Grants talk:Simple/Applications/Wiki Movement Brazil User Group/2020

simple APG Committee recommendation

We recommend that Wiki Movimiento receive a grant of 76,921.00 USD for nine months. We understand that the User Group was re-recognized in 2019 and we are hopeful that the new Brazilian affiliate will be able to carry out these activities planned in the Annual Plan to support and grow the Brazilian community without further complications. We are happy to see that matters seem to have settled and glad to see this group come with new motivated members. The committee has discussed the initial request of the group to include four staff members as a starting staffing plan and appreciates the group reevaluating this request and adjusting to three full time staff. We recommend setting good governance structures around staffing to ensure smooth transition from volunteer-only operations to staff-run activities. We recommend that Wiki Movimento Brasil invest in board training where necessary to manage the organization efficiently.

For the committee, Philip Kopetzky (talk) 18:55, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

@Philip Kopetzky:, Committee Members and WMF Program Officers. We understand the grant request and recommendation are the by-product of the collaborative spirit that has directed our effort, from all of us, in contributing to the building of a more sustainable, more active and larger Brazilian Wikimedia community. We particularly appreciate the help and support from the Committee, and we will make sure to follow your instruction and expertise in transitioning from volunteer-only to staff-run programs and activities. This (joyful) decision reaches us in a period in which the world faces the coronavirus pandemic, and from São Paulo let me most importantly send you and your community our solidarity. Take care. --Joalpe (talk) 22:19, 15 March 2020 (UTC)

@Joalpe: I'm glad to hear that - speaking from personal experience, transitioning from volunteer-only to volunteer/staff-capacity often results in misunderstandings when it comes to the responsiblities within an organisation. Claudia and I wrote a presentation for the CEE Meeting 2017 detailing these struggles, called Trials and Tribulations of Wikimedia Austria. It may help you understand the development of Wikimedia organisations better and what possible solutions could be. :-)

Hope everything is so far ok in lovely São Paulo! Best, Philip Kopetzky (talk) 09:49, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

@Philip Kopetzky: Thanks a lot. This is indeed quite helpful! Do you know if this talk was recorded? Let me ask you a question: I was confused by what is meant by "differentiation" in "differentiation phase," which as far as I was able to understand would be relatively comparable to what we would be experiencing right now. Moreover, I'd also be interested in having more details on content on slide 9, the second on the Differentiation Phase, if you have content available in English, especially on transparency for decision-making processes and Governance Codex. Thanks a lot for your help. --Joalpe (talk) 16:58, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

@Joalpe: Yes, there actually is one, although I've not watched it, so I don't know how good the quality is. "Differentiation" basically means that you start developing different formalised roles. While before you might have just done stuff based on who had time or who was motivated to do things in the pioneer phase, the differentiation phase begins the process of specialisation and splitting up the work in more formal structures. I think we mention in the presentation that everything after the pioneer phase can happen simultaneously or repeat itself, because based on the circumstances the development of the organisation can differ.

Page 9 is vague for various reasons, I think that might become clearer in the video. There was a lot of conflict within the community that was very taxing on everyone involved. You can find the Good Governance Codex here on Meta, I think it's the current form. Philip Kopetzky (talk) 21:26, 16 March 2020 (UTC)

@Philip Kopetzky: Hey. I think this will be very helpful. Of course, each country/community has specificities, but it makes sense to think of an organization pathway, and I can see ourselves in points you've raised in the presentation. To be able to grab (critically) on a theoretical/comparative understanding of what we experience in our daily practice will be a great resource to think on the evolving process of consolidating our organization. I appreciate a lot your guidance and support. --Joalpe (talk) 13:26, 17 March 2020 (UTC)

Wiki Movement Brazil User Group’s grant is approved in the amount of 76,921 USD for 9 months

Congratulations! This grant is approved in the amount of 76,921 USD, with the grant term starting on April 1, 2020 and ending on December 31, 2020.

We recognize that the Brazilian community has been organizing and contributing to the Wikimedia movement while the official groups were derecognized in 2018. We are excited to see that the re-recognized group of Wiki Movement Brazil User Group (WMB), as of May 2019, has applied for the Simple Annual Plan Grant program.

We are happy to welcome WMB to the program as we acknowledge the work they have engaged in over the last three years of regular editathons, GLAM collaborations and the education program in several different institutions.

