Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Open Foundation West Africa Annual Plan 2023

Hello Open Foundation West Africa,

Thank you for taking the time to submit for the general support funding. We acknowledge the well-detailed and written proposal. We are pleased to see OFWA continue with its existing program, seeking to strengthen the programs and innovate with new ones as well.

To support us with the next phase of our review process, please see our comments, and questions for your input and response;

• We see that 10% of the budget is dedicated to hubs and while we know the value of the program, it was unclear in the budget what the amount was covering. Would you review and share a breakdown, not sure, what's involved there. It's not clear how the calculations are done unlike the other budgets such as WLF which we found straightforward.

This line item on the budget is explained in the tab “hubs and clubs”, however, we understand that it might seem a little bit hard to understand so we are providing a narration to explain what the breakdown means. In the breakdown you will notice 3 categories of expenses: Monthly community meetups for hubs and clubs Through our hub and club initiatives, we have a presence in 7 cities. These hubs and clubs are quite experienced and autonomous in running their activities. They run their own monthly training and capacity-building sessions (at least 1 activity per month for 12 months) for the duration of our grant request. So in that section of the budget the column “number of participants per event per hub” computes the figures for an event hosting 20 participants for all the 7 hubs in that category (the formula in the cell shows this). Then the next column “unit cost” spells out the unit cost per person in the event. The next column labeled “Amount” is multiplied result of the columns “number of participants per event per hub” and “unit cost” The next column “number of events per year” multiplies the total of the previous cell by the number of months in a year (12) The next column calculates the amount in USD and then a notes column after that to explain each line time. Quarterly community meetups for hubs and clubs These are hubs and clubs that we have just finalized talks with and are ready to start. They are new and hence their activities are reduced to 4 times a year (1 every quarter). This is to ensure that they don’t get burned out while giving room to practice in between the months in the quarter and learn the ropes of managing their communities. We will be working with 5 of these in 2023. In that section of the budget the column “number of participants per event per hub” computes the figures for an event hosting 20 participants for all the 5 hubs in that category (the formula in the cell shows this). Then the next column “unit cost” spells out the unit cost per person in the event. The next column labeled “Amount” is multiplied result of the columns “number of participants per event per hub” and “unit cost” The next column “number of events per year” multiplies the total of the previous cell by the number of months in a year (12) The next column calculates the amount in usd and then a notes column after that to explain each line time. Hub/Club visitations and monitoring This section covers team visitations to support and set up these new hubs/clubs (5 in total) and attend 1 more activity of theirs for monitoring purposes. In other words 2 visitations per each of the newly formed hubs/clubs . Then a line item that covers awards for hub/club contests The columns follow the same explanation and calculations above.

• Would you also kindly add the costs in USD, the same way you have done for the totals in each section? This will support us in gaining even more clarity on the requested budget support.

The USD amounts have been added to the costs to provide further clarity.

• We are keen to learn and understand more about the community fellowship program. Would you say more about the intended outcomes and the rationale for the cost attached to the role?

The Community Fellowship Program will provide a rare opportunity for select community members who have exemplified outstanding leadership skills. This provides them the opportunity to hone their skills and learn other community management skills which we believe will be very essential overall in becoming active community members/organisers who will not only look at editing as the finality of their Wikimedia journey. We believe there is a lot within the Wikimedia movement that community members can learn. Fellows will receive training ranging from communication, governance (community management), campaigns strategy development, etc. The idea is to give two (2) community members this opportunity on an annual basis to be attached to different teams within OFWA.They will through this opportunity formally learn for a period of 12 months, while leveraging their skills and expertise to support a specific project/program. This we believe is a good way to draw new ideas from the community, and to develop innovations around community engagements, community building, and retention in our clubs and hubs. This is very important for the future growth of our community as we need more people who have the needed skills to create successive leadership in our communities and could also motivate community members to position themselves well for such opportunities by being active. So a breakdown of the line item indicates we will be providing a stipend of $250 per month for each of the 2 volunteers for a 12 month period.

