Grants:PEG/Ada Initiative/AdaCamp 2014/Report

Report accepted

This report for a Project and Event grant approved in FY 2014-15 has been reviewed and accepted by the Wikimedia Foundation.

To read the approved grant submission describing the plan for this project, please visit Grants:PEG/Ada Initiative/AdaCamp 2014.

You may still comment on this report on its discussion page, or visit the discussion page to read the discussion about this report.
You are welcome to Email grants at wikimedia dot org at any time if you have questions or concerns about this report.

Project status

Did you comply with the requirements specified by WMF in the grant agreement?: Yes

Is your project completed?: Yes

Activities and lessons learned

Activities

AdaCamp Berlin, held on October 11-12, 2014 at the office of Wikimedia Deutschland, was primarily structured as an unconference but with sessions to orient attendees, and session curation to make the two days flow smoothly. Saturday morning kicked off with an Imposter Syndrome Workshop and was followed by curated introductions to Wikipedia, Online Privacy and Security, Open Access to research materials and Feminist Activism. Additionally, there were two free-form sessions, with the first focusing on the problems and barriers women face in open source technology and culture, and the second discussing existing solutions in a variety of communities.

Sunday morning continued with this theme, and focused on generating new and creative ways to address the problems and barriers facing women in open source technology and culture. The afternoon consisted of attendee-organized skill-sharing and creation, with a multitude of workshops, make-a-thons, edit-a-thons, hack-a-thons, and tutorials that ranged from security and cryptography, through group programming, working on software as a craft, to a meta-workshop on how to run workshops.

Both days started with breakfast, registration and an opening session. Lunch breaks on both days were for 90 minutes, followed by lightning talks. During these lightning talks, AdaCampers talked about subjects from useful hand signals for group communication, to online language barriers, to Wikipedia projects. For many lightning talk speakers, this was their first experience of public speaking.

AdaCamp Bangalore, held on November 22-23, 2014 at Red Hat in Bangalore, was also primarily structured as an unconference, with some sessions to orient attendees, and session curation to make the two days flow smoothly. Saturday morning kicked off with an Imposter Syndrome Workshop and was followed by curated introductions to Wikipedia, Online Privacy and Security, Open Access to research materials and Intersectional Feminism. Additionally, there were two free-form sessions, with the first focusing on the problems and barriers women face in open source technology and culture, and the second discussing existing solutions in a variety of communities.

On Saturday night, attendees had dinner in small groups at restaurants around Bangalore. Attendees were invited to host dinners on behalf of their employers. The Centre for Internet and Society, Growstuff and their representatives hosted dinners.

Sunday afternoon continued with attendee-organized sessions that focused on skills-sharing and creation, with a variety of workshops that included a Wikipedia edit-a-thon, an in-depth security workshop, and hands-on introduction to Arduino, RaspberryPi, and Mozilla Webmaker.

Both days started with breakfast, registration and an opening session. Lunch breaks on both days were for 90 minutes, followed by lightning talks. During these lightning talks, AdaCampers talked about subjects from local Indian projects addressing women’s issues, open humanitarian projects, women’s free software groups and building a library of open knowledge for students in Myanmar. For many lightning talk speakers, this was their first experience of public speaking.

Lessons learned

What worked well?

Based on feedback, attendees loved the lightning talks, and we will consider adding an additional one as an intro on the first day to serve as an “ice breaker” and get people interacting. We also received positive feedback on the use of color-coded lanyards for attendees to wear, based on whether or not they felt comfortable being photographed (green = always OK; yellow = please ask; red = never OK, don’t ask).

What didn't work?

Use of jargon and slang that would not be relevant for other cultures, not focusing enough on cultural specifics for a particular AdaCamp, and lack of guidance on what to do if a session ends early.

What would you do differently if you planned a similar project?

We would adjust future AdaCamps to better suit cultural and political nuances specific to the country and region an AdaCamp will be hosted. (We would continue to enlist a local organizer for cultures different from our own to facilitate venue and logistical planning, and to advise on cultural nuances.) We will also provide information for the hosting organisation stating what we need and expect (such as no male visitors allowed, gender neutral bathrooms, childcare room) and how the event will be run.

Learning patterns

We endorse the Fostering Affinity Groups and Safe Space Policy learning patterns.

Outcomes and impact

Outcomes

Provide the original project goal here.: The primary goal of AdaCamp is to increase women's participation and status in Wikimedia projects, open source software, open data, open government, fan/remix culture, and similar fields. We achieve this goal by teaching women skills for participating in, grow attendees' personal networks within, increase attendees' confidence and participation in, and help women develop careers in open technology and culture.

