Community Engagement Insights 2016-17 Report

Across audiences Editors Affiliates Program Leaders Developers
Goal 1 - "Improving new editor engagement"
Goal 2 - "Improving community health"
Goal 3 - "Improving collaboration and communications between the Foundation and communities"


Question 127 (CS01) edit

Which of the following activities have you done at least once in the last 12 months? Select all that apply.

Participants could select more than one option

0% did not select an option [?]

1 – Make contributions or curate content on any Wikimedia project (e.g. editing) (97%)
2 – Apply for any Wikimedia Foundation grant (e.g. Annual Plan Grants, Project and Event Grants, Rapid Grants, Project grants, Travel and Participation Support Grant) (6%)
3 – Attend offline Wikimedia events (e.g. editathons, conferences, hackathon) (18%)
4 – Participate in online Wikimedia events (e.g. a remote conference or meet-up) (9%)
5 – Support Mediawiki or Wikimedia software development (e.g. report a bug, test a product, have technical discussions, write software code, build tools) (13%)
6 – Organize community programs or events (e.g. editathons, GLAM, conferences, education program) (11%)
7 – Participate in a Wikimedia affiliate (e.g. Wikimedia chapter, thematic organization, user group) (17%)
8 – Conduct research related to Wikimedia (e.g. worked on a project on meta:research) (5%)
97% of survey participants contributed to Wikimedia projects online.


Question 128 (CE19) edit

The following is a list of topics related to the Wikimedia movement. You may see more questions about these topics later in the survey.

Which of the following are you currently working on or have a strong interest in? Select all that apply.

Participants could select more than one option

2% did not select an option [?]

1 – Advocating to change laws that influence the Wikimedia movement (20%)
2 – Wikimedia movement fundraising efforts (9%)
3 – Partnerships with governments, universities, companies or other organizations (29%)
4 – Technical contributions, including everything from giving feedback, testing, and writing code (25%)
5 – None of the above (49%)
From survey participants, 49% were not strongly interested in any of these areas, while 29% were interested in partnerships, 25% in technical contributions, 20% in advocating to change laws, and 9% in movement fundraising.


Question 129 (TR01) edit

Which of the following annual Wikimedia events that were supported by the Wikimedia Foundation have you attended in the last 3 years? (select all that apply)

Participants could select more than one option

38% did not select an option [?]

1 – Wikimania (in Esino Lario, Mexico City, or London) (8%)
2 – Wikimedia Hackathon (in Jerusalem, Lyon, or Zürich) (2%)
3 – Wikimedia Conference (in Berlin) (3%)
4 – Don't know/Not sure (53%)
From the survey participants, 54% was not sure or did not know about these events and 38% did not select any option. Please note that this question was missing "Did not attend any" as an response option.


Question 130 (SS19) edit

Have you collaborated or engaged with any staff from the Wikimedia Foundation in the last 12 months, in any way (online, in-person, etc.)?


Mean = 0.28
14% selected "Not sure" [?]

1 – No (72%)
2 – Yes (28%)
Twenty-eight percent of participants have engaged with Wikimedia Foundation staff in the past 12 months.


Question 131 (CS02) edit

Which of the following communications channels do you use the most for any Wikimedia work? (Choose up to three)

Participants could select more than one option

10% did not select an option [?]

1 – Any Wikimedia-related mailing lists (18%)
2 – Any page on Wikimedia projects (e.g. Wikipedia, Commons) (79%)
3 – Phabricator (4%)
4 – Other Social media (specify) (2%)
5 – Facebook (11%)
6 – Twitter (3%)
7 – Other (specify) (6%)
79% of survey participants use any Wikimedia project page, such as village pumps or talk pages, as a communication channel for their Wikimedia work while 18% selected mailing lists and 11% selected Facebook.


Question 132.01 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Any Wikimedia-related mailing lists


Median = 4
50% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (7%)
2 – Difficult (15%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (28%)
4 – Easy (32%)
5 – Very easy (18%)
Fifty percent of participants indicated that it is very easy or easy to connect with others or resources using Wikimedia-related mailing lists.


