Grants talk:Project/Rapid/Northern Region (Ghana) tinsi

Comments from VThamaini (WMF) and DSaroyan (WMF)

Hello Dnshitobu, thanks again for submitting this Rapid Fund application. We are glad about your plans to work on the administrative divisions’ data of Northern Ghana. However, we have some concerns and questions about the proposed activities and budget:

• We acknowledge that working with governmental agencies can be often challenging. That’s why, we would like to understand if you are already in touch with any of the mentioned 16 district assembly local offices and shared with them on the proposed project?

• What materials do you plan to digitize at these offices? Do you have permission or access to these materials? What is the initial license of these materials? Yes, and the initial license is share alike

• We would also like to understand if the information about Ghana’s administrative division is only available at these offices? Isn’t there any centralized body, library, or any resource center where you can find this information?

• Are you in touch with the Wikimedia affiliates working in Ghana? Have you reached out to them for support?

• Your experience in running similar activities in the past is unclear. We would like to learn more about it.

• Given the high costs of accommodation and transportation, we think that there can be other models of project implementation.
  • For example, you can reach out to agency officials in 16 districts and request to digitize and send these materials, reimbursing any costs that they may have (e.g. printing/scanning, internet, communication).
  • Alternatively, you can try to contact community members or other people in these districts and ask them to digitize and send these materials, while, again, reimbursing any costs that they may have. You may also reach out to Wikimedia affiliates in Ghana to look for volunteers who can support you in this project.
• Since you plan to travel to 16 different districts and digitize content at these offices, we think that the project scope is too broad for a Rapid Fund. With this scope, the project should be funded through the General Support Fund (former Project Grants) funding program.
• We believe that this project can be launched as a pilot with a plan to digitize information about a few districts only. We are recommending this, taking into account the project duration, complexity, and your experience with Wikimedia Foundation Funds.

Given all above-mentioned points, we recommend that you:

• Get in touch with Wikimedia affiliates or other organizations in the region to find out contact persons in these districts who can support you in the project.
• Try to find alternative ways of acquiring digitized materials from the district assembly local offices to reduce the project expenses.

• Run a pilot project with only a few districts in mind. Otherwise, if you plan to keep the project scope as it is now, apply for the General Support Fund.

We won’t be funding this project at this time until all recommendations are made. I’m moving this grant request back to ‘draft’ status. You are welcome to make the requested changes, respond to questions, and resubmit the grant application. Best regards, DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 11:49, 14 September 2021 (UTC)

Thanks so much for your observations, questions and recommendations. Below are response to the questions:

• Yes! I have spoken to the District Statisticians of Savelugu, Tolon and Kumbungu of what we plan to do and they applauded the idea saying that it will be an extension of the Government of Ghana Right to Information Bill that was passed in the latter part of 2021.

• It's not only resources from the district offices that I will digitize but those in the communities. I will be documenting:

The names of all the communities in each district including locally recognised areas

• The geographical coordinates of all communities in each district
• The population with reference to the 2000, 2010 and the just ended population census in Ghana
• The names of the schools in each district matched against the community it's found
• The gender as well as other human demographics of the people I can find
• I would also aim to map communities' traditional leadership and where they derive their powers.

• Yes, in terms of authenticity. These are supposed to be public knowledge information that should be accessible online, but currently they are generally not found online. And this is one of the motivations of this proposal.

However the data could as well be retrieved from the community folk, some could also be found in the Libraries that are there but the Libraries are non-existing in most districts and those that do not keep much of that information.

• Yes. The Dagbani Wikimedians User Group. Yes! I have discussed this project with the leadership of the Dagbani Wikimedians User Group and they applauded it and pledged their support since I am a member of that user group too.

• I have participated in so many survey activities in my region and have also gathered so much experience with a delivery company I worked with. I am also a volunteer contributor on Google maps and openstreetmap. The yawning gap in the names of communities in and around the Northern Region has been worrying. Please you could read more of my experience from my CV and I would be glad to share with you on your demand. I am part of the core team of Dagbani Wikimedians Usergroup and among the are very experienced Wikimedians who interms of grants management and other support that I may require from them.

• With your observations it is obvious that the scope of the project is broad and the period allocated to it wouldn't be enough. For that, I am going to work on 8 out of the 16 districts and subsequently take on the remaining 8. Due to the high cost transportation and accommodation I have contacted officers from the various districts that I will be working on to scan and send to me the necessary information needed from the district offices.

Dnshitobu (talk) 22:04, 14 November 2021 (UTC)