• Would you share more details as well on the rationale and basis for the 4500$ dedicated to the Programs Evaluation Consultant? What are the expected outcomes of the consultancy and how can this capacity development opportunity benefit the rest of the team?

We expect to engage an M&E consultant for a period of 3 months at a monthly rate of $1500 making a total of $4500. This was an actual recommendation from the grant officer for working towards a multi-year grant in 2024. Our organization has grown over the years and we have been a recipient of the SAPG and community fund for the last 4.5years. We have been working this last year towards securing much longer and stable funding and hence the thought of a multi-year grant. Applying for grants on an annual basis limits long term planning and sometimes continuity of projects especially when partners are involved. We discussed our plights and quest with the grant officer and the recommendation was to hire a Monitoring and Evaluation Expert or Consultant to assess organizations work and trajectory, strengths and weaknesses and project or program impact in our target region. We hope that at the end of the work of the M&E consultant we will: Assess the impact of our projects and programs Assess the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of the organization Assess the existing evaluation frameworks of the organization and possibly provide recommendations for improvement Obtain a snapshot of where the organization currently stands and the effect of our work Provide general recommendations around opportunities and growth possibilities for the organization NB: This is not a capacity building role but a role to help us assess the position of our organization in the subregion and to prepare us for plans for our multi-year grant.

• We noticed possible duplication of costs related to souvenirs; we see a lumpsum cost but also in every project there is a separate budget line. Would you review it?

This might be a bit confusing but to clarify, the souvenirs in each project cost are specific to those events or projects. The souvenir amount expressed as the lump sum as you can see is just $2000 which covers souvenirs for staff, hubs, gifts for partners, and our annual awards ceremony at the end of the year. The $500 stated for the office hours actually covers all 8 office hours and 1 webinar during AWC. The office hours happen on a weekly basis before and during the campaign to support unaffiliated and new volunteers. We know that the call we put out for AWC draws people beyond our movement so having these office hours as a capacity building element allows us to train new people who join or show interest. The amount stated covers a stipend (internet cost) for 4 volunteers who take on the responsibility for the 8 office hours and webinar. They normally do this from the comfort of their homes and hence that support is required. The online webinar engages experts in the topic area to share insight about the topic. A portion of the stated amount above is used as an honorarium (secure gifts) for these invited guests (subject matter experts).

• Please share with us more information about the approach you will undertake with interpretation. Is this going to be done by Wikimedian volunteers or are you subscribing to a service?

Since the inaugural session of the AWC we have been banking our hopes on volunteers to take up the interpretation and translation roles. This has been very unsuccessful since we only get volunteers to sign up but almost never commit to execution.We fortunately had a partnership with the Ghana bureau of languages which helped in that particular case. They have been doing this for free which is an unsustainable way to work with a partner especially when they have voiced out the workload on their side, which is why we deem it a need to appropriate to cover this cost more professionally. The cost covers interpretation in office hours and webinars and transcription during final jury work.

• Would you share more on the basis for the 500$ attached to AWC office hours? Can this be attached to other roles? Please share for us to understand the need to have it as a separate cost. And the same for the online webinar with a cost of 500$ each (in total 1500$ for 3 webinars)?

The $500 stated for the office hours actually covers all 8 office hours and 1 webinar during AWC. The office hours happen on a weekly basis before and during the campaign to support unaffiliated and new volunteers. We know that the call we put out for AWC draws people beyond our movement so having these office hours as a capacity building element allows us to train new people who join or show interest. The amount stated covers a stipend (internet cost) for 4 volunteers who take on the responsibility for the 8 office hours and webinar. They normally do this from the comfort of their homes and hence that support is required. The online webinar engages experts in the topic area to share insight about the topic. A portion of the stated amount above is used as an honorarium (secure gifts) for these invited guests (subject matter experts).

• Would be it possible to have more details on how the 3000$ will be spent to cover the 3-6 webinars/training sessions related to WikiForHumanRights?