Question 132.02 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Any page on Wikimedia projects (e.g. Wikipedia, Commons)


Median = 4
10% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (1%)
2 – Difficult (7%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (19%)
4 – Easy (36%)
5 – Very easy (38%)
Seventy-four percent of participants indicated that it is very easy or easy to connect with others or resources using any page on Wikimedia projects.


Question 132.03 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Phabricator


Median = 3
73% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (19%)
2 – Difficult (27%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (29%)
4 – Easy (15%)
5 – Very easy (10%)
Forty-six percent of participants indicated that it is very difficult or difficult to connect with others or resources using any page on Wikimedia projects.


Question 132.04 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Other Social media (specify)


Median = 3
90% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (13%)
2 – Difficult (13%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (30%)
4 – Easy (30%)
5 – Very easy (13%)
Forty-three percent of participants indicated that it is very easy or easy to connect with others or resources using other types of social media.


Question 132.05 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Facebook


Median = 4
62% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (5%)
2 – Difficult (10%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (23%)
4 – Easy (33%)
5 – Very easy (29%)
Sixty-two percent of participants indicated that it is very easy or easy to connect with others or resources using Facebook.


Question 132.06 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Twitter


Median = 4
67% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (8%)
2 – Difficult (17%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (23%)
4 – Easy (29%)
5 – Very easy (23%)
Fifty-two percent of participants indicated that it is very easy or easy to connect with others or resources using Twitter.


Question 132.07 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Other (specify)


Median = 4
87% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (0%)
2 – Difficult (19%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (27%)
4 – Easy (12%)


Question 133.01 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Any Wikimedia-related mailing lists


Median = 4
9% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (5%)
2 – Difficult (14%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (29%)
4 – Easy (38%)
5 – Very easy (14%)
'Fifty-two percent of participants indicated it is easy or very easy to make progress on Wikimedia activities using Wikimedia related mailing lists.


Question 133.02 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Any page on Wikimedia projects (e.g. Wikipedia, Commons)


Median = 4
11% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (2%)
2 – Difficult (7%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (28%)
4 – Easy (43%)
5 – Very easy (21%)
Sixty-four percent of participants indicated it is easy or very easy to make progress on Wikimedia activities using pages on any Wikimedia project.


Question 133.03 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Phabricator


Median = 4

1 – Very difficult (5%)
2 – Difficult (10%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (30%)
4 – Easy (40%)
5 – Very easy (15%)
Fifty-five percent of participants indicated it is easy or very easy to make progress on Wikimedia activities using Phabricator.


Question 133.04 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Other Social media (specify)


Median = 4
33% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (0%)
2 – Difficult (17%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (17%)
4 – Easy (33%)
Thirty-three percent of participants indicated it is easy to make progress on Wikimedia activities using other types of social media.


Question 133.05 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Facebook


Median = 4
12% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (0%)
2 – Difficult (2%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (26%)
4 – Easy (30%)
Thirty percent of participants indicated it is easy to make progress on Wikimedia activities using Facebook.


Question 133.06 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Twitter


Median = 4
21% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (0%)
2 – Difficult (0%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (36%)


Question 133.07 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Other (specify)


Median = 4.5
29% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (8%)
2 – Difficult (0%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (25%)
4 – Easy (17%)


Question 134 (CS11) edit

How often do you look for updates or news about Wikipedia/Wikimedia features or services?


Median = 2

1 – Never (17%)
2 – Rarely (35%)
3 – Sometimes (33%)
4 – Often (10%)
5 – Almost always (5%)
Fifty-two percent of participants indicated that they never or rarely look for updates or news about Wikimedia/Wikipedia features or services.


Question 135 (CS13) edit

In the last 12 months, about how often did you share anything related to Wikimedia with anyone, using any non-Wikimedia online channel (social media, mailing list, email, etc.)?


Median = 1

1 – Less than once a month (75%)
2 – 1-3 times a month (14%)
3 – 4-5 times a month (about once a week) (4%)
4 – 2-3 times a week (1%)
5 – 4-5 times a week (1%)
6 – 6-7 times a week (about once a day) (1%)
7 – More than once a day (3%)
Seventy-five percent of participants indicated that in the past 12 months they have shared anything related to Wikimedia on a non-Wikimedia online channel less than once a month.


