Grants:Project/Rapid/UNLOCK 2022
wikimedia.de
ivana.madzarevicvikimedija.orgApplications are not required to be in English. Please complete the application in your preferred language.
Project Goal edit
Social and technical innovations are going to be crucial to realize our ambitious strategic direction. The current Wikimedia technologies, platforms, projects, policies, knowledge formats, editing rules, social structures and governance systems have somewhat organically and unsystematically grown. In order for us to implement knowledge equity, to enable emerging and marginalized communities to join and participate, we will not only need to remove barriers or adjust those technologies, platforms, projects, etc. but we will also need to create an environment where these new communities can devise their own technologies, systems, social structures, policies and governance. Innovation here is much more than new gadgets. Explicitly it includes policies, processes, formats and social innovations as well. We hope that these innovations will open the doors to new people and new content, helping to grow a diverse and vibrant movement.
UNLOCK Accelerator is an innovation-driving program that aims to promote new free knowledge projects. UNLOCK supports participating teams over a set period of time in validating, testing and further developing their project ideas in a structured manner with the help of coaching, exchange and collaboration, a network of experts and, if required, a scholarship. The program is open to Wikimedia volunteers as well as aims to tap into new communities in order to attract innovators who have not yet been part of the movement. UNLOCK was initially launched by Wikimedia Deutschland in the German-speaking region in 2020 and scaled to the European level in 2021. In these editions, the program was able to generate over 80 applications and supported 10 projects.
For the 2022 edition, Wikimedia Deutschland (WMDE), Wikimedia Serbia (WMRS) and Impact Hub Belgrade will join forces to run a regionally contextualized program in the German-speaking area as well as in the Western Balkan region, covering Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The main project goals of this joint venture include:
- Creating real innovations for knowledge equity (Recommendation 9): UNLOCK provides a support environment for innovations and innovators to grow, it encourages and invests in people and communities, who are working on new projects that allow the inclusion and preservation of all forms of human knowledge in all socio-cultural contexts; who develop the necessary technology to make free knowledge content accessible in various formats(e.g. text, audio, visual, video, geospatial, etc.).
- Collaborating with partners in the knowledge ecosystem (Recommendation 5 & 6): UNLOCK seeks to collaborate with stakeholders from regional social innovation ecosystems, such as innovation hubs, and integrate their resources. This will help to diversify and enrich the movement as well as to strengthen and build local and regional capacities of Wikimedia communities and leaders through sharing experiences. Forging partnerships between Wikimedia communities and affiliates and partners from the lively innovation ecosystems will also provide learning opportunities for us as a movement, on how to collaborate with people and institutions that are not from the immediate open knowledge movement. Creating new alliances in the innovation field will strengthen our movement both regionally and as a whole.
- Developing systems to sustainably foster movement innovation based on Movement Strategy (Principles 3,4,5,6,7): UNLOCK should evolve into something that ultimately becomes freely adaptable, reusable and changeable depending on the geographic, cultural and economic context. We seek to pilot it in an area with communities that are smaller, still emerging, and/or marginalized – focusing on those who ultimately should co-create and benefit from innovations. This process of adaptation, or better, contextualization – a central movement strategy principle – is an area where we as a movement still have much to test and to learn. During the strategy creation it was often stated: ‘One size doesn't fit all’ . But we don’t know how to contextualize our work yet. The modular program planning approach allows to involve regional innovation hubs and similar partners, along with the respective Wikimedia communities in a co-design process that then would come up with the best possible version of an innovation engine for this use case.
- What specific Movement Strategy Initiative does your project focus on and why? Please select one of the initiatives described here
- 41 Continuous experimentation, technology, and partnerships for content, formats, and devices: UNLOCK provides a support environment for innovations and innovators to grow, by encouraging communities to create new projects that address knowledge equity in different socio-cultural contexts; by facilitating the development of the necessary technology to make free knowledge content accessible in various formats; and by creating partnerships to facilitate bringing content from other data and knowledge bases to our projects, and thereby increase the impact – in terms of outreach and usefulness – of the existing free content.
- 29 Enhance communication and collaboration capacity with partners and collaborators & 32 Leadership development plan: We aim to establish a collaboration from which all involved parties – WMRS, Impact Hub Belgrade and WMDE – can mutually benefit and empower each other. But most importantly, this collaboration is also a pilot to forge partnerships between Wikimedia affiliates and a partner from the lively innovation ecosystem that will provide learning opportunities for us as a movement on how to collaborate with people and institutions that are not from the immediate open knowledge movement.
Besides, we strive to practice the 2030 Movement Strategy principles of contextualization, subsidiarity and participatory decision-making.
