Grants:IdeaLab/Partner with the U.S. Federal Register to help improve U.S. Government content
Project idea edit
What is the problem you're trying to solve? edit
What problem are you trying to solve by doing this project? This problem should be small enough that you expect it to be completely or mostly resolved by the end of this project. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.
Participation in and understanding of the U.S. Federal Government by U.S. and world citizens is increasingly important not just in light of controversial actions of the new Federal Administration, but also as further changes in technology result in faster and more profound effects around the world from U.S. Government policies and statements.
As Wikimedia projects such as Wikipedia provide some of the most-used resources by people around the world, any collaboration that helps improve the accuracy and quality of Wikimedia content concerning the U.S. Federal Government can in turn help with political understanding and engagement at a time when popular engagement with politics has increasingly significant effects in the actions of many governments around the world. This projects intends to lay a strong foundation for technical and organisational collaboration, and perhaps even provide a model for engagement with similar agencies in other countries.
What is your solution? edit
For the problem you identified in the previous section, briefly describe your how you would like to address this problem. We recognize that there are many ways to solve a problem. We’d like to understand why you chose this particular solution, and why you think it is worth pursuing. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.
Developing collaboration with the Federal Register would mutually help both the Federal Register in its vital communication work by helping provide access of their work to a wider audience, and help Wikimedia by fostering links with subject-matter experts regarding the U.S. Federal Government.
Project goals edit
What are your goals for this project? Your goals should describe the top two or three benefits that will come out of your project. These should be benefits to the Wikimedia projects or Wikimedia communities. They should not be benefits to you individually. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.
- Review Wikipedia coverage of key documents published by the Federal Register (such as Executive Orders and Presidential Directives) with the assistance of subject-matter experts to specifically improve articles and templates about those documents, to provide improved standards on what needs coverage in articles relating to documents of those types, and to provide technical links where appropriate (e.g. via Wikidata) to assist with communication from Federal Register publications to relevant Wikimedia content.
- Build links with the Federal Register that help speed up the addition of relevant information from the Federal Register to Wikimedia projects, especially Wikipedia and Wikidata.
- Help Wikimedia build engagement with experts in wider fields of the U.S. Federal Government.
Who will you be doing outreach with? edit
U.S. Federal Register
Get Involved edit
About the idea creator edit
I'm a British citizen, but events of the last year have helped me realise the scale on which global events affect people in their day-to-day lives, partly by seeing first-hand how the information and sources that people consume can shape their opinions and decisions. In turn, while creating the Wikipedia template for infoboxes about U.S. Presidential Documents, I began to realise that the Federal Register is a key gateway for people to understand the work of the U.S. Federal Government, and that Wikimedia could benefit from links with the Federal Register to not only help improve existing content about the U.S. Federal Government, but also improve standards and technical links so that relevant information from the Federal Register is added to Wikimedia projects more quickly and systematically.
I have been a registered member of Wikipedia for more than 11 years, and involved personally in reviewing and improving articles from stub to GA-class. I have a diverse range of subject interests, but in all of them, I find good quality and accessible information not just helpful in studying, but in effect a "force multiplier" in the ability to understand and engage with the subject. I believe that this is increasingly important as technological and societal change brings information from an array of sources to people in quantities that could scarcely be imagined even a decade or two ago.
Participants edit
- Volunteer I am already beginning work on better integrating Federal Register data into Wikipedia templates and looking at possible worklists. Sasuke Sarutobi (talk) 00:13, 28 February 2017 (UTC)
Endorsements edit
Expand your idea edit
Would a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation help make your idea happen? You can expand this idea into a grant proposal.
No funding needed? edit
Does your idea not require funding, but you're not sure about what to do next? Not sure how to start a proposal on your local project that needs consensus? Contact Chris Schilling on-wiki at I JethroBT (WMF) (talk · contribs) or via e-mail at cschilling
wikimedia.org for help!