Grants:APG/Funds Dissemination Committee/FDC process issues list

Please build on this list and add ideas for answers!

Issues to cover in the design of the Wikimedia Funds Dissemination Committee

Purpose

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  • Overall description of the role of the FDC

Scope of Authority

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  • Level of formal decision-making authority
  • Balancing FDC authority with role of each entity's board and internal review processes
  • Scope of decisions that FDC takes (spectrum from allocation only to line-item level approval of budgets)
  • Process for dispute resolution, appeals, vetoes
  • Role of the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation
  • Methods for ensuring Wikimedia Foundation and fund recipients meet their legal and fiduciary responsibilities under governing law

Scope of Responsibility

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  • Types of funding requests considered (vs. through other channels)
  • Role in interpreting alignment of funding requests with strategic goals and priorities
  • Role in conducting due diligence on funding requests
  • Role in evaluating the success of grants
  • Types of support/capacity building given to those submitting requests

Membership

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  • Number of members, composition, and terms
  • Eligibility, qualifications and characteristics requirements
  • Participation expectations and standards of engagement
  • Selection process
  • Training and on-boarding process
  • Compensation (if any)

Administration

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  • Meeting schedule and budget for operations
  • Role of support staff to the FDC and organizational structure (part of WMF staff organization or separate)
  • Relationship to Foundation, Board of Trustees, Wikimedia Chapters Association, etc.

Definition of Processes

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  • Request formulation and submission
  • Application preparation requirements and support
  • Prerequisite criteria for entity eligibility
  • Request review criteria with possible differences by type (e.g., core vs. non-core, program vs. admin, different standards for different levels of funding)
  • Request evaluation, approval, fund dissemination schedule
  • Aligning funds approvals with each entity's fiscal year and own budget processes (or aligning processes around FDC calendar?)
  • Approach to providing entities with stable funding to support core operations and multi-year projects
  • Funds handling process for moving money around the movement from sources to uses
  • Addressing gridlock, appeals, vetoes
  • Renewals vs. new requests
  • Methods of providing transparency in the decision-making process
  • Reporting requirements and methods of ensuring these are met
  • Evaluating and reporting of grant outcomes and use of evaluations in informing future decisions
  • Supporting multi-lingual nature of the community
  • Assessing the Funds Dissemination Committee’s Performance and refining the approach