Grants talk:APG/Proposals/2015-2016 round1/Wikimedia Israel/Staff proposal assessment

FDC staff assessment feedback

We would like to thank the FDC staff for their work.

Hi and thank you, Michal לסטר, for sharing these detailed thoughts and additional context. I am responding below in more detail. KLove (WMF) (talk) 22:20, 14 November 2015 (UTC)

Environment:The establishment of an Arabic language group is both delicate matter and vexing issue because it has unfortunately taken on political implications. We have a group of contributors in the Haifa area whose work has regularly been sabotaged due to the fact that the content is created by Israelis. We are not giving in and are working to provide a positive face for this project in the hope that it will eventually be recognized as a real source of knowledge in the realm of Arabic culture and understanding.

We understand--thanks for restating WMIL's intentions.

Past performance:We estimate that the total number of participants in 2015 will reach more than 3,000. This assumption is based on the large number of events held in the second half of the year which were attended by a surprisingly large number of people. The number of images uploaded between 1/1/15 and 1/10/15 was greater than 6,000. We are making a major effort to embed these images in articles. Between 1/1/15 and 1/10/15 about 700 new articles were written. We strategically prioritized new articles over the improvement of existing material. The contribution of new articles to Wikipedia and Wikitionary has already had a substantial impact. We cannot yet know how many new or improved articles will be submitted by the end of the year but, as I stated, our policy is to encourage the development of new articles.

Thank you here for providing this updated data. The most recent data we have from all Round 1 applicants is the progress report, which includes only a half of a year. Therefore, all organizations are assessed using that data received at the halfway mark. That said, it's great to see these updated participant numbers as well as the # of images uploaded. As for the # of articles, I understand your policy to develop new articles and look forward to hearing the final results. The FDC will see this update as part of their deliberations.

Organizational effectiveness:In 2016 we will not increase staff size. It is our position that existing staff should reach a higher professional level and all our staff is involved in the creation of new content and community activities. Since August 2015, the ED and the board have prioritized fundraising and we hope to see positive results in 2016.

We understand that there will be no increase in staffing in 2016. We do not see that stating the staffing from 2014 as a punishment, but rather that the expectations for delivering on results are high.

Budget:We believe that the success and expansion of activities of Wikimedia Israel fully justifies the moderate annual increases in budget. Since 2014 we have created a major strategic change in goals and modes of operation but this must be recognized as a relatively slow and on-going process.
We respectfully request that the reference to 2014's staff increase will be removed from the evaluation. We have not added staff only after is openly communicated with WMF staff in 2015 (which will not change in 2016) Simply put, there's no need to "punish" us again for our past issues that are long past corrected.

Please remember this is one of the inputs to the FDC, and not the only one. I hear your request for removal of the reference to 2014 staffing, but it is not included as "punishment" and rather as additional context. Again, the FDC will see your comments here and note them as part of their deliberations.

Thank you Michal לסטר (talk) 15:46, 11 November 2015 (UTC)

Thank you so much, Michal. Your work here is appreciated. KLove (WMF) (talk) 22:30, 14 November 2015 (UTC)