Hubs/Resources/Hub Toolkit

Overview

The purpose of this page is to share resources and examples for hub drivers preparing or piloting a hub. This page supplements the Hub Guidelines. It is a starting point to determine what works best in your context, not the endpoint. This page is a work in progress and will be expanded as hubs continue to experiment. What would you like to see in this toolkit? Let us know at strategy2030@wikimedia.org.

Hub services

Hub services enable affiliates, groups, organizers, and project contributors to do their programmatic work. Below are examples of hub services that can spark ideas for services. Ultimately, the services prioritized by a hub are based on a consultation or needs assessment and respond to audience needs in the particular context.

Examples of hub services:

Onboarding and training	Creating standardized materials that can be used by local affiliates, groups, organizers, and project contributors (e.g., newcomer onboarding, campaign organizer training, board leadership development training). Hiring external training services for a needed skill (e.g., in conflict management, public speaking, or intercultural communication).
New community building	Identifying and connecting new communities (e.g., in new geographies, age ranges, gender, languages, or thematic areas) with resources, information, training, and peer support.
Community knowledge management and connection	Connecting local communities to information on the regional, thematic or global level (e.g., through newsletters, convenings, or conversation hours). Connecting global communities to information on the regional or thematic level (e.g., through storytelling on Diff or participating in global convenings). Facilitating communities of practice or working groups to support community members working on shared goals.
Programmatic support and innovation	Helping affiliates, groups, project contributors, and organizers innovate or advance their programmatic efforts (e.g., events, campaigns, programs, partnerships, or thematic initiatives) through resource sharing, facilitation, advisory, or administrative support.
Affiliate support	Advising growing affiliates in setting up operations and hiring staff. Helping affiliates access funding and gain affiliate recognition. Providing facilitation or mediation to affiliates navigating conflict or challenges. Connecting affiliates to peer learning and professional development. Alleviating administrative costs or burden by hiring common services that can be shared across multiple affiliates (e.g., services for accountancy, learning and evaluation, or facilitation).
Resource distribution	Distributing funding to communities in the region or thematic area.

Consultation and needs assessment

Consultations and needs assessments are two methods used to understand challenges, gather input, or seek support. The goal of conducting a consultation or needs assessment for hubs is to answer three questions:

Who is the hub’s audience?
What initial services can the hub offer that are not being offered elsewhere and are most needed?
Does a majority of the communities who can benefit from the hub’s services want and need a hub?

Best practices:

Publicize documentation and results of the consultation or needs assessment period.
Use the consultation or needs assessment period to establish relationships with community members. This can increase the chances of trust, endorsement, and participation in the hub.
Continuously engage communities at each step. Conducting a consultation or needs assessment is not a one-time interaction but one that lasts throughout the hub’s development and operation. Hub drivers seek input from the audience on their needs, and then return to seek input on the hub’s services, governance structure, and plans.
For a pilot, it is not feasible to develop a service for every need identified in the consultation or needs assessment. Prioritize the services based on which ones are feasible to test in a pilot period, able to demonstrate measurable outcomes, and most supportive to either the largest number of people or to communities in greatest need of support.

Examples of consultation and needs assessments:

Latin America (2023)	LATAM Hub Discovery Research
Central and Eastern Europe (2021-24)	CEE Hub Research Small Affiliate Barriers Research Community Mapping Endorsement Tools Research
Arabic Language (2021)	Arabic Language Hub Research
East Africa (2022)	EARTH Research & Summary
North America (2023)	North America Hub Research & Methodology
Education (2023)	Education Hub Research & Methodology Theory of Change
West Africa (2022)	West Africa Hub Research
Language Diversity (2022)	Language Diversity Hub Research

Measurable outcomes

Outcomes are the changes you expect from carrying out your initiative. Measuring outcomes first requires you to define indicators (or metrics), which are the visible signs that demonstrate the outcomes are or aren’t achieved. Indicators can be:

Changes in perception or behaviors.
Increases in the number, frequency, duration, or quality of participation.
Improvements in capacities, processes, relationships, information access, or experiences.

