Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/SAPG 2023 - Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda

Feedback from the Middle East and Africa Regional Funding Committee on your proposal

Hello User: AKibombo and User : Kateregga1,

Thank you for taking the time to submit your grant proposal, which we found clear to understand and especially the impact and strategies sections. We continue to see the strengthened programming from your user group and continue to be excited to see the impact you achieve in the coming year. To support us in the next phase of our review process, please see our comments, and questions for your input and response;

• We found the risk mitigation section incomplete, would you kindly review it and share more details for us to understand, how your user group is approaching different risks that may influence your work?
• We had a challenge in reviewing your budget; please review the budget and especially the GLAM section - please provide the details like the other program categories, please include a column of the amounts in USD, and feel free to use the same rate you used in calculating the total grant budget. For staff compensation, please separate the costs so that we are able to see the costs per role, that’s for rows 18 and 19.
• We observe that staffing is more than five which is a 100% increase compared to last year, while the programmatic increase is around 10%. We would like to understand this change and especially from a volunteer-paid staff perspective.
• We also see and have the impression that the user group has exactly the same programming as last year. We are curious to learn how you plan to improve on last year's achievements. Are there specific areas you will be seeking to strengthen for instance?
• 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.
• 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) 17:30, 24 October 2022 (UTC)

WMUGU 2023 funding...

Good day @VThamaini (WMF),

Thank you for supporting us through this process. In response to the queries you had, here are the responses : We found the risk mitigation section incomplete, would you kindly review it and share more details for us to understand, how your user group is approaching different risks that may influence your work?

   This section has been reviewed and updated accordingly in Fluxx...

We had a challenge in reviewing your budget; please review the budget and especially the GLAM section - please provide the details like the other program categories, please include a column of the amounts in USD, and feel free to use the same rate you used in calculating the total grant budget. For staff compensation, please separate the costs so that we are able to see the costs per role, that’s for rows 18 and 19.

  This has also been reviewed and updated accordingly. Please follow this link to view the required changes : https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A_wQFB4bDDKm6JWxbylffmVrRJ5F6TcsdUGb2To0ADU/edit?usp=sharing

We observe that staffing is more than five which is a 100% increase compared to last year, while the programmatic increase is around 10%. We would like to understand this change and especially from a volunteer-paid staff perspective.

  Upon further review, the staffing has been reviewed and some position(s) will be combined - the individual(s) will be empowered to execute the duties necessary to support not only the project leads but also the volunteer community. 

We also see and have the impression that the user group has exactly the same programming as last year. We are curious to learn how you plan to improve on last year's achievements. Are there specific areas you will be seeking to strengthen for instance?

   This year we have had the opportunity to reach the community through a number of local training programmes from which trainees identified other Wikimedia projects they would like to engage in and suggested plans for community action/engagement. 
   We intend to focus on empowering these individuals and smaller groups through working with them on the different steps of realising their idea and eventually funding them through sub-grants. 

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.

Through support from the Wikimedia Foundation, the user group has been able to undertake a strategic planning process and have conversations with the community regarding the future we want to see.
In relation to financial management, we now have a bank account in the organisation's name and we have also undertaken a financial audit for the previous year. In compliance with local regulations, for donor compliance as well as internal satisfaction, we plan to have the audit annually. 

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?

    These have been updated on the main page of this application

AKibombo (talk) 09:48, 7 November 2022 (UTC)

Wikimedia Community Fund approved in the amount of 63000 USD

Hello User:AKibombo and User : Kateregga1,

Congratulations! Your grant is approved in the amount of 63,000 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 $63,000 for the period of January 2023 - December 2023 .

As we shared before, we found your proposal to very clear, and especially the specific programs you have chosen to focus on. Thank you for providing more clarity on the questions we raised and especially on the risk mitigation and budget sections.

We continue to recognize that the user group has been on a growth path and especially with regards organizational and community development. We see that you are keen on strengthening exisiting capacity needs while thinking about the sustainability of the community and developing the skills needed. Based on the budget request made, we see a desire for rapid and exponential growth and instead recommend that you take a gradual growth path.

We also commend you for undertaking a strategic planning process that is keen on being inclusive of the voices of the community and hope this informs the continued steady path of growth you have been on. We recommend reducing the scope of some of your programs this year to delicate time and effort on other organizational growth aspects such as leadership development, strategy implementation which we recognize can require a lot of time and effort.

Lastly, we acknowledge that growth and development has had great learnings and we encourage you to share these learnings with others in the region who may benefit as they embark on similar journeys or just curious to learn. You can use programs such as Let’s Connect.

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 --Azogbonon (talk) 13:33, 1 December 2022 (UTC)