Grants talk:Project/MSIG/Volunteer Supporters Network 2023

Overall positive feedback

Overall, the proposal is well-written and supports a global peer network with a clear action plan. It aligns well with the Wikimedia 2030 recommendation on Invest in Skills and Leadership Development. However, there are a few areas for improvement and clarification.

Feedback for Improvement

• Articulate Connections with Other Peer Sharing and Learning Projects: It would be beneficial to have a clear articulation of the connections between this project and other peer sharing and learning projects. This will help to avoid duplication and manage gaps. For instance, the connection between this proposal and the Let's Connect program, as both are about peer sharing and learning. Identifying potential connections, overlaps, and gaps will help ensure alignment and avoid duplication.
• Close Connection with Hub Piloting Track: The project will need to continue to be closely connected with the hub piloting track. Since about a third of the grant goes to administrative activities, it is more aligned with the hub piloting funding. Therefore, the guidance and frameworks of hub piloting should be implemented to ensure proper management.
• Clear Pathway for Future Activities: There does not seem to be a clear pathway for future activities, making it difficult to understand how future activities will build on this particular grant. It is expected that future activities will be similar with the retention of the existing network, but this should be made explicit in the grant itself rather than being an implicit extrapolation. YPam (WMF) (talk) 08:56, 2 May 2023 (UTC)

Extension request and budget update

We would like to request a timeline extension for the VSN project. As planned within the grant, we aimed to secure a host for the annual meeting of the network - an affiliate that is not WMUK or WMAR - to support the distributed nature of the group. We are now pleased to be working with Wikimedia Chile on this - however they are only able to host the meeting later than we originally planned (in June). Thus we'd like to request for the project timeline to be extended until 31st July, with a reporting deadline of 30th August.

Wikimedia Chile's estimated budget for the conference is lower than expected by £1k; we are also now looking to make use of the overall contingency we assumed in the budget. We intend to repurpose these funds for resource production, and additional staff time for conference support and reporting associated with the extended project timeline.

We hope this is acceptable, but do get in touch with any questions and clarifications. Many thanks, Daria Cybulska (WMUK) (talk) 09:48, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

Hello @Daria Cybulska (WMUK) Thank you for sharing the updates regarding the current project plans. The request for a project extension is approved. This means that the project end date is now July 31, 2024 with a reporting deadline for August 30, 2024. Additionally, the request to repurpose the current grant underspend for additional project activities is also approved.

We appreciate the work of the VSN in advancing Movement Strategy, and look forward to learnings that can inform the design and advancement of collaboration and coordination structures within the Movement. All the best, YPam (WMF) (talk) 08:47, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

Noting here that the new report due date is now 30 August 2024. Thank you! -- JTud (WMF), Grants Administrator (talk) 21:49, 2 May 2024 (UTC)