Project Background edit
- When do you intend to begin this project and when will it be completed?
- February - December 2022
Intensive preparation and planning is needed to implement the program. Therefore, we have already started the project since the beginning of February in order to address the first important steps and activities. These include the contextualization and the co-design of the program as well as the set up of the collaboration (see project activities; module "contextualization & design"), which will pave the way for the implementation of the subsequent modules and actions. The actual project start date in February varies from the start date when the grant should be initially issued (expected for May 2022 – as mentioned in the grey box on the right).
- Where will your project activities be happening?
- UNLOCK is a virtual program. All program elements (incl. coaching & mentoring, peer-to-peer sessions, expert workshops, etc.) are planned to be run virtually. However, if conditions regarding the pandemic situation allow, we would consider to organise and host some on-site activities.
- Are you collaborating with other communities or affiliates on this project? Please provide details of how partners intend to work together to achieve the project goal.
- Wikimedia Deutschland, Wikimedia Serbia and Impact Hub Belgrade will jointly lead the implementation of UNLOCK. Each involved party is bringing in expertise and experiences from which we can mutually benefit and empower each other.
- Wikimedia Deutschland designed and implemented two editions of the innovation program UNLOCK. With each edition we have learned and gathered insights to further develop the program. The program team can draw on the experience and knowledge of the last two editions as well as on an established network to new target groups that are not yet part of the movement. UNLOCK is backed with ressources and embedded in WMDE strategy “innovation engine”, which aims to foster and drive the innovative capacity of our movement. The strategy serves as the basis for creating pathways to new free knowledge projects, for developing new products and services that address knowledge equity, and for tapping into other communities to create new alliances and attract innovators.
- Wikimedia Serbia brings in a regional network of and connections to existing Wikimedia project communities. These communities are one of the target groups for the UNLOCK accelerator. Beyond this, WMRS expertise of the regional free knowledge ecosystem, access to free knowledge “enthusiasts” and partnerships with other (mission-aligned) organizations and institutions beyond the movement are an asset in this collaboration. This combined with their cultural competence and understanding will be valuable in contextualizing UNLOCK regionally to best support the participating teams within the program and where possible beyond.
- Impact Hub Belgrade is part of the global Impact Hub network and community of impact-driven entrepreneurs, creators, innovators and intrapreneurs with 100+ local hubs in over 50 countries. Their work includes the creation of support programs for entrepreneurs, designing and hosting multi-stakeholder policy-development initiatives as well as running research projects. With Impact Hub Belgrade we’ll have a strong partner at our side, who knows this Western Balkan ecosystem well, brings in an extensive network and can help us to develop the program professionally.
In addition, we will involve Wikimedia communities in the Western Balkan region as well as organizations outside of the movement, which will strengthen the position of Wikimedia in the knowledge ecosystem and further increase the presence of Wikimedia in the fields of innovation.
- What specific challenge will your project be aiming to solve? And what opportunities do you plan to take advantage of to solve the problem?
- Social and technical innovations are going to be crucial to realize our ambitious strategic direction. The current Wikimedia technologies, platforms, projects, policies, knowledge formats, editing rules, social structures and governance systems have somewhat organically and unsystematically grown. In order for us to implement knowledge equity, to enable emerging and marginalized communities to join and participate, we will not only need to remove barriers or adjust those technologies, platforms, projects, etc. but we will also need to create an environment where these new communities can devise their own technologies, systems, social structures, policies and governance. Innovation here is much more than new gadgets. Explicitly it includes policies, processes, formats and social innovations as well. We hope that these innovations will open the doors to new people and new content, helping to grow a diverse and vibrant movement. UNLOCK was created to drive innovation – thereby investing in people and communities who are working on new free knowledge projects that address knowledge equity. Besides, the collaboration with Wikimedia affiliates as well as with a player from the innovation ecosystem will also provide learning opportunities for us as a movement, on how to collaborate with people and institutions that are not from the immediate open knowledge movement. Creating new alliances in the innovation field will strengthen our movement both regionally and as a whole. UNLOCK is not a "one size fits all" solution; rather it should evolve into something that ultimately becomes freely adaptable, reusable and changeable depending on the geographic, cultural and economic context. This process of adaptation, or better, contextualization – a central movement strategy principle – is an area where we as a movement still have much to test and to learn. We see great learning opportunities through the contextualisation of the program with the Western Balkan partners – Wikimedia affiliates and those from the innovation ecosystem alike.
- Does this project aim to apply one of the examples shared in the call for grants and if so which one?
