Wikimedia Philippines/Reports/2012 Program Plan

This page outlines Wikimedia Philippines' projects for next year, the anticipated costs of these projects, the means by which these projects will be funded, and also ideas for further improvement of the organization for 2012 and beyond.

This is made pursuant to the requirements of the Philippine Council for NGO Certification, which requires an "Affidavit of Modus Operandi" with a list of projects and funding sources, as well as a detailed 3-5 year project and budget plan, as prerequisites to receiving NGO certification.

Overview

The last two years of Wikimedia Philippines have been utilized to build up institutional capacity and networking with other organizations. From 15 initial members in May 2010, the organization has grown to 47 members as of September 2011, and we are forecasting further growth in our membership numbers in 2012. This has allowed us to pursue further efforts at organizational restructuring: to effectively utilize the number of members that we have, the Board of Trustees passed a resolution creating committees in an effort to devolve operational functions to the membership body. In addition, the last two years have been spent attempting to further our reach with like-minded organizations and groups: recently Wikimedia Philippines was invited to a panel session of the Congress of the Philippines on a proposed "Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Act", and the organization has successfully participated in Software Freedom Day last September.

Wikimedia Philippines was able to take advantage of Wikimedia Foundation grants for funding of its projects, both in 2010 and in 2011. However, because the organization believes it to be in its best interest to reduce reliance on WMF financial support over time, the organization has begun taking measures to ensure this: the organization's post-incorporation tasks are aligned with attaining non-government organization (NGO) certification with the Philippine Council for NGO Certification, as well as donee institution status (Philippine equivalent of charitable status) with the Bureau of Internal Revenue. This finally allows us to pursue the procurement of a fundraising permit with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, which authorizes us to perform fundraising events in the Philippines.

Upon incorporation in 2010, the Board of Trustees laid down several projects which the organization hopes to pursue, both short-term and long-term. This plan intends to formalize those projects to provide a clear direction for the organization's growth and development, not only in 2012 but also in the years to come.

Project Plan

For the year 2012, Wikimedia Philippines' projects will revolve around three core goals:

• Increased standards of professionalism and organizational efficiency
• Further promotion and reach of the Wikimedia projects in the Philippines
• Increased participation in outreach activities and advocacy

Several of the organization's planned projects fall into one of these three goals. However, given current resources and organizational capacity, we can only handle so many projects throughout the year without overwhelming ourselves. To this end, the chapter has agreed to space out our projects to prevent overlaps between projects, as projects which occur simultaneously have the tendency to draw manpower away from another project. We're planning around 4-6 major projects throughout the year, with smaller events spaced in between, and with aiming for a more professional organization with internal projects throughout the year.

Budget outline

Funding for the chapter's 2012 budget will still largely come from Wikimedia Foundation grants, some of which are funds which will be carried over to 2012 from funds received in 2011. Other sources include the collection of membership fees and remaining pledges from incorporators who pledged funds for the chapter when it was incorporated in 2010, as well as potential voluntary donations from local donors.

Wikimedia Philippines is not expected to receive its DSWD fundraising permit until either the latter half of next year or the beginning of 2013, and so it is not possible for the chapter to actively hold fundraisers at this time. The newly-established Fundraising Committee, tasked with devising fundraising strategies for the chapter pursuant to Resolution No. 24, is expected to have fundraising strategies and contingency measures planned before we are granted permission by the DSWD to fundraise so that we can deploy a chapter fundraiser within 3-6 months of receiving the permit.

The chapter's participation in the Wikimedia Foundation fundraiser has not yet been set, but we hope to participate by as early as 2013 or 2014, depending on the completion of requirements necessary to earn PCNC certification and the DSWD fundraising permit.

The actual budget outline shall be filled in by the Treasurer

Increased standards of professionalism and organizational efficiency

Wikimedia Philippines remains committed to upholding the highest standards of professionalism and organizational efficiency, even if the chapter is completely constituted as a volunteer organization. An efficient, well-functioning organization is paramount to ensuring that our goals are not only achievable, but also sustainable. To this end, the chapter has set the following goals to ensure increased professionalism and efficiency:

