Wikimedia Conference 2018/Program/15

15. Peer-consultation clinic: Bring your partnership challenges or questions!

How to move forward

What was this session about?

The session was dedicated to gathering the unresolved questions or challenges that participants have regarding partnerships and then answering them.

What are the next steps to be taken?

The slides of presentation below include documentation gathered at the session. Everyone is welcome to use described suggestions and tactics in their activities.

Photos

see the Commons category

Slides

Speaker(s)

Jorge Vargas (WMF), Georgina Fields (WMF), Ravi Ayyakkannu (WMF), Felix Nartey (Open West Africa UG), Isla Haddow-Flood (Wiki Loves Africa/Wiki Loves Women), John Andersson (WMSE), Daria Cybulska (WMUK), Keren Shatzmann (WMIL), Liam Wyatt (FDC), Emna Mizouni (Tunisia UG), Anna Torres (WMAR), Marco Correa (WMCL), Alex Stinson (WMF), Nichole Saad (WMF), Ben Vershbow (WMF), Jacke Orlowitz (WMF), Julia Kirchner (Wikimedia Deutschland)

Length (min)

90 min

Audience / Target group

Anyone who has a challenge when working in partnership with others and would like to be consulted on this challenge

Session Format

Small groups based on topics suggested by participants

Description

Many people in our movement work with partners. Doing collaborative projects is challenging and gets more complex, the more partners get involved.

This session will give participants the chance to bring their individual challenges or questions from their work with partners and get consulted by peer-experts from the movement.

There will be consultations available on topics such as

• Grants and fundraising (love & money)
• Search and outreach
• Managing the partnership
• Exit or sustainability
• Formalities (MOUs, contracts, finances)
• GLAMs or academic partnerships
• Regional collaborations
• Data partnerships

All kinds of questions and all types of partnerships welcome!

There will also be the following languages spoken: English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Swedish, Hebrew

Desired Outcome

Participants will walk out of this session with concrete ideas how to tackle their current challenges in working with partners

Next Steps and Milestones

Next steps will be individually decided by participants, based on the challenges they are facing

Documentation

Questions raised

• How do we approach institutions such as radio and tv stations for promoting local Wikipedia (community + projects)?
• How to convince GLAM institutions to set up partnerships?
• How to avoid a partnership depending only on the contact with one person inside an institution?
• How to select/filter partners?
• How can we facilitate the contributions of multiple partners without losing Wikipedians?
• How to initiate and maintain new partnerships in a hostile environment?
• How to find Wikipedians in Residence?
• What is the best way to approach a conversation with a company that wants to work with you but also has a strong financial interest? Is there a balance?

Gathered suggestions

• How do we approach institutions such as radio and tv stations for promoting local Wikipedia (community + projects)?
  • Make a list of TV stations
  • Try making priority for government of community radio
  • Approach the radio station with your idea
  • Suggest quiz competition for the listeners
  • Try out creative days like International Mother Tongue Day
  • Prizes
• How to convince GLAM institutions to set up partnerships?
  • Try to find a contact at the institution
  • Start a blog and try to feature them
  • Forge a relationship first
  • Invite the directors of GLAM to events as chief guests
  • Their website traffic increases by uploading free content
• How do you vet a partner?
  • Start small = pilot project
  • Facilitators as contributor to take conversations
  • Capacity to have facilitation/activators within association network
• How do Wikipedians get a) overwhelmed and b) build capacity in both GLAM and organization?
  • Example: Netherlands - having a rovin Wikimedian in Residence; result: a manual for involvement
  • Having a OOC (not a MOOC) with tailored aspects per category of partner
  • Intentional aggregation (limited to physical presence of a trainer)
  • Insist on facilitator within the institution + 2 members within WM user group who are involved
• How to initiate and maintain new partnerships in a hostile environment?
  • Having allies in different geographical countries/regions
  • Connecting with other organizations facing same situation
  • Talking to activist channels of organizations such as UN
  • Getting access to encrypted devices or technical training
  • Contact Esra'a Al Shafei
  • Try avoiding controversial situations (topics)
  • Use a low profile