Attendance at AdaCamp is by invitation and attendees are selected from qualified applicants through an open invitation process. The application process is open to people who identify as a woman in a way that is significant to them. Attendees are selected based on experience in open technology and culture, experience or knowledge of feminism and advocacy, ability to collaborate with others, and any rare or notable experience or background that would add to AdaCamp. Participants registration fees are self-selecting and range from no fee to an amount that covers the total cost of an individual. In addition to creating an environment that is welcoming to women, we work to make all our events accessible to people with disabilities.

The Ada Initiative has run four AdaCamps in two countries, with more than 300 women in open tech/culture attending. We survey attendees after each AdaCamp. After our most recent AdaCamp in Portland, 100% of people who answered the survey felt that AdaCamp had improved their professional networks and nearly as many (88%) felt more part of a community of women in open technology and culture. 73% percent of respondents agreed that AdaCamp increased their awareness of issues facing women in open technology and culture and 77% agreed that they are more committed to participating in open technology and culture now, two of the primary goals of AdaCamp.

In 2014, we are switching away from the one large conference model and running multiple smaller AdaCamps in three different continents to reach a greater variety of women in open source and technology. In October, and in association with Wikimedia Deutschland, we will offering AdaCamp Berlin. In November, we will be holding an AdaCamp in Bangalore. Although neither of these events will be limited to Wikipedian participants, we expect a high density of Wikimedia-related individuals to apply. This is because the Berlin AdaCamp is hosted at the WMF DE offices, and our primary local contacts for the Bangalore event are active Wikipedians (Noopur Raval and Netha Hussain).

The Ada Initiative is a non-profit organization founded in February 2011 to increase the participation and status of women in open technology and culture communities, including open source, free culture, Wikipedia and other open knowledge communities, open government, remix culture and others. Founders Valerie Aurora and Mary Gardiner each have over a decade of experience in both open technology and advocacy for women. Our board of advisors includes Wikimedia experts Sue Gardner, Sumana Harihareswara, Noopur Raval, Sara Smollett, Ellie Young, and Gayle Karen Young.

Did you achieve your project goal? How do you know your goal was achieved? Please answer in 1 - 2 short paragraphs.: Overall, we feel we have achieved our project goal based on the positive feedback received from our post-survey results and from the numerous blog posts from attendees. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive about AdaCamp, from the focus on creating a safe, inclusive space to the content and format of the unconference. One attendee wrote “It was hard to believe that a completely unscheduled conference had such an awesome program made by the attendees in just 30 minutes. Nothing could be more open and encouraging than this”. Another wrote that she “got back to editing Wikipedia after being dormant for 3 years” as a result of attending AdaCamp.

Progress towards targets and goals

Project metrics

AdaCamp Berlin: Note: This information was provided by our Survey Monkey results, which we send out to all attendees post conference. Due to additional, late respondents, the AdaCamp Berlin results vary from the initial post-event results published on The Ada Initiative website.

Project metrics	Target outcome	Achieved outcome	Explanation
For 100 or 40% of AdaCamp attendees to be Wikimedians.	54%	31 out of 57 attendees specified in their applications that they have had involvement in Wikimedia projects.
In post-survey results from attendees, for 80% to agree that AdaCamp increased their network in women in open tech/culture.	92%	26 out of 57 attendees who responded to our post-event survey agreed (42%) or strongly agreed (50%).
In post-survey results from attendees, for 80% to agree that they feel more like part of a community of women in open tech/culture as a result of AdaCamp.	77%	26 out of 57 attendees who responded to our post-event survey agreed (50%) or strongly agreed (27%). This is our first event in Germany and also our lowest ratings, while the Indian event had very high ratings. So we think we missed our predictions because of differences in culture.
In post-survey results from attendees, for 80% to have gotten a greater understanding of the issues facing women in open tech/culture as a result of AdaCamp.	73%	26 out of 57 attendees who responded to our post-event survey agreed (31%) or strongly agreed (42%). See previous note.
In post-survey results from attendees, for 80% to increase their commitment to participate in open tech/culture as a result of AdaCamp.	73%	26 out of 57 attendees who responded to our post-event survey agreed (42%) or strongly agreed (31%). See previous note.

Project metrics

AdaCamp Bangalore: Note: This information was provided by our Survey Monkey results, which we send out to all attendees post conference.

Project metrics	Target outcome	Achieved outcome	Explanation
For 100 or 40% of AdaCamp attendees to be Wikimedians.	64%	32 out of 50 attendees specified in their applications that they have had involvement in Wikimedia projects.
In post-survey results from attendees, for 80% to agree that AdaCamp increased their network in women in open tech/culture.	92%	12 out of 50 attendees who responded to our post-event survey agreed (25%) or strongly agreed (67%).
In post-survey results from attendees, for 80% to agree that they feel more like part of a community of women in open tech/culture as a result of AdaCamp.	91%	12 out of 50 attendees who responded to our post-event survey agreed (33%) or strongly agreed (58%).
In post-survey results from attendees, for 80% to have gotten a greater understanding of the issues facing women in open tech/culture as a result of AdaCamp.	92%	12 out of 50 attendees who responded to our post-event survey agreed (25%) or strongly agreed (67%).
In post-survey results from attendees, for 80% to increase their commitment to participate in open tech/culture as a result of AdaCamp.	75%	12 out of 50 attendees who responded to our post-event survey agreed (17%) or strongly agreed (58%). We are considering removing this question because many people are now repeat attendees and are difficult to increase commitment.