The amount will be used in organizing in-person and online advocacy campaigns amongst the youth within the sustainability and environmental space. Part of the amount will be dedicated to specific training spaces, supporting volunteers with documentation, trainers, and gift for speakers during webinars and workshops. One of the goals of the movement strategy is to identify and bridge knowledge gaps around topics of impact.

In recent time climate change and environmental issues have gained center stage in many discourses as the current environmental trend pose threats to the survival of mankind. The environment is the only identified planet that supports human survival and impacts whatever we do. As a matter of fact, it is not only important for Wikimedia to bridge these knowledge gaps around the topic but also to create awareness of how Wikimedia tools/projects can be used to educate, and increase access to knowledge around these topics. The open sustainability campaigns seek to work with environmental, sustainability, and youth-led organizations to organize thematic awareness creation campaigns about the interconnection between the environment and Wikimedia projects in promoting sustainability in Ghana and Africa at large as the continent continues to suffer from the impact of climate change. This event will be led once a quarter in a form of webinars, workshops, and discussion forums

Objective Create awareness of Wikimedia projects and the role they play in sustainability Create awareness around thematic sustainability topics Build capacity and skills to contribute to Wikipedia and sister projects Recruit youth environment and sustainability activists into the Wikimedia movement Grow community interested in contributing to sustainability topics

• Would you share more details on the 3D Ghana Monument project - we still do not understand it with the details shared. Please review and share more details about the project.

Just Like Monument which seeks to gather photos about the monument, the 3D Ghana monument project is purely a GLAM project which not only seeks to gather photos but to turn the photos collected into 3d format and make them available on Wikimedia commons for educational and research purposes. These photos will then be linked to suitable articles and for those that do not have articles, we will create articles around them. This project will be organized in partnership with WIkimedia Malta and Salford University where we will be collaborating and leveraging on each other's skills.

leveraging on each other's skills. We believe that Cultural Heritage (CH) is crucial to the achievement of sustainable development and sustainable development goal (SDG) 11, which focuses on making cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable particularly calls for strengthening of efforts to protect and safeguard the world's cultural and natural heritage. However, due to a myriad of pressures such as modernisation and globalisation trends, the effects of climate change, rapid urbanisation, and abandonment, most of the world’s CH are challenged and are under serious threat of destructio. As part of efforts to address the challenge,application of digital technologies (DT) in the CH sector has been identified as a significant breakthrough for CH conservation and preservation amid the myriad pressures. Application of DT entails single or combination of uses of technologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), 3D modelling and data capture,etc. These technologies are being used in conjunction with other technologies for the preservation, representation, enjoyment, and promotion of CH, and are evident in development projects such as historical buildings and sites . The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resort to virtual ways of doing things highlightthe relevance of DT in CH, and across the developed world, discussions and projects are underway to apply DT to heritage in ways that support values like social cohesion, participation, and inclusion by limiting imperatives such as the fragmentation through digital divide and creation of distance between communities and experts and the promotion of wider socio-economic benefits. Over the years Wikimedia commons, for example, have adopted several heritage sites in Ghana, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, and making them accessible through the internet. However, digitisation of CH efforts even within constituent countries have been fragmented and uncoordinated and sometimes devoid of clear policy direction. This is compounded by lack of technical expertise and up-to-date approaches and models, which integrate several digital technologies to link CH to their socio-economic and cultural undertones as well as impact to create a comprehensive valu

• As you continue to grow we are keen to understand your plan for leadership development and nurturing robust structures for healthy governance including financial management systems in your organization. We would like to know what you have put in place so far and where you envision the organization heading and the plan to get there.