- No
Project Activities edit
- What specific activities will be carried out during this project? Please describe the specific activities that will be carried out during this project.
| Timeline | Modules and key activities |
|---|---|
| Feb-mid Mar 2022 | Module: Contextualization & design (Goal: to co-design a regionally contextualized innovation program)
Key activities:
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| Mar-Jun 2022 | Module: Outreach and activation (Goal: to create awareness and attract innovators)
Key activities:
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| Jul-mid Dec 2022 | Module: Running UNLOCK (Goal: to create a support environment for innovations and innovators to grow)
Key activities:
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| Dec 2022 - beyond | Module: Scaling innovation (Goal: to identify pathways for sustainable development)
Key activities:
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- How do you intend to keep communities updated on the progress and outcomes of the project? Please add the names or usernames of these individuals responsible for updating the community
We would like to use exiting and new channels – within and beyond the movement – to keep interested parties updated. This includes:
- wikimedia-l list, diff blog
- Affiliates-specific mailing list, newsletters and social media channels
- Participation at Wikimedia conferences, e.g. Wikimania, CEE Meeting, etc.
- Participation at events from our partner Impact Hub
The responsible persons for this include:
- Who will be responsible for delivering on this project and what are their roles and responsibilities?
- Wikimedia Deutschland, Wikimedia Serbia and Impact Hub Belgrade will jointly lead the implementation of UNLOCK. We aim to establish a collaboration from which all involved parties can mutually benefit and empower each other. We strive to practice the 2030 Movement Strategy principles of contextualization, subsidiarity and participatory decision-making. While it is evident that not all involved parties are working at the same level – due to the respective limited resources and capacities – the principles should be reflected in how we set up the collaboration, define roles and responsibilities.
| Organization | People involved |
|---|---|
| WMRS |
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| Impact Hub Belgrade |
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| WMDE |
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| Module | WMRS | Impact Hub Belgrade | WMDE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contextualisation & design |
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| Outreach and activation |
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| Running the program |
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| Scaling innovation |
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Additional information edit
- If your activities include community discussions, what is your plan for ensuring that the conversations are productive? Provide a link to a Friendly Space Policy or UCoC that will be implemented to support these discussions.
- Our activities do not include community discussions. However, we invite people and communities working on new free knowledge projects to follow UNLOCK. If they are based in the Western Balkan or German-speaking area, we encourage these people and communities to apply for the program. Besides, we welcome Wikimedia affiliates to reach out to us – WMDE & WMRS – if they are interested in collaboration.
- If your activities include in-person events or activities, you will need to complete the steps outlined in the Risk Assessment protocol. Please provide a link to your completed copy of the risk assessment tool.
- Our activities do not include in-person events or activities.
- If your activities include the use of paid online tools, please describe what tools these are and how you intend to use them.
- Our activities – especially running the program – include the use of paid online tools. Among them are:
- Zoom for video conferencing (the program elements such as coaching & mentoring, peer-to-peer sessions etc. will be run via Zoom)
- Mattermost for instant messaging in order to keep all partners and program participants updated
- Nextcloud for file sharing
- Wordpress: all information related to the program can be accessed via https://www.wikimedia.de/unlock/. For the call for application we will also use the WP application form available through wordpress
- Do your activities include the translation of materials, and if so, in what languages will the translation be done? Please include details of those responsible for making the translations.
- Yes, especially for the call for application period, we will provide information about UNLOCK in different languages used in the Western Balkan region. Wikimedia Serbia will be in charge of coordinating the necessary translations.
- Are there any other details you would like to share? Consider providing rationale, research or community discussion outputs, and any other similar information, that will give more context on your proposed project.
- Video about UNLOCK incl. voices from the participating teams, coaches and organizing team
- Lessons learned from 2021
- UNLOCK Demo Day 2021
Outcomes edit
After your activities are complete, we would like to understand the draft implementation plan for your community. You will be required to prepare a document detailing this plan around a movement strategy initiative. This report can be prepared through Meta-wiki using the Share your results button on this page. The report can be prepared in your language, and is not required to be written in English.
In this report, you will be asked to:
- Provide a link to the draft implementation plan document or Wikimedia page
- Describe what activities supported the development of the plan
- Describe how and where you have communicated your plan to relevant communities.
- Report on how your funding was spent
Your draft implementation plan document should address the following questions clearly:
- What movement strategy initiative or goal are you addressing?
- What activities will you be doing to address that initiative?
- What do you expect will happen as a result of your activities? How do those outcomes address the movement strategy initiative?
- How will you measure or evaluate your activities? What tools or methods will you use to evaluate your activities?