• Internal professionalization. To clarify remarks made during Wikimania 2011 in Haifa, while the chapter does not in itself lose tax-exempt status, potential chapter employees are still taxed according to Philippine tax law, and the chapter will be forced to file paperwork to allow for the imposition of these taxes (among which are income, withholding and payroll taxes), which we want to avoid. To this end, the WMPH Board of Trustees passed Resolution No. 24 in September this year, mandating the creation of specialized committees by which chapter members will be responsible for some of the chapter's day-to-day responsibilities. For 2012, we intend to scale and streamline the organization's operations through these committees to make sure that less of these responsibilities (such as membership approval, project planning and drafting of press releases) are solely vested in the Board of Trustees, effectively allowing the chapter to be run by the members themselves and not the Board.
• Passage of policies. The chapter intends to pass and/or formalize several key policies relevant to efficient chapter management. These include an expense policy, a code of internal procedures and a conflict of interest policy. The chapter will also continue to implement strategies which will improve the flow and handling of meetings, such as the use of Robert's Rules of Order to govern meeting conduct.
• PCNC compliance. The chapter is committed to earning PCNC certification and it will be preparing for this possibility through aligning the chapter's practices with the PCNC's requirements, including amending our Articles of Incorporation and By-laws to ensure this compliance. In general, we seek to align the chapter's governance mechanisms with what is stipulated in the PCNC Guidebook on the Basics of NGO Governance.
• Coordination with other organizations. The chapter strongly believes that lessons on efficient organizations does not come solely from within the organization, and it intends to engage with other Wikimedia chapters and like-minded organizations as a means of devising strategies which help the organization run better, tailor-fit to the organization's particular circumstances but taking in positive influences from others. This includes improving our linkages with current partners and forging new partnerships with other organizations, encouraging the sharing of best practices for the chapter to adopt and also, in turn, helping our partner organizations become better-run ones as well. We are also intent on sending chapter members (funding permitting) to meetings and other events which will have a positive impact on how the chapter is run, particularly given our commitment to making chapter governance more democratic and member-centered.

Further promotion and reach of the Wikimedia projects in the Philippines

For 2012, Wikimedia Philippines intends to transition from introducing the Wikimedia projects as a primary focus of our activities to encouraging new ways for Filipinos to contribute to the projects, especially in recruiting new editors and supporters for the chapter's (and the movement's) advocacy. To this end, the chapter intends to line up the following projects:

• Further involvement in Wikipedia Takes Your City. Following the success of Wikipedia Takes Manila in January this year, the chapter intends to roll out at least two additional Wikipedia Takes Your City contests for 2012: one is scheduled to take place in Quezon City (a suburb of Manila), while another will be held outside Metro Manila. The chapter also intends to participate in Wiki Loves Monuments.
• Outreach via Wikipedia Academies and content generation. The chapter intends to encourage editor recruitment via Wikipedia Academies and Wikipedia workshops held throughout the country. Per the proposed Philippine Wikipedias Expansion Project, we intend to target partner universities in promoting content generation, particularly in Philippine languages, through funding resources to promote article creation and through proper training in the use of Wikipedia and MediaWiki syntax.

Increased participation in outreach activities and advocacy

As an organization within both the wider Wikimedia movement and the free software community in general, Wikimedia Philippines is committed to ensuring that it continues to be involved in activities that spread the message of Wikimedia and free culture, and to become a key player in spreading that message, particularly given that the organization is relatively young compared to other free software and free culture organizations in the Philippines. The chapter intends to do this via pursuing the following goals:

• Strengthening of partnerships. The chapter strongly believes that the message of the free software movement is one that cannot be carried by itself. Believing in the spirit of bayanihan as a key element in fulfilling our mission objectives, we intend not only to strengthen existing partnerships with organizations in the Philippines (a list of which is available here), but also to build new linkages as well, both within and outside the movement.
• Commitment to Wikimedia Asia. "Wikimedia Asia", as a manifestation of the chapter's commitment to spreading the advocacy of Wikimedia to the rest of the continent, was floated as part of the chapter's advocacy as early as 2006, when the chapter was first being formed. The chapter today remains committed to the need for communication and cooperation between Wikimedia chapters, working groups and editor communities throughout Asia, and it will continue to do this via strategic engagement with our Asian partners through sharing best practices and ideas for propagating Wikimedia in the continent, as well as encouraging the constitution of coherent Wikimedia communities in other Asian countries. We also intend to strengthen our institutional linkages with other Wikimedia chapters in Asia through participation in Wikimedia Asia.
• Engaging GLAM institutions. A major part of the chapter's advocacy for 2012 and in the succeeding years is engaging GLAM institutions in the Philippines, encouraging them to embrace the message of Wikimedia. To this end, the chapter is intent on seriously pursuing GLAM partnerships with several major institutions in the Philippines, some of whom the chapter has members who have direct and/or indirect linkages to the institutions in question. The chapter also hopes to constructively participate in Wikimedia GLAM initiatives and programs as a means of building the chapter's capacity to support future GLAM partnerships.
• Supporting community organization and expansion. The chapter is committed to increasing its reach to the community by supporting the organization and expansion of so-called "Wikipedia communities", organized along several lines, which will help the chapter forward its projects and advocacy. To this end, the chapter also intends to bankroll the organization of these communities through a microgrants system, and provide meaningful financial, logistical, material and moral support for their projects and promotion of Wikimedia among their respective target communities.