Strategy/Wikimedia movement/2017/Track A/Advisory Group/Notes/2017-03-13

Track A Advisory Group Meeting

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Date: March 13, 2017

Time: 8 a.m. Pacific (3 p.m. UTC) (See conversion)

Group Members

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In attendance

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Group Members: Alex Hinjo, Kaarel Vaidla, Kartika, Rosie, Sandister, Farah Jack Mustaklem, Andrea Zanni (8:18)

WMF Staff & Contractors: Nicole Ebber (Facilitator), Jaime Anstee, Amanda Bittaker

HH:00 Introductions, onboarding, and logistics

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See Charter

Privacy: Participation, meeting notes, and attribution

Logistics: Does the time work?

Track A description

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Track A is intended to focus on research, conversations and input from organized groups, which include the Wikimedia movement affiliates, organized movement committees including the Funds Dissemination Committee and Affiliations Committee, staff members at the Wikimedia Foundation and affiliates, the Foundation's Board of Trustees, and other organized or semi-organized groups that help support the movement.

Close connection to Track B, Individual Editors (Track B Lead Jaime Anstee and Maggie Dennis)

  • March 13: First constitutive call; share process and expectations, get feedback on the process, provide insight into the WMCON strategy track program.
  • March 24-27: Second call, review current process, gather last input for WMCON.
  • March 29-April 2: In person meeting at WMCON (for those who attend WMCON), to socialize and generally feedback and help shape the process.
  • April-Wikimania: Bi-weekly calls; sounding board for the process steps and sense-making; help iterate and improve along the way; monitor the different cycles and discuss solutions for outreach to underrepresented groups.
  • August 10-13: In person meeting at Wikimania (for those who attend Wikimania; call-in via video-conf optional).
  • Wikimania-end of the year: Bi-weekly calls; sounding board for the process steps and sense-making, help create new discussion cycles, advise on different forums for conversations around roles, resources and responsibilities, and discuss solutions for outreach to underrepresented groups.

:00 notes

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Nicole: Gives introduction as Track A lead, introduces Amanda and Jaime for facilitation support for notetaking - The advisory group has been created for brain extension to advise and input as we move through the strategy process. Nicole would like to publish group members names on Meta as well as publish our meeting notes. Advisory group will help make sure process and outreach as diverse as possible, consult on the best process.  Please fill out table with what can be published on Meta.

Nicole: does this time work for you, would another time be better?  Would 2 separate calls be better? Please add response on chat or reach out to Nicole via email with your response.

  • Alex: Time works perfect for me. I can adapt with other schedules
  • Rosie: Time works for me.
  • Kaarel: Time works, can also adapt, if needed.
  • Farah: Good time, flexible

Nicole:  Goes over call timeline.  We will also nearly all be at Wikimedia Conference and will meet in-person there.  Following that we will schedule biweekly calls and ask that you attend as many as you can, but at least half of those calls.  Then we hope to meet in-person at Wikimania for all those who are already in attendance there and call-in option for those who are not there in person perhaps

HH:15 Intro to overall process

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The whole strategy process is divided into 3 phases:

In phase 1 between now and Wikimania, we will try to find answers to the question:

  • What do we want to build or achieve together over the next 15 years?

Some underpinning questions that can guide the conversation are:

  • What will guide our work together over the next 15 years?
  • What impact or change do we want to have on the world over the next 15 years?
  • What is the single most important thing we can do together over the next 15 years?
  • What will unite and inspire us as a movement for the next 15 years?
  • What will accelerate our process over the next 15 years?
  • What will we be known for in the next 15 years?

Phase 1 has 3 cycles:

  • Cycle 1 (15 March - 14 April): Discuss future and generate thematic statements and key words
  • Cycle 2 (28 April - 25 May): Refine thematic clusters and discuss meaning
  • Cycle 3 (1-30 June): Refine thematic clusters, meaning, and discuss implications - refining the remaining 3-5
  • Finalize (20 July - 5 August)

Phase 2, after Wikimania: Movement structure, roles, and 3-5-year goals

  • Develop priorities for next 3-5 years. Map skills, processes, and structure. Determine roles, responsibilities, and resources. Develop governance structure. Mutually establish 3-5-year goals; refine focus area implications for short-term.