To create a draft implementation plan, we recommend the use of a logic model, which will help you and your team think about goals, activities, outcomes, and other factors in an organized way. Please refer the following resources to develop a logic model:
- Overview of logic models on Meta-wiki
- Example logic models for reference for other movement activities (such as partnerships and edit-a-thons)
- Blank logic model template on Google Drive
Please confirm below that you will be able to prepare a draft implementation plan document by the end of your grant:
- We confirm.
Optionally, you are welcome to include other information you'd like to share around participation and representation in your activities. Please include any additional outcomes you would like to report on below:
The sustainability of this project takes place on two levels. On the one hand, we want to pave the way for further collaborations and partnerships – for the creation of new alliances in the innovation field so that we can learn from them and thereby strengthen our movement as a whole. UNLOCK will and should in the long run constantly evolve and always be adapted to the respective contexts. This requires an openness as well as financial and human resources for such experiments. Learning from them and sharing the lessons learned is the basis for sustainable development.
On the other hand, we need an ecosystem for innovation in our movement. UNLOCK is one stage – one particular pathway of many – in the overall innovation process that WMDE has initiated. The projects that have been supported under the UNLOCK program will have to go through more stages in order to grow and scale – either within the movement or outside. The sustainability of the funded projects lies, among others, with the project owners themselves and also with us – to what extent will the Wikimedia movement be able to establish an ecosystem in which ideas can flourish, prototypes can be further developed into concrete solutions, and they can scale. In this respect, WMDE developed a paper that provides a first overview on where the Wikimedia movement is at in terms of innovation; how innovation is currently being promoted in the movement; what structures, programs, and resources are already in place, and which are still missing.
Budget edit
How you will use the funds you are requesting? List bullet points for each expense. Don’t forget to include a total amount, and update this amount in the Probox at the top of your page too!
The expected budget for running UNLOCK 2022 amounts to EUR 461.672,40. The budget includes personnel and operating expenses for the 2022 implementation of the program.
| WMRS | Impact Hub Belgrade | WMDE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel
(staff and contractors) |
9.700 | 42.000 | 129.060 | |
| Operating costs | 4.100 | 18.262,40 | 258.550 | |
| Sub total | 13.800 | 60.262,40 | 387.610 | |
| TOTAL | 461.672,40 | |||
| Requested MSIG in EUR | 74.062,40 |
TOTAL AMOUNT REQUESTED USD: 81.6879
WMDE is contributing EUR 387.610 to the implementation. This portion covers all costs incurred on WMDE side, including personnel as well as operating costs such as scholarships for participating project teams, licenses for the online tools used throughout the program, outreach and activation campaigns and other communication measures (website development, content production etc.).
The requested grant of EUR 74.062,40 (USD 81.6879) will be used to cover the costs incurred by the partners. This includes personnel and operating costs that are necessary for their respective involvement for the implementation of the program. This grant is of great importance to the partners, as their own budget is very tight or has been allocated elsewhere and other in-kind options are not possible.
The main purpose of the requested grant is to achieve our goals within the collaboration and thereby contribute to the implementation of the Movement Strategy. We will be able to validate how partnering with ecosystem players like Impact Hub Belgrade and integrating their resources will help diversify and enrich our movement. The grant will pave the way for us – WMDE and WMRS alike – to tap in and integrate with the innovation ecosystem. This will be a great learning opportunity – strengthening and building local and regional capacities of Wikimedia communities and leaders through sharing experiences (contribution to recommendation 5 & 6). In addition, this grant will help us co-design a program that provides a support environment for innovations and lift innovators so they can validate their ideas, and create prototypes that address knowledge equity gaps. Through contextualized coaching, mentoring, peer-to-peer and cross-team learning sessions, UNLOCK will help the project teams (innovators) build new tools and solutions that make free knowledge content accessible in various formats or support more diverse modes of consumption and contribution to our existing projects (contribution to recommendation 9).
Completing your application edit
Once you have completed the application, please do the following:
- Change the application status from
status=drafttostatus=proposedin the {{Probox}} template. - Contact strategy2030
wikimedia.org to confirm your submission, as well as to request any support around your application.
Endorsements edit
An endorsement from community members (especially from outside your community) will be part of the considerations when reviewing your application. Community members are encouraged to endorse your project request here! He demonstrates adequate commitments in Wikipedia movements and he also gives special interests in supporting underrepresented groups. I strongly recommend him for it Hajjo30 (talk) 20:57, 17 May 2023 (UTC)
- I endorse him for a laptop scholarship for a good work in Wikipedia projects specifically the wikidata Danaljannah1 (talk) 11:33, 18 May 2023 (UTC)
- I support him for the scholarship Adm2030 (talk) 18:12, 18 May 2023 (UTC)
- He is a good editor i support him for the scholarship ~~~~
- I endorse him for it ~~~~