Question 136.01 (CS10) edit

Thinking back to when you were first learning about Wikimedia, to what extent were each of the following important or not important in helping you get more involved in the Wikimedia movement? -- Online outreach


Median = 3
22% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all important (21%)
2 – Slightly important (19%)
3 – Fairly important (22%)
4 – Quite important (19%)
5 – Very Important (20%)
Thirty-nine percent of participants indicated that online outreach was quite important or very important in helping them get more involved in the Wikimedia movement.


Question 136.02 (CS10) edit

Thinking back to when you were first learning about Wikimedia, to what extent were each of the following important or not important in helping you get more involved in the Wikimedia movement? -- In-person encounter


Median = 1
33% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all important (52%)
2 – Slightly important (15%)
3 – Fairly important (10%)
4 – Quite important (8%)
5 – Very Important (15%)
Sixty-seven percent of participants indicated that inperson encounters were not at all important or slightly important in helping them get more involved in the Wikimedia movement.


Question 136.03 (CS10) edit

Thinking back to when you were first learning about Wikimedia, to what extent were each of the following important or not important in helping you get more involved in the Wikimedia movement? -- Talk page messages


Median = 4
12% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all important (9%)
2 – Slightly important (14%)
3 – Fairly important (19%)
4 – Quite important (27%)
5 – Very Important (31%)
Fifty-eight percent of participants indicated that talk page messages were very important or quite important in helping them get more involved in the Wikimedia movement.


Question 136.04 (CS10) edit

Thinking back to when you were first learning about Wikimedia, to what extent were each of the following important or not important in helping you get more involved in the Wikimedia movement? -- Social media


Median = 1
28% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all important (53%)
2 – Slightly important (15%)
3 – Fairly important (12%)
4 – Quite important (11%)
5 – Very Important (9%)
Sixty-eight percent of participants indicated that social media was not at all important or slightly important in helping them get more involved in the Wikimedia movement.


Question 136.05 (CS10) edit

Thinking back to when you were first learning about Wikimedia, to what extent were each of the following important or not important in helping you get more involved in the Wikimedia movement? -- Other (please explain)


Median = 1
67% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all important (66%)
2 – Slightly important (6%)
3 – Fairly important (9%)
4 – Quite important (5%)
5 – Very Important (15%)


Question 138 (CS12) edit

What do you use to find out about new Wikimedia features and services from the Wikimedia Foundation? (select all that apply)

Participants could select more than one option

2% did not select an option [?]

1 – Any Wikimedia-related mailing list (e.g. wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org) (18%)
2 – Any Wikimedia project page (e.g. talk page, village pump) (50%)
3 – Phabricator (5%)
4 – Local conferences, events, or meet-ups (e.g. weekly meetups) (6%)
5 – Online events (e.g. monthly Wikimedia Foundation metrics meeting) (3%)
6 – Social media channels (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) (15%)
7 – Wikimedia Foundation blog (6%)
8 – Other (specify) (5%)
9 – None of the above (36%)
50% of survey respondents use any Wikimedia project page, such as a talk page or village pump, while 36% don't use any of these options to find out about new Wikimedia features and services from the Wikimedia Foundation.


Question 139.01 (SS17) edit

To what extent do you agree/disagree with the following statements: -- I feel well informed about projects being led by the Wikimedia Foundation


Median = 3
11% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Strongly disagree (4%)
2 – Disagree (23%)
3 – Neither agree nor disagree (36%)
4 – Agree (30%)
5 – Strongly agree (6%)
Thirty-six percent of participants agree or strongly agree that they are well informed about projects being led by the Wikimedia Foundation.


Question 139.02 (SS17) edit

To what extent do you agree/disagree with the following statements: -- I know how to contact the people I need at the Wikimedia Foundation


Median = 3
11% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Strongly disagree (9%)
2 – Disagree (29%)
3 – Neither agree nor disagree (23%)
4 – Agree (29%)
5 – Strongly agree (9%)
Thirty-eight percent of participants strongly agree or agree that they know how to contact people they need at the Wikimedia Foundation.