Phase 3, 2018 and beyond: Organizations’ strategic and annual planning

:15 notes

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Nicole: Overview of timeline of phases. Tomorrow launches the cycle 1 of the first phase - we are focused on the highest direction to unite and inspire us - not to focus on the projects or Tactical approaches, but themes about what our role may be in the world

  • Target at end of phase 1 3 cycles: (see prompts above)
  • Following Wikimania and throughout the end of 2018, we will begin discussing movement roles (phase 2) and foundation and affiliates will know where we want to go, will be able to incorporate that into annual planning (phase 3)

Nicole: Does this explanation make sense? Does this process make sense?  

  • Jaime: There is a graphic, but it is being tweaked.  Restates how process timeline (see summary above) relates Wikimedia Conference and Wikimania.

Thumbs up on the call that these makes sense.

HH:20 Review of the framing and material

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Main page of the strategy portal:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017

Overview of organized groups:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Outreach/List

Each organized group is asked to appoint one Discussion Coordinator (with 34 having signed up by now):

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Toolkit/Discussion_Coordinator_Role

Before people enter the conversation, we encourage them to read – or at least skim – the briefing:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Process/Briefing

Conversations can happen on- and offline, the discussion guide provides material to prepare, conduct and document each type of conversation.

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Toolkit/Discussion_guide

A page that shows all necessary steps to organize a conversation:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Organize  

Wikimedia Conference in Berlin will be one main platform for Cycle 1 in Track A (and some Track B people) to convene and discuss the main questions: What do we want to build or achieve together over the next 15 years? Schedule will be published Mon/Tue.

:20 notes

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Nicole: Shares links to outreach page which lists all conversations being planned by organized groups and discussion coordinators and the resources and materials links. You don’t have to read all the resources right now, but it’s important to get a sense of what the materials are and strategy will be. Already 34 folks from organized groups have signed up to lead discussions.

It is important to familiarize with the briefing: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Process/Briefing it is a bit long, but important basis for strategy on who we are, what we are doing, and where we are seeing change in the world to input to our conversations

HH:30 Types of Discussions

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In the discussion guide, we are suggesting 3 types of discussions besides on-wiki:  

  • In person
  • "Virtual" or video/teleconference session
  • Online but off-wiki conversations (Facebook, WhatsApp, etc.)

We are aware that not everyone will have that amount of time commitment – from your experience, what is the minimum amount of information that we have to provide in order for groups to have a conversation?

:30 notes

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Nicole: We expect to see discussions taking place in many ways and places (see overview above). The discussion guide shares example agenda, tips and tools for facilitators and advice to help in creating summaries and reporting back. Groups will be guided to having 2 hour discussion meetings based on these prototypes detailed in the kit.

Nicole: do you feel addressed when people ask you to give your affiliates views on the strategy?  When someone asks about your community, do you think of board, members, language group, editors?  Nicole thinks about editors

  • Alex: For me my community is the Catalan community +1, reaching out on Village Pump
  • Andrea: Thinks about 2 communities, language community and international community, have different mailing lists, always thinking of multiple communities
  • Rosie: Thinks about Women in Red, so many different channels (twitter, facebook, skype, slack). Not 100% all the same people in each channel.  Various ways of communicating works for us.
  • Kaarel: Including voices that are not so much heard.  Uniting at chapter level may amplify loudest local voices.  Whoever organizes this should think about all the different channels, send this message to local coordinators: Please, think of all the channels you are using and can use as many as possible in order to ensure to have most voices possible.
    • From chat: Most active members involved also in chapter, but community is wider.  There are some people who don't really want to be involved in chapter work, but are active community members.  Also in the communities there are newcoming members not really active in chapter, but already involved well on projects
  • Kartika: From chat: In Indonesia, the WMID and Wikipedia ID community has different channel, although we still have some members involved in both.

