Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Annual plan of Wikimedia Serbia (2022/2023)

Question from Reda Kerbouche

Hi @IvanaMadzarevic, Mickey Mystique, and Bojan Cvetanović: and colleagues at Wikimedia Serbia, thank you again for submitting your grant application. We’d like to welcome you in the Wikimedia Community Fund and wish you good luck for your planned activities. I’ve completed the initial review of the grant proposal and have some questions for you to respond to:

• How did you engage your community in the development of the Annual Plan and grant proposal?
• Does this proposal hope to bring in new participants, if yes where we can see it please?
• Since you have a dedicated paid staff members, could you please provide more details job discription for each position?

Thanks again for putting together this grant application. I’ll look forward to your responses in order to move forward with the review process. Best regards. --Reda Kerbouche (talk) 19:43, 21 November 2021 (UTC)

Hello @Reda Kerbouche: thank you for the comments. We’ll be happy to answer your questions:

• How did you engage your community in the development of the Annual Plan and grant proposal?
  • Community engagement is very important to us, because we want to listen to the needs of community members in this way and provide them with the best support. Every year, Wikimedia Serbia has an open invitation for all volunteers and editors who want to propose an idea for a project and to realize that idea within the annual plan of the organization. All projects are submitted within a certain period of time, after which the Committee makes a selection and proposes the projects to the Board for adoption, which will be an integral part of three WMRS programs (Education Program, GLAM and Community Support). Also, all proposed projects must be in line with the organization's Strategy, in development of which our community members also participated.

• Does this proposal hope to bring in new participants, if yes where we can see it please?
  • Of course. Each event and project is promoted through internal communication channels, but also through external channels, with emphasis on media and internet portals that focus on our relevant target groups. In this way, we are trying to increase the number of participants who will be familiar with the Movement and Wikimedia projects. Partnerships are also very important, since through them we can reach more people and use the communication channels of our partners to increase the number of participants in our events.

• Since you have a dedicated paid staff members, could you please provide more details job discription for each position?
  • Job descriptions can be found in the rulebook on the organization and systematization of jobs, but since the rules are in Serbian, below we have listed the translated descriptions into English:

Program and Community Manager

• Takes care of the implementation of projects and the requirements and needs of project leaders
• Monitors project implementation and controls the degree of fulfillment of project objectives
• Defines time frames, provides advice on project management, organizing people and teams
• Assess risk on projects
• Works on establishing and maintaining effective communication and coordination of teams
• Coordinates the work of other employees
• Writes and submits quarterly and annual reports
• Works on finding grants to finance the activities of the chapter
• Promotes the work of the organization and projects
• Develops and improves relationships with community members
• Works on attracting new volunteers
• Participates in meetings and conferences

Education Program Manager

• Creates plans and works on improving the organization and implementation of education projects
• Works on attracting new volunteers to work within Education Program and other projects of the organization
• Holds workshops on editing Wikipedia and other related wiki projects in educational institutions
• Assists the organizers of the accredited seminar of the organization
• Monitors the work of participants in workshops, communicates with them and evaluates their work
• Establishes cooperation with new partners in the field of educational projects
• Coordinates the work of volunteers
• Collects metrics and evaluates the success of educational projects
• Communicates with education program leaders in other chapters and the Wikimedia Foundation
• Writes and submits quarterly and annual reports
• Participates in meetings and conferences
• Promotes educational projects of the organization
• Participates in the promotion and implementation of other projects of the organization

GLAM Program Manager

• Creates plans and works on improving the organization and implementation of GLAM projects (projects intended for cultural institutions such as galleries, libraries, archives and museums).
• Works on attracting new volunteers to work on GLAM and other projects of the organization
• Holds workshops on editing Wikipedia and other related wiki projects in cultural institutions
• Assists project leaders and Wikipedians in residences
• Establishes cooperation with new partners
• Coordinates the work of volunteers
• Collects metrics and evaluates the success of GLAM projects
• Communicates with GLAM project leaders in other chapters and the Wikimedia Foundation
• Writes and submits quarterly and annual reports
• Participates in meetings and conferences
• Promotes GLAM projects of the organization
• Participates in the promotion and implementation of other projects of the organization

Office Manager

• Keeps internal financial records
• Prepares the annual budget of the organization
• Takes care of cost control in accordance with the budget of the organization and projects
• Realizes payments to third parties and other financial management activities in cooperation with the organization's accountant
• Prepares meetings and writes minutes
• Produces texts of decisions and letters
• Keeps an archive of business documents
• Plans and implements the necessary procurement of materials and equipment
• Participates in the preparation of quarterly and annual reports on the work of the chapter and reports on the implementation of project activities
• Conducts an annual inventory of the organization's assets
• Takes care of the inventory book and the transfer of the organization’s property for a set amount of time to the partners in order to implement the goals of the organization.
• In cooperation with other employees, participates in the preparation of events organized by the organization
• Performs the duties of Data Protection Officer
• Takes care of the implementation of procedures related to the protection of personal data in accordance with the Law on Personal Data Protection and the Privacy Policy

Diversity Program Manager

• This would be a new position, so it is not yet in the Rulebook on the organization and systematization of jobs. The idea is for the new person to deal with diversity projects, which include existing projects such as Wiki loves Pride, WikiGap, edit-a-thons on Roma or disability… However, in addition to these projects, the person would be in charge of expanding project activities and implementing strategic directions in terms of diversity and equality. In that sense, a person in this position would deal with the implementation of projects, collecting metrics and evaluating projects, planning new ideas and attracting new volunteers and participants within projects. One of the focuses on this position would be regional cooperation with other chapters, thematic organizations and communities, through various projects and events such as conferences, gatherings, camps and such. A detailed job description would be elaborated in the rulebook in case of acceptance of the proposed budget.

If you need additional clarification on any matter, please feel free to reach out. --IvanaMadzarevic (talk) 11:38, 23 November 2021 (UTC)

General Support Fund proposal approved in the amount of 115,800 EUR

Congratulations! Your grant is approved in the amount of 115,800 EUR for your first year with a grant term starting 1 January 2022 and ending 31 December 2023.

The committee was unanimously supportive of the proposal from Wikimedia Serbia. The organization has many important strengths recognized by the committee, such as its network of Wiki-ambassadors, Wikimedians-in-Residence, active board and staff, as well as highly active volunteers. This team is a major strength for the organization across its programmatic efforts. The organization also will support new communities to participate in and benefit from the movement through its microgrants program, which also has been an effective way to support mission-aligned activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the coming year, Wikimedia Serbia will be focusing its attention on its work with external institutions and entities to build trust and support for its mission and general movement values. We understand this is a longer-term effort and appreciate that this work is being planned over the length of the grant period.

The full amount of funding could not be supported because the Foundation is currently not supporting international travel as a part of its funding activities due to COVID-19-related risks globally, so these expenses were deducted from the total. Any other international travel needs can be reallocated to other activities at your discretion. Should this policy change, your program officer is happy to discuss supporting you with international travel needs. Importantly, there are no specific restrictions on local travel, as long as these activities do not conflict with your local laws and restrictions.

The committee looks forward to working together with you in your future work in the Wikimedia movement. On behalf of the committee, I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 23:17, 15 December 2021 (UTC)

Hello and thank you for the joyous news! We appreciate the insight of the committee regarding our work, and we are thankful for the support towards Wikimedia Serbia's needs and goals. Our confirmation was timely submitted on Fluxx. Best, --Mickey Mystique (talk) 17:20, 19 December 2021 (UTC)