In this annual plan, WMB has proposed four main areas of programming: GLAM outreach, education programs, community support and general outreach. The number of partnerships WMB has been able to garner over the past three years has been impressive. In this plan they are proposing not only to build on that foundation with GLAM institutions but also to equip them with the necessary resources and documentation that will allow the GLAM institutions to expand on their work autonomously. The education programs have already been operating in over 6 universities and through WMB’s SAPG they plan to also develop some written and video resources in Portuguese that will allow this program to grow even further. In terms of community support and general outreach the group has put forth a lot of different programming whether it’s thematic editathons or participation in photo contests. We’re looking forward to seeing the increased participation from the community. It’s especially encouraging to learn about the diversity plan WMB has put together to reach a very diverse audience in their outreach. Lastly, they are also coordinating some targeted training programs with a few partners.

Given the extensive programming WMB has put forth it is understandable that they are also asking to onboard three staff members for the first year of their annual plan. We have reviewed the different staffing needs they have proposed and approved the plan with a recommendation to think about the group’s governance. They have shared their plan around this and we will work together over the next nine months to support their work.

On March 12, 2020, the grants team shared a message from Katherine Maher, our Executive Director, regarding grant-funded programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. As you know we’ve asked all grantees to cancel or postpone all offline (in-person) public events funded by WMF. We will reach out in the next few weeks to discuss what adjustments will be necessary to move forward without offline activities. We appreciate your hard work during this especially challenging time.

We are excited to welcome the Wiki Movement Brazil User Group to the Simple Annual Plan Grant program in 2020. We look forward to working together. Best regards, WJifar (WMF) (talk) 23:45, 20 March 2020 (UTC)

@WJifar (WMF): Thank you for your encouraging words and your support throughout the application process. I can imagine this is not an easy time for you and your team, as it is a hard task to think purposefully in this extremely sad scenario. The UG Wiki Movimento Brasil thanks you and your team for supporting our activities in these hard times and is ready for making necessary adjustments to the proposal. Stay safe! --Joalpe (talk) 17:56, 21 March 2020 (UTC)

Change in sAPG

Dear WJifar (WMF). I am writing to request a change in the approved sAPG. Our events have been held remotely in the context of the pandemics, and we have faced the need to improve our capacity to multistream, as we engage more actively on social media. I am therefore requesting the transfer part of what was expected to cover room rent on the axis of action "Community Support" to paying for a multistreaming service such as StreamYard. I am referring to this service particularly as it has been used quite successfully for the Wikipedia Weekly streaming. Thank you. --Joalpe (talk) 13:55, 2 May 2020 (UTC)

WJifar (WMF), hi. Sorry to ping you again. StreamYard and other services alike request an international credit card to hire their services, so I am told by GFontenelle (WMB). Our user group bank account only has a local debit card. May I use my personal credit card for this purchase and get reimbursed from the organization? Thanks. --Joalpe (talk) 21:56, 4 May 2020 (UTC)

Approval of budget reallocation

Hello Joalpe, thank you for requesting your budget change here. Yes, I am approving your request to reallocate part of your "community support" budget towards a multistreaming service. You can also use your personal international credit card to pay for this service and get reimbursed since the group is unable to purchase the service with a local debit card. Best regards, WJifar (WMF) (talk) 15:56, 8 May 2020 (UTC)

Midpoint Report Accepted

Hello EricaAzzellini, Joalpe, CCosta (WMB), GFontenelle (WMB), and Wiki Movement Brazil User Group Colleagues, thanks for submitting your midpoint report. We have reviewed the metrics, budget, and report and marked them as accepted. Thank you for your work for the Wikimedia Movement! Best regards, DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 09:46, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

@DSaroyan (WMF): Thanks a lot! We were hoping to schedule a meeting to discuss some necessary adjustments on this sAPG. Is there a proper way to request this meeting? Cheers. --Joalpe (talk) 12:51, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

Hello Joalpe, please email us at simplewikimedia.org and one of my colleagues will schedule a meeting with you. However, please note that this may take a while since some of my colleagues responsible for the sAPG program are on vacation until the end of this week. Best regards, DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 12:59, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

@DSaroyan (WMF): Thanks! Sorry to bother you again and for not providing a proper context: I sent an email on July 27 to the email you have just provided and was told the same day Alex would follow up regarding these adjustments. As I have not received any later follow-up, I was worried I had reached out to the team in a way that was not the most efficient and the communication got lost. Should I send another email at the end of the week? Thanks. --Joalpe (talk) 13:35, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

Joalpe, I'm so sorry that we missed your email. There's no need to send it again, I can now see your email, I'll communicate it to Alex, once she's back from vacation. Sorry again and best regards, DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 13:43, 11 August 2020 (UTC)