OFWA has been guided by its organizational bylaws since its inception. These bylaws stipulate the structures and roles for managing the organization. The activities or the organization are supervised by the board, through the Administrative Executive or in other terms Executive Director who directly manages the day to day activities of the organization. OFWA has been growing its programs and developing leadership of the staff in the organization for the past 6 years. We have provided avenues and encouraged our staff to take part in development opportunities that support their growth. In this fiscal year (FY22), we encouraged our acting Administrative Executive now Program Officer to take on a fellowship with the Campaigns team at the Wikimedia Foundation to learn and improve her skills in program management. At the annual team retreat, we provide developmental opportunities for the staff. We have also been working with them to identify capacity building programs that we could ensure their participation in to surge their understanding and ability to perform in their roles. Currently our financial processes allow for quarterly financial budget approvals and report reviews through our quarterly budget request and approval framework. The Administrative Executive works with the hub-leads to create a quarterly financial budget which is then reviewed by the board with the advice of a financial consultant. These budgets are scrutinized and funds approved for usage by the organization. The review of expenditure is also done at the end of every quarter and an internal report is created to inform the progress of work. The organization also files all government required taxes on a monthly basis and this is done by the Admin Executive on a monthly basis through its quarterly budget requests. In the next 3 years we are focused on decentralizing power and creating autonomy within our local communities (hubs and clubs). Currently the leadership of these structures/groups depend heavily on the planning and programming initiatives of the mother institution and we want to create that space for each of the leaders to learn how to fully manage their local communities. To start with we have already supervised the creation of bylaws for each of these structures which spells out things like leadership succession and governance at the local level. Our goal is to add the program/project management skills, creating reporting frameworks and encouraging accountability amongst these structures. Our TOT’s have been the way for codesigning and collaborating to work on this collective goal.

• Lastly, we encourage you to review the metrics section to also align with the learning questions you have indicated. What metrics can you use to help you capture what you need to support your learning?

We highly recommend you get in touch with the regional program officer to support you in understanding the questions raised or if you find it useful to meet with the committee as well, please them know and they can organize a conversation meeting.

Thank you and we look forward to receiving your responses to support us in the next steps. On behalf of the MEA Regional Committee and Staff--VThamaini (WMF) (talk) 17:31, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

Wikimedia Community Fund approved in the amount of 156,000 USD

Hello Open Foundation West Africa,

Congratulations! Your grant is approved in the amount of 156,000 USD, with a grant term starting January 2023-December 2023.

Thank you for submitting your application seeking General Support Funds - Wikimedia Community Fund. The Middle East and Africa Regional Committee and Staff have reviewed your application and recommended funding in the amount $156,000 for the period of January 2023 - December 2023 .

As we shared before, we found your proposal to be well detailed allowing us to have a clear understanding of your programs and intended impact. We continue to see the value your programs hold within the community in Ghana and in the African continent. We appreciate your determination and effort in supporting newcomers/ newbies, and especially with your capacity building programs such as the ToT and the fellowship program. We are excited to see how the 3D Ghana Monument project goeas and see an opportunity for you to share learnings with other communities.

We agree with the need of adding an additional person in the team and look forward to learning how the additional capacity supports your work. We highly encourage you to take time to reflect on your existing programs and identify which ones are the most strategic to focus on. From our review we found you have more than 15 Projects that you are working on and we find this approach needs an assessment against a theory of change to assess how the different programs contribute to the impact you desire and overall the mission and vision of OFWA. We also worry about the risk that comes with focusin on breadth other than depth and invite a reflection on this. We also understand that you have other programs beyond this proposal such as Wiki Data for Education which equally calls for effort and time to be done successfully. Additionally, we see an effort to grow organizational capacity and put in places systems and structures that strengthen your operations [ finance and people] , partnerships and monitoring and evaluation. All these to see there is an opportunity here to reduce the scope of some projects, take time to reflect, learn and strategize - all towards strengthened impact. This analysis on our part informed the recommended funding amount. We are happy to support you in figuring out what this would take and look like.

I will update your application's status on Fluxx to ‘ return to grantee’ to allow you to make any possible adjustments you may need to make to align with the recommended funding amount. Otherwise, please click ‘ submit application’ for us to be able to move forward with internal approvals before making any announcements on Meta.

We wish you the very best in your work and look forward to learning more about the impact you achieve.

Best regards from the MEA Regional Committee and Staff --Aristidek5maya (talk) 12:01, 1 December 2022 (UTC)