Grants talk:PEG/Atikamekw knowledge, culture and language in Wikimedia projects

A decision has been made on this grant. Comments are still welcome on this page.

GAC members decisions

WMF Comments

Hi Seeris, Amqui and Benoit Rochon. We apologize for the delay in posting comments and a decision on this grant request. The last few months have been very as we have been making changes to our grant programs and traveling to community conferences. We are pleased to support this project with 13 870,12 CAD. Our funding decision was made with the following points in mind:

• We have spoken with grantee on a phone call and in follow up emails to discuss the scope of the project and are impressed with clear plans presented in the proposal.
• This project is building on work done on previous pilots with this community and with the teacher at this particular school.
• There are several volunteers supporting the project who bring significant experience in their respective areas of expertise.
• In general we do not approve funding for project coordinators, however in this case we understand that it is important to have a coordinator who is part of the local community and speaks Atikamekw to provide support to the students participating in this program.

We appreciate all of the thought and hard work that went into this proposal, and we look forward to seeing the results of this project. Congratulations. --KHarold (WMF) (talk) 22:54, 12 August 2016 (UTC)

Dear KHarold (WMF), we are delighted, thank you for providing advice all along the process. Best, Seeris (talk) 06:56, 13 August 2016 (UTC)

Thank you very much, Amqui (talk) 14:05, 19 August 2016 (UTC)

Extension request

We are requesting an extension of the end date of the project Atikamekw knowledge, culture and language in Wikimedia projects.

1. The new proposed completion date will be 15 December 2017, and the corrected start date is October 15 2016.
2. We started our project about two months after the planned date, because we needed to develop and sign an official agreement with the local band council before we started working on the ground. We would like to take that time to complete the toolbox before finishing the project.
3. The other activities and goals planned in the project are already complete. Writing the toolbox will allow us to document the project and fully explain the work invested in it, and how it could be reproduced in other communities. Seeris (talk) 12:49, 29 August 2017 (UTC)

I support this request. The project started late so the end needs to reflect that. The development of the toolbox is an essential part of the project. WMCA will continue to manage the funds for this grant on behalf of the project team. Amqui (talk) 15:31, 29 August 2017 (UTC)

Extension approved

Hi Seeris. Thank you for the update. The request is approved. Your new grant end date is 15 December 2017 and your final report is due 13 February 2018. Cheers, Alex Wang (WMF) (talk) 16:27, 29 August 2017 (UTC)

Thank you Alex. Amqui (talk) 16:07, 30 August 2017 (UTC)

Thanks Alex. Seeris (talk) 16:32, 30 August 2017 (UTC)

Changes to line items within the budget

Dear grant admin, we are requesting permission for changes to line items within the budget of the project Atikamekw knowledge, culture and language in Wikimedia projects.

1. Please find here an updated proposed budget table highlighting the proposed changes.
2. The special circumstances that require this change are linked to: a) a 2000$ saving in honoraries expenses for project coordination (we did lots ourselves, as volunteer work); b) a saving in traveling expenses for trips to the First Nation's villages (we did not need a hotel for the trip to La Tuque and spent less than planned on meals); c) a proposition to reallocate the money saved to reimburse the travel expenses of our atikamekw partners who attended Wikimania Montreal in numbers much higher than planned (a sign of success of the project; we had planned for 1 person and 10 members of the atikamekw nation attended);
3. No impact: all the other activities happened as planned. Considering the limited financial ressources of our atikamekw partners, and their high involvement in the project, we think that the new proposed budget is the best way to reallocate this extra money. Seeris (talk) 23:31, 5 October 2017 (UTC)

Hi Seeris. Thank you for this clear update. The budget changes are approved. Best, Alex Wang (WMF) (talk) 17:02, 6 October 2017 (UTC)