Nicole: Thank you, that is right to use as many channels. There will be 350 people in Berlin between Tracks A and B - not everyone will join the strategy track, ~ 200 dedicated to 220 participating in strategy track.  This is the time we’ve been waiting for, an opportunity to make it happen but we have to be involved, make our voices heard, encourage others to make their voices heard.

HH:40 Thoughts or Questions

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:40 notes

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Alex: I agree how important the strategy is. Big opportunity, a little scary. Have looked in detail at all of documents, one small thing not that comfortable with: There are some existing thematic statements: The movement is already being described in the briefing, but doesn’t know where these statements came from or where they were discussed.

Nicole: Concrete example?
Alex: Already discussed Wikimedia-l, breaking neutrality. Saying “We want to save the world” broader than, “We want to educate”.
Jaime: Where these in strategy doc? Can you point me to them?
Alex: Sure, will send by email and not distract from call.

Rosie: Women in gender gap groups don’t want to read Wikimedia-l, asking for summaries, but a lot to put on 1 person’s shoulders. Is there a way to get a whole community to be able to follow along?

Jaime: There is a place to sign up to get updates to your talk page on Meta:::Rosie: Can we get it to a group talk page?
Jaime: I think so, I’ll find the deets:: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Updates/Signup (THIS IS NOT VERY EASY TO FIND as it is only linked from the updates page side bar menu see here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Updates

Kaarel: I’m afraid that some of the groups that haven’t been involved will have difficulty participating in strategy, the lake between what we know and what is written in briefing is too wide. They need some information but all the details might be too exhausting.

Nicole: I’m wondering this too. We are asking people to have conversations that take a lot of time and energy. We’re asking ourselves, “what is the minimum information people need to take part? How little can we ask them so the most people can participate, even if they don’t have much time?”
Andrea: Getting very anxious about how much information there is and how often they change. Maybe we can do a Wikipedia Adventure sort of guided workflow. Read this, and then this, and then this. I am very involved and I’m still not very confident in knowing all of what to do and when to do it. Maybe we can give just one entry way, so someone can understand 80% of the content, have the right algorithm for understanding.
Nicole: Are you talking about a user journey for different entry points for different types? Affiliate, editor?
Andrea: Yes. I get sent a link and there are 30 more links at the end. It’s already overwhelming. Jaime, do you remember this?
Jaime: Yes, we don’t yet have guided tours as an option on meta and we’ve gotten a bit of pushback in asking for adding it to Meta as we tried to with Wikimedia Resource Center as it is seen that folks coming to meta should be familiar with wiki mark-up and navigation - seems we need to circle back and push again for something like this given the importance of the strategy pages to be easy to navigate for folks coming in from other wikis
Kaarel: +1 to Andrea.
Alex: Curating the information and sharing digestible pieces should be one of the responsibilities of the community coordinator.
Andrea: Yes, but I want to be a community coordinator, and the information is already a lot for me.
Rosie: Some people think that Wikipedia is “us” and Wikimedia is “them”. Them is corporate, some people don’t want to follow conversations there. It’s a struggle getting them to participate.
Nicole: What we hope to do here is have all the local conversations on the local project versions. On Meta will only have usual suspects, people need to be able to contribute on their home wiki.

HH:55 Wrap-up and Next Steps

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Next call: Right before WMCON, 23-24 March

:55 notes

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Task Responsible Target
Email non-neutral phrases in Strategy Briefing docs to group. Alex
To get on the updates link - https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Updates/Signup Jaime Done (see above)
Address issue of difficulty to find sign-up link to updates due to different navbox designs Jaime
Possibly bring Guided Tours idea back to strategy team Jaime & Nicole
Read through the briefing docs and watch for the updates coming as we launch more fully in the next days Advisory Group For our next meeting
Invite Group to the next call Nicole End of this week