia/Wikipedia. Sydney Poore/FloNight (talk) 13:45, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

Advisor I have significant experience in developing capacity for Digital projects in the humanities, especially around Wikipedia, on University campuses through outside work, the Education program and GLAM-Wiki. I would love to advise on both developing the position, hiring the WiR and helping the WiR define the research and engagement methodologies. Sadads (talk) 14:29, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

I can report that WVU's main contact Carroll Wilkinson is working closely with Wikipedians in order to create a position that follows Wikipedia policy and works well in the Wikimedia culture. Please let us know if you have any specific questions and concerns. Sydney Poore/FloNight (talk) 19:42, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

Job posting

FYI: http://employmentservices.hr.wvu.edu/wvu_jobs/faculty_equivalent_academic_professionals/wikipedian-in-residence-for-gender-equity Plus [1]. --Nemo 18:34, 22 July 2015 (UTC)

Now archived at [2]. I note that experience with wikis was not required, while a driver's license was. :-) --Nemo 08:48, 12 June 2017 (UTC)