Grants talk:Simple/Applications/Wikimedia Australia 2020-2021

Comments from WMF

Hello Pru and Wikimedia Australia, thanks again for submitting your Simple Annual Plan Grant application! We have completed the initial review of your proposal, and have some questions and comments for you to address:

• Could you please provide a breakdown of the “Indigenous engagement grant” expenses ($3,500) in your detailed budget?

The goal is to fund an Indigenous researcher to hold a focus group with key Australian editors and understand their issues and challenges in editing/reviewing Indigenous content. They would then work with us to draft guidelines that will assist editors, eg point to appropriate resources and develop strategies for reviewing contentious areas. The researcher will then present findings about the process and the guidelines at a conference, preferably Wikimania.

• WM AU plans to offer three Wikimania scholarships. Other than sharing the knowledge and learning about initiatives elsewhere, are there any specific goals that you would like the community members to achieve by participating in Wikimania?

WMAU is one of the chapters in the ESEAP team planning Wikimania, and we take seriously our commitment to the collaborative event. This requires that we have members at the conference to do the work required, and to continue building the knowledge and capacity of the ESEAP region. We also want to encourage the next generation of Australian chapter leaders to develop their engagement with the global community.

• Please note that the Wiki Loves Monuments campaign will be running in September when we still have restrictions around offline activities. Do you think you will be able to run this campaign exclusively online?

An online campaign would no doubt be less successful. We would focus on encouraging people to look through photos they have stored from previous travel. With most Australian states starting to ease restrictions from mid May, local travel may well be possible.

• You mentioned that WM AU “aims to give Wiki Loves Science another try”. Are you referring to the Wiki Science Competition contest?

Yes - we have been part of the Wiki Science competition twice now, both times we saw limited participation mainly due to late notice, and lack of promotion. We see value in this contest, and believe we can build from the planning done for 2019 Wiki Science Competition in Australia.

• The Annual General meeting of WM AU will be arranged in August. Given the scope of this meeting and COVID-19 restrictions, will you be able to organize it online?

Yes - we have held our Annual General meetings online since incorporation.

• You have budgeted funds for one face to face committee meeting. Could you please elaborate on why you think this in-person meeting is important? What do you specifically want to achieve which is difficult to do through an online committee meeting?

We find there is great benefit of getting the new committee together face to face - in terms of more effective induction, better strategic planning and quicker engagement of committee members in the operational and strategic areas of their work. In years where we have not held an in-person meeting, or when individuals have been unable to attend, we have experienced less engagement, and more difficulty in building a working culture. Of course, if it is not possible in 2020 for reasons beyond our control we will look for alternative ways to address these challenges.

• We are excited that some of the WMAU’s WikiClubs successfully moved to online meetups! Would you please provide a complete list of all active WikiClubs in the proposal?

Many, but not all WikiClubs list their meetings on the Wikimedia Australia events page

• • WMAU Community Meeting - meets monthly online in Big Blue Button
  • Wiki Club West - meets twice monthly in-person (currently online contact only)
  • QClub - meets monthly in-person (currently online contact only)
  • WikiClub NT - in-person special events a few times a year in different locations
  • Women Write Wiki, Sydney https://thewomenslibrary.org.au/women-write-wiki-project/ - meets fortnightly - currently online in Big Blue Button
  • State Library NSW Wiki project - volunteers and staff
  • Shut Up and Wiki - Universities in Melbourne meeting online held monthly

• We appreciate the support that WM AU offers to its volunteers through the Mini Grants Volunteer Support Programme. How is the application process implemented and who decides upon funding of microgrants? Is this process available and open for every community member?

The Mini Grants Volunteer Support Programme is an ongoing open program "available to members of the Australian Wikimedia community to assist them with their work on Wikimedia projects or other activities directly related to Wikimedia Australia's mission." Applications are via a form on the Wikimedia Australia website, and the grants are advertised regularly in newsletters, at meetings and on email lists. Applications are received by the Committee and considered at the next Committee meeting. If there is a scholarships round, eg for Wikimania or a local Community conference, a subcommittee will be formed in advance to shortlist applications for recommendation to the committee.

Thank you again for your work on the application and for your contributions to the Wikimedia Movement! I’ll look forward to your response. Best regards, DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 07:03, 12 May 2020 (UTC)

Question from SAPG Committee

Hi,

The Noongarpedia project looks interesting. I have a few questions.

• Does the Australian Research Council (ARC) provide funding for the project?

Thank you for your interest - it is a great project, which is the initiative of Professor Len Collard, who was successful in a 3-year ARC grant in 2014, in conjunction with researchers from two Western Australian universities.

Since the ARC grant has finished, Noongarpedia is a 100% volunteer project supported by West Australian Wikimedians and Noongar community members.