Examples of measuring outcomes:

CEE (2025)
ESEAP (2024)
- Learning and Evaluation Plan

Decision-making structures

A hub’s decision-making structure aims to enable rather than burden the hub’s service delivery. Any structure can be complemented by an advisory group that invites individuals with certain expertise or perspectives to support the hub’s decision-makers and staff.

Examples of decision-making structures:

Lightweight body: A small, agile body (e.g., 5 people) that is elected or selected to represent the hub’s audiences. They may make decisions only where needed, prioritize trial and error, and involve the hub’s staff team in decision-making.	Advantages: Quick to make decisions. Risks: The inactivity of one or a few members has a large-scale effect. Requires continuous time commitment from members. Less representative of the hub’s diverse audience.
Oversight body: A body focused on decision-making and strategic oversight with members that are selected or elected to represent the hub’s audience. Members may hold formal roles (e.g., President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer) and make decisions through voting.	Advantages: Brings together members with diverse expertise to make deliberate decisions. Risks: Potential for bureaucracy. Sizable staff time may be diverted to coordinate the decision-making process.
Working body: A hands-on and operationally focused body (e.g., 10-12 people) that is elected or selected to represent the hub’s audiences. Each member brings a particular skill or expertise to both inform decision-making and carry out work. The body can create working groups to work on specific topics or activities.	Advantages: Extends a small hub staff team. Decision-makers have an intimate understanding of the work. Risks: Requires intensive time commitment from members. Potential to confuse decision-making and operating roles.
Direct democracy: Everyone supported by the hub can vote on the hub’s decisions.	Advantage: Decisions are representative and legitimized by the hub’s audience. Risks: Decisions take time. Decisions may be binary (e.g., Yes/No). Achieving large-scale participation can be challenging. Sizable staff time may be diverted to coordinate the decision-making process.

Examples of decision-making structures:

CEE: Steering Committee
Volunteer Supporters Network: Voting members
ESEAP: Preparatory Council
Wikimedia Europe: Board

Hub driver skills

The hub drivers are the initial group that helps the hub reach its pilot stage. The initial drivers may evolve into becoming members of the decision-making body, advisors, or staff, but this depends on whether they have the time and skills required. While it is not expected that the hub driving team possesses every skill, nor is every skill needed, some skills that can be relevant include:

Intercultural, inclusive communication and facilitation: Conducting consultation or needs assessment, seeking buy-in from stakeholders, and keeping stakeholders informed.
Project planning: Writing a pilot plan that outlines the services, responsibilities, timeline, and budget.
Governance: Defining and setting up the initial decision-making processes, roles, and responsibilities.
Resourcing: Defining and acquiring the human and financial resources needed to deliver the initial pilot services.
Legal and financial set-up: Identifying the fiscal sponsor and navigating legal and financial requirements.

Staffing models

The hub’s staff operate the hub and deliver its services.

Examples of staffing models:

Dedicated hub staff: Staff are hired part- or full-time by the hub itself. If the hub utilizes a fiscal sponsor, the staff are technically hired by the fiscal sponsor. The hub staff receive direction from the hub’s decision-making body.	Advantages: Staff can be hired based on the specific skillset needed for the hub’s service delivery. Risks: Staff stability and continuity may depend on the outcomes of the hub pilot and funding.
Affiliate-embedded staff: Staff are hired part- or full-time by multiple affiliates to work on hub services. For instance, three affiliates each hire or repurpose one staff member for the hub. For hub-related work, the hub staff receive direction from the hub’s decision-making body rather than the affiliate’s.	Advantages: Leveraging existing institutional and movement knowledge to manage the services. Potential for quicker start-up time if staff are already working in affiliates. Risks: Potential to preference the perspectives of the employing affiliate. Potential challenges of responding to two governance and operating structures.