Grants:PEG/WM US-DC/Wikipedia for Health and Safety Research and Data
wikimediadc.org• trisha.melikianwikimediadc.org
Goal
editThe goal is to reach out to 15 federal agencies that conduct scientific research or collect data, to introduce them to Wikipedia, to persuade them that participating on Wikipedia is relevant to their organizations' missions, and to develop long-term plans with five of these organizations. This meeting represents our largest outreach effort to the U.S. federal government yet. One of the participating organizations is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is providing in-kind support for the conference and subsequent follow-up meetings.
Plan
editActivities
editWhat is Wikipedia for Health/Safety Research and Data?
Wikipedia for Health/Safety Research and Data (WHSRD) is a proposed meeting between the Wikipedia community and government agencies specializing in research or data collection. It is planned for Washington, DC, on November 12-13, 2015. The conference will be hosted with the support of Wikimedia DC and the support of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in its role as the agency designated, by statute, to lead national research and outreach for preventing work-related injury and illness.
What are the goals of the public health summit?
A "meeting of the minds," WHSRD aims to make federal research agencies aware of Wikipedia's community and practices, while introducing Wikipedia's community to the resources that these agencies have to offer. For example, NIOSH could showcase its peer-reviewed publications on occupational safety and health issues.
What strategies will we use to achieve these goals?
- We will hold a preliminary session to discuss this conference during WikiConference USA in October. This session will help us develop the final program for the conference in November, to develop communication strategies, and to identify opportunities for programs such as a mass data import or a Wikipedia fellowship opportunity to address a specific content gap. This will help inform the content of the conference, especially the second-day meeting described below.
- We are inviting three established Wikipedia editors to participate in this conference. These editors are not based in DC but represent key stakeholders in both the Wikipedia and scientific research communities, and their presence would help us make our case to government representatives. There will be ample opportunities for networking between Wikipedia editors and research agencies.
- The first day of the conference will consist of presentations to highlight the utility of the Wikimedia projects in helping agencies expand their audiences, and to encourage agencies in partnering with Wikimedia. Topics discussed will include:
- An introduction to Wikipedia and how it works;
- The general issues with medical content on Wikipedia, including vandalism and reliability of content, and how the community addresses them;
- How inclusion on Wikipedia factors into the impact of research, including certain research metrics, increasing access to reliable content, and impact through Wikidata;
- Testimonials from agencies that have used Wikipedia as part of their communication strategy; and
- A discussion by the Wikipedians in attendance on their experiences contributing health-related content on Wikipedia and the lessons learned.
- The second day will consist of a half-day meeting between the attending Wikipedians and representatives from those agencies who are interested in pursuing Wikipedia-related programs. The meeting participants will come up with a strategy to develop these programs, including target communities and Wikimedia projects, relevant sections of Wikipedia, goals related to improving content, and resources needed to achieve these goals.
What will happen after the Summit?
WHSRD should be the beginning of a continuous engagement between research agencies and the Wikipedia community. Outcomes we would like to see include:
- Monthly follow-up conference calls to track progress on established goals.
- Wikipedia-related programs established at five or more agencies.
- Continued development of strategies for internal staff training on Wikipedia best practices.
- Engagement with Wikipedia editors online, including through efforts to make research databases such as PubMed easy to find and use by Wikipedians.
Impact
editTarget readership
editOur efforts will focus primarily on the English Wikipedia. However, there is also an opportunity to improve content on Wikimedia Commons, and for improved content on English Wikipedia to be disseminated to other language editions through the Medical Translation Project. Research data could also be used to improve Wikidata.
Fit with strategy
editWhat crucial thing will the project try to change or benefit in the Wikimedia movement? Please select the Wikimedia strategic priority(ies) that your project most directly aims to impact and explain how your project fits. Most projects fit all strategic priorities. However, we would like project managers to focus their efforts on impacting 1–2 strategic priorities. Examples of strategic priorities can be found here.
- Improving Quality: There exists a demand for high-quality sources, especially for medical content. Evidence for this includes English Wikipedia's MEDRS guidelines, which demand a higher level of quality for sources in medical articles compared to other articles. NIOSH is improving Wikipedia content in the area of occupational safety and health with the use of its published, peer-reviewed research, and to have the most impact, they are interested in working with other agencies and leading a broader partnership between Wikipedia and federal research agencies. Medical research agencies in particular have the benefit of a strong online complement in the form of WikiProject Medicine, which is the fifth-most active WikiProject on the English Wikipedia according to the WikiProject Directory.
- Increasing Participation: NIOSH takes seriously its mission as a public health agency with a unique role in leading the nation’s research and making recommendations to prevent work-related injury and illness. To this end, it collaborated with Wikimedia DC to develop a Wikipedian in Residence program involving both direct contributions to subject-area Wikipedia articles and internal training sessions. NIOSH and Wikimedia DC share the principle that collaboration with Wikipedia is important for getting the most transparency and impact out of federally funded research, and the two organizations are leading to persuade other research agencies to include participation on Wikipedia as part of their communication strategy.
Measures of success
editPlease provide a list of both quantitative and qualitative criteria that will be used to determine how successful the project is. You will need to report on the success of the project according to these measures after the project is completed. See the PEG program resources for suggested measures of success.
For this conference specifically, the main measure of success is participation in the event itself. Our goal is to have 15 representatives from federal research agencies. While we do not necessarily expect the same level of engagement from each participant, it has been our experience that an initial exposure to Wikipedia and its community can lead to further collaboration down the line. For example, NIOSH was in attendance at the Wikipedia training at NIH in 2008, and subsequently hired Wikipedia editors to improve occupational safety and health articles.