Global Metrics

We are trying to understand the overall outcomes of the work being funded across our grantees. In addition to the measures of success for your specific program (in above section), please use the table below to let us know how your project contributed to the Global Metrics. We know that not all projects will have results for each type of metric, so feel free to put "0" where necessary.

Next to each required metric, list the actual outcome achieved through this project.
Where necessary, explain the context behind your outcome. For example, if you were funded for an edit-a-thon which resulted in 0 new images, your explanation might be "This project focused solely on participation and articles written/improved, the goal was not to collect images."

For more information and a sample, see Global Metrics.

Metric	Achieved outcome	Explanation
1. # of active editors involved		Not gathered due to requirement not existing at time of grant.
2. # of new editors		Not gathered due to requirement not existing at time of grant.
3. # of individuals involved		Not gathered due to requirement not existing at time of grant.
4. # of new images/media added to Wikimedia articles/pages		Not gathered due to requirement not existing at time of grant.
5. # of articles added or improved on Wikimedia projects		Not gathered due to requirement not existing at time of grant.
6. Absolute value of bytes added to or deleted from Wikimedia projects		Not gathered due to requirement not existing at time of grant.

Learning question: Did your work increase the motivation of contributors, and how do you know?

Global Metrics tracking was not a requirement of our grant thus we did not track this information. However, due to the number of attendees who were self-described “Wikimedians” (as outlined on their applications), and with curated sessions focusing on introductions to Wikipedia in a positive, collaborative environment, we feel these two AdaCamps have increased these women’s confidence, knowledge and desire to contribute to future Wikimedia projects.

Impact

What impact did this project have on WMF's mission and the strategic priorities?

Option A: How did you increase participation in one or more Wikimedia projects?

Option B: How did you improve quality on one or more Wikimedia projects?

Option C: How did you increase the reach (readership) of one or more Wikimedia projects?

See above response and refer to Project Metrics survey results.

Reporting and documentation of expenditures

This section describes the grant's use of funds

Documentation

Did you send documentation of all expenses paid with grant funds to grants at wikimedia dot org, according to the guidelines here? Answer "Yes" or "No".: Yes, they will be submitted with this report and will offer more detail.

Expenses

Please list all project expenses in a table here, with descriptions and dates. Review the instructions here.

Number	Category	Item description	Number of units	Actual total costs	Budgeted costs	Currency	Notes
1	Travel scholarships	Adacamp Berlin grant travel expenses	5	$2,381.16	$2,500 or $500/individual	USD	These funds were used for regional travel for 5 EU, Serbia or Albania residents, as per the WMF requirements.
2	Travel scholarships	Adacamp Bangalore grant travel expenses	5	$2,760.33	$2,500 or $500/individual	USD	These funds were used for regional travel for 5 EU, Serbia or Albania residents, as per the WMF requirements.
3	Catering	Catering & meal expenses for AdaCamp Berlin	57	$2,256.56	$4,480	USD	We found cheaper food! This amount includes all meals.
4	Catering	Catering & meal expenses for AdaCamp Bangalore	50	$1,284.15	$2,000	USD	We found cheaper food! This amount includes all meals.

Total project budget (from your approved grant submission): $74,993 USD

Total amount requested from WMF (from your approved grant submission, this total will be the same as the total project budget if PEG is your only funding source): $11,480 USD

Total amount spent on this project: $57,591.42 USD

Total amount of Project and Event grant funds spent on this project: $8,682.20 USD

Are there additional sources that funded any part of this project? List them here.: We received funding from Google, Puppet Labs, Ada Initiative donors, Automattic, Mozilla, Red Hat, Web We Want, Simple, New Relic, Wikimedia Deutschland, Linux Foundation, MongoDB, NetApp, Rackspace, Spotify, Stripe, Wikimedia UK, Gitlab, OCLC, O’Reilly, Pinboard and Python.

Remaining funds

Are there any grant funds remaining?: Answer YES or NO.; Yes

Please list the total amount (specify currency) remaining here. (This is the amount you did not use, or the amount you still have after completing your grant.)

$2,797.80 USD

If funds are remaining they must be returned to WMF, reallocated to mission-aligned activities, or applied to another approved grant.

Please state here if you intend to return unused funds to WMF, submit a request for reallocation, or submit a new grant request, and then follow the instructions on your approved grant submission.

Return unused funds to WMF