Question 139.03 (SS17) edit

To what extent do you agree/disagree with the following statements: -- I feel I am consulted sufficiently by the Wikimedia Foundation in decisions, through surveys, consultations or other means


Median = 3
17% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Strongly disagree (9%)
2 – Disagree (19%)
3 – Neither agree nor disagree (35%)
4 – Agree (31%)
5 – Strongly agree (5%)
Thirty-six percent of participants strongly agree or agree that they are sufficiently consulted by the WIkimedia Foundation in decisions.


Question 139.04 (SS17) edit

To what extent do you agree/disagree with the following statements: -- I feel that my voice is heard in Wikimedia Foundation decisions


Median = 3
26% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Strongly disagree (13%)
2 – Disagree (23%)
3 – Neither agree nor disagree (42%)
4 – Agree (18%)
5 – Strongly agree (4%)
Twenty-two percent of participants strongly agree or agree that their voice is heard in WIkimedia Foundation decisions.


Question 141 (SS15) edit

Which of the following channels, if any, have you used to talk to the Wikimedia Foundation staff or board? (select all that apply)

Participants could select more than one option

1% did not select an option [?]

1 – Wikimedia Meta (11%)
2 – Phabricator (9%)
3 – Community wishlist surveys (7%)
4 – Wikimedia MediaWiki (8%)
5 – Any wikimedia mailing lists (9%)
6 – Direct contact with Foundation employees, through talk pages or email (18%)
7 – In-person events and workshops (e.g. Wikimania, WikiConferences, meetups) (12%)
8 – Local project noticeboards (e.g. Cafes, Village Pumps, admin noticeboards) (8%)
9 – Other (specify) (3%)
18% of survey participants have directly contacted Wikimedia Foundation staff or board through talk pages or email.


Question 143 (CE17) edit

How familiar are you with the organizations associated with Wikimedia or Wikipedia?


Median = 2

1 – Not at all (22%)
2 – Slightly (30%)
3 – Moderately (26%)
4 – Mostly (16%)
5 – Completely (6%)
Fifty-two percent of participants indicated they are not at all or slightly familiar with organizations associated with Wikimedia or Wikipedia.


Question 145 (SS14) edit

Before taking this survey, had you ever heard of the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF)?


Mean = 0.89
7% selected "Not sure" [?]

1 – No (11%)
2 – Yes (89%)
Eighty-nine percent of respondents indicated that they had heard of the WIkimedia Foundation before taking this survey.


Question 146 (TR02) edit

For the annual events that you attended, have you ever received funding or travel support from the Wikimedia Foundation?


Mean = 0.1
5% selected "Not sure" [?]

1 – No (90%)
2 – Yes (10%)
Most participants (90%) have not received travel support for the annual events they have attended.


Question 147 (TR03) edit

We are considering the idea of offering pre-paid credit cards where conference participants are able to book their own travel. The WMF would continue to provide the same support in all other travel matters. Would you prefer receiving a pre-paid credit card rather than the WMF booking travel for you?

Participants could select more than one option

0% did not select an option [?]

1 – I would prefer a pre-paid credit card to book my own travel (43%)
2 – I would prefer for the Wikimedia Foundation team to book my own travel (38%)
3 – I am not sure (23%)
43% of participants would prefer to book their own travel using a prepaid card and 38% would like the Foundation to book their travel.


Question list edit

Goal 4 - "Improving collaboration and communications around software development"
Goal 5 - "Improving collaboration with affiliates related to partnerships"
Goal 6 - "Improving software for contributors"
Goal 7 - "Increasing software awareness and use"
Goal 8 - "Growing the Wikimedia technical community"
Goal 9 - "Improving information sharing for program leaders and affiliates"
Goal 10 - "Developing the capacity of affiliates"
Goal 11 - "Developing the capacity of program leaders"
Goal 12 - "Improving access to research materials by contributors"
Goal 13 - "Improving understanding of movement fundraising and fundraising needs"
Goal 14 - "Increasing awareness of GLAM and Libraries"
Goal 15 - "Increasing knowledge and capacity related to policy issues"