Regarding leadership in the group, how are you reaching out to the aboriginal community to build onboarding or inclusivity for leadership in Wikimedia Australia? Is there a plan?

• Does the Indigenous Engagement Grant include this potential for recipients? If so, how?

Siarus1074 (talk) 00:27, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

At this stage, Noongarpedia is our only example - where leadership sits with Noongar community researchers and contributors, with Wikimedia Australia as technical facilitator or connector, eg to the global languages community.

Given the number of Indigenous community languages across Australia, part of the leadership strategy is create opportunities for other researchers and communities to listen to, and learn from Noongarpedia researchers, and this grant is one way we are working on making this happen.

Wikimedia Australia grants are inclusive and applications from Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are especially welcome. Our outreach thus far has focussed on the research and GLAM sector. Specifically detailing a plan for onboarding for leadership is a great idea, which would be a good topic to include in the planned consultation focus groups.

Thank you!

Pru.mitchell (talk) 08:20, 18 May 2020 (UTC)

Simple APG Committee recommendation

We recommend that Wikimedia Australia receive $25,198 USD for one year. We recognize that the chapter has been doing considerable work towards a more inclusive and diverse membership and committee. However, we encourage Wikimedia Australia to diversify the governing bodies not only geographically but also considering indigenous representation, gender, sexual orientation, intellectual or motor diversity among other factors. Here is a diversity plan from Wiki Movimiento Brasil, that was shared with us in the previous round of SAPG applications, you can explore to develop your own plan. We appreciate the chapter’s approach to transition the leadership of Noongarpedia to the Noongar community. We are interested in seeing what the chapter’s strategy will be in terms of outreach to the indeginous and diverse communities, and how they plan to develop a strategy for onboarding these communities into the chapter and committee.

We acknowledge Wikimedia Australia’s need to work with local specialists to recruit new members and donors, and to implement communications and media strategy. We hope that these specialists will not only have expertise in the nonprofit sector, but will understand the essence of the Wikimedia movement, successfully articulating it to the potential stakeholders. In this regard, one area we want to see the chapter and these specialists explore is WMF's resources of communication with donors and the research team’s deepdive work, such as Characterizing Wikipedia Reader Behavior.

We are happy to see that Wikimedia Australia seeks for alliance within the ESEAP regional network. We hope that this alliance will not be limited to participation in Wikimania, but will be expanded into a sustainable regional cooperation.

For the committee, Siarus1074 (talk) 14:47, 26 May 2020 (UTC)

Wikimedia Australia's grant is approved in the amount of $39,250 AUD for 12 months

Congratulations! Wikimedia Australia’s Simple Annual Plan Grant is approved in the amount of 39,250 AUD, with a grant term starting 1 July 2020 and ending 30 June 2021.

Wikimedia Australia's annual plan is focused around two program areas — Community Support and Outreach and Engagement. The Community Support program is composed of a number of activities focused on engaging and supporting new and experienced community members. Through the WikiClubs project, the chapter will continue to increase its reach geographically. They aim at contributing to knowledge equity with their work with the ingenious communities of Australia. We appreciate their willingness to be engaged in regional and global activities, which will hopefully bring more regional Wikimedia partnerships.

The Outreach and Engagement program will help Wikimedia Australia to impact on the number of people aware of Wikipedia and related projects. This is planned to be carried out through a number of contests and GLAM partnerships. We commend them for expanding collaborations and facilitating online training modules for GLAM.

This year, Wikimedia Australia is asking for funds to work with service providers to engage new members and donors and to better coordinate communication with key audiences. We hope that this change will reduce volunteer burnout and increase the chapter’s efficiency and productivity.

We also command Wikimedia Australia for their efforts towards a more diverse and inclusive Committee. This year, the chapter is planning to involve new Committee Members ensuring that the Committee Members are from as many different states and territories as possible. We want to highlight the sAPG Committee recommendations in regard to the WMAU’s Committee diversity.

We look forward to learning more about their upcoming strategic planning and if there is any way we can support them further in their activities. Best regards, DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 06:39, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

Approval - Progress March 2021 and Proposal: Request for Allocation of Funds

Dear Pru, Alex and Wikimedia Australia , Thank you for making the request. We are pleased to see Wikimedia Australia embark on a path that will allow them to grow and develop - leading towards a strengthened community. We are aware that this will be a learning path and acknowledge your efforts of making sure that the role is supported through, for instance, having a transitional position guidebook. We remain aware of the changes resulting from the pandemic and therefore are flexible to our partners' needs. We wish you the very best as you grow your team and look forward to seeing the unfolding impact resulting from this increase in organizational capacity. --VThamaini (WMF) (talk) 13:45, 22 March 2021 (UTC)