NIOSH is supporting the formation of a steering committee to encourage more dissemination of research through Wikipedia within the federal government. Our goal is to have at least five founding members of this committee, with each member developing a Wikipedia-related program within one year of the conference. A Wikipedia-related program includes a fellowship program or any other project that helps connect federally funded research and data to the Wikimedia projects.
Note: In addition to your project-specific measures of success, you will also be asked to report on some global metrics at the end of your final report. Please keep this in mind as you plan, and we'll support you as you begin your project.
Resources and risks
editResources
editFounded in 2011, Wikimedia DC has built up a sizable portfolio of projects with partner organizations. Wikimedia DC has substantial experience working with federal agencies, most notably the National Archives, with which it has held (and will hold) numerous events. Wikimedia DC has also collaborated on events with scientific organizations, including the American Chemical Society and the National Institutes of Health. For more information, see Wikimedia DC's plans and reports.
NIOSH is supporting this conference -- and outreach to federal research agencies in general -- through its two Wikipedians in Residence, James Hare and Emily Temple-Wood, who are longtime Wikipedia editors. NIOSH is the federal research agency focusing on safety and health issues in the workplace, including farms, mines, and factories. NIOSH's support for the conference ensures that we will be able to maintain a line of communication between the participating Wikipedians and the participating agencies even after the conference ends.
Risks
edit- There is a risk of low interest from federal research agencies to participate on Wikipedia. We are working to mitigate this risk by defining the conference scope in such a way as to be appealing to as much of our target audience as possible. For example, rather than focus on a very specific subject matter, we are focusing on the public dissemination of research and data. Per an Executive Directive from the White House, federal agencies that support research at scale must release their research to the public (cf. overview), and our strategy is to convince agencies that Wikimedia projects are one avenue for complying with this executive order, or for reusing materials made compliant through other avenues.
- There is a risk that Wikipedia editors will not be able to sustain outreach efforts for a sufficiently long term. Our strategy will also focus on identifying online communities of editors and volunteers, including those editors known to the three invited Wikipedians.
Budget
editPlease provide a detailed breakdown of project expenses according to the instructions here. See Budget Guidelines.
Grantees are subject to line-item scrutiny of expenses. Changes to the approved budget beyond 10% in any category must be approved in advance.
- Project budget table
| Item | Unit | Unit cost | No. of units | Total cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel | Roundtrip itinerary | $650 | 3 | $1,950 | Based on financial report from a past Wikimedia DC training. |
| Accommodations | Hotel room-night | $116 | 6 | $696 | Two nights per person, three rooms total. The hotel is in adjoining Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. |
| Catering | One group lunch | $300 | 1 | $300 | Includes lunch for 20 people plus cost of delivery. |
| Per Diem | One allowance | $62 | 3 | $186 | Breakfast is provided by the hotel and lunch through the conference, but traveling participants will be on their own for dinner. This includes two nights of dinner plus incidental costs at 75% the GSA rate for fiscal year 2015. |
| Public Transportation | SmarTrip card | $20 | 3 | $60 | For transportation between hotel and conference |
| Ground Transportation | Taxi Fare, etc. | — | — | $200 | Contingency line item in the event flight itineraries must be booked during times not conducive to public transportation use. Based on financial report from a past Wikimedia DC training. |
| Total | $3,392 | ||||
- Total cost of project
- $3,392
- Total amount requested from the Project and Event Grants program
- $3,392
- Additional sources of revenue that may fund part of this project, and amounts funded
- The following is provided as in-kind support not reflected in the budget:
- Travel from government personnel: $3,250 (five people at $650/ea)
- Staffing (NIOSH): $3,200
- Planning (20 hours) (including strategy, clearance from agency, inviting colleagues from within NIOSH and other agencies, program planning): $1,000
- Execution (36 hours) (day of the conference): $1,000
- Follow-up meetings (48 hours) (monthly for one year): $1,200
- Venue: $3,000
Non-financial requirements
editSee a description of non-financial assistance available. Please inform the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) of any requests for non-financial assistance now.
- Requests for non-financial assistance, if any
- N/A
Discussion
editCommunity notification
editYou are responsible for notifying relevant communities of your proposal, so that they can help you! Depending on your project, notification may be most appropriate on a village pump, talk page, mailing list. Please paste a link below to where the relevant communities have been notified of this proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions. Need notification tips?
- Sent notifications to WikiProject Medicine and WikiProject Open.
Endorsements
editDo you think this project should be selected for a Project and Event Grant? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project in the list below. Other feedback, questions or concerns from community members are also highly valued, but please post them on the talk page of this proposal.
- seems worthwhile, I therefore endorse this proposal (grant)----
- The preceding comment was added by User:Ozzie10aaaa. -- Daniel Mietchen (talk) 21:10, 28 September 2015 (UTC)
- I think it is useful to have such a meeting, and I'd be happy to assist with getting NIH involved (for which I work). To improve the quality of the information made accessible via Wikimedia projects, they need to gear up the way they involve experts, and collaboration with research agencies is a good way to help move this forward. While licensing issues are less of a problem with US federal agencies than in other parts of the world, machine readability still needs a lot of attention (examples), as do reuse friendliness more generally or health-specific issues like patient privacy or related topics like public health information, particularly in relation to epidemics or disaster relief. Bringing several federal agencies together with experienced Wikimedians to discuss collaborations around health-related topics seems a useful step along the way. In this regard, I'd like to emphasize that the meeting should not be focused too much on Wikipedia, since collaborations with other Wikimedia projects — in particular Commons, Wikidata and Wikisource — have a lot of potential in this context that needs to be explored as well, as do cross-cutting initiatives like the Translation Task Force. -- Daniel Mietchen (talk) 22:24, 28 September 2015 (UTC)
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