Movement roles project/Notes from Wikimania discussion

On 9 July at Wikimania 2010 in Gdańsk, a group of Wikimedians gathered to discuss the movement roles project recently commissioned by the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees. Jon Hugget, a consultant for the Foundation, helped facilitate the discussion and took the following notes:

Wikimedia Movement Roles Meeting 2010-7-9

In attendance

• Arne Klempert, board sponsor
• Bishaka Datta, board
• Sue Gardner, executive director
• Barry Newstead, global development officer
• Pawel Richter, Wikimedia Germany chief executive
• Richard Kniple, Wikimedia NYC
• Casey Brown, volunteer
• Arjun Rojalva, Telegu Wikipedia
• Bence Damokos, Wikimedia Hungary
• Lodewijk Gelauff, Wikimedia Netherlands
• Austin Hair, chapters committee
• James Owen, assistant to ED

Apologies

• SJ Klein, board
• Phoebe Ayers, board
• Arun Ram

Deliverable for next Wikimania at Haifa 2011-8 is a recommendation for a charter for the roles of the entities of Wikimedia which should:

• enable Wikimedia movement to scale its impact and order of magnitude (more than to deliver a consensus among current stakeholders).
  • allow the development of Wikimedia structures not just in the current settings, but also investigate other models that allow a strong global network including currently underrepresented regions
• build on fundamental best principles, not incremental changes from

current structures and systems

• be clear and endorsable by anyone in Wikimedia movement
• need no revision for at least 3-5 years
• define shared principles for all entities in movement
  • common statements of mission and intended impact
  • shared values, including shared values of Wikimedia reputation
  • operating rules for accountability, transparency, etc.
  • minimum standards for entities to join, stay, or be asked to leave
  • minimum standards for legitimacy or “representativeness”: membership, membership fees, time commitments, election of board and officers, etc.
• define roles and responsibilities for each type of entity in Wikimedia

movement, including:

• • Wikimedia Foundation
  • chapters: national, sub-national
  • other groups, new types of entities
  • future governing bodies (chapter committee, chapter/volunteer council etc.)
• define scope of activities for each entity
  • at a minimum, what must each entity do - what is negligence of duty
  • at a maximum, what must each entity not do - what is over-reach
  • which activities are its choice but not obligation
• specific roles and responsibilities for entities with regards to:
  • fundraising (e.g. 50:50 split between foundation and chapters, etc.)
  • reporting, transparency, accountability
  • contractual: license fees, trademarks, use of brand
  • mutual support among Wikimedia movement entities: how is each responsible for enabling others
  • life cycle of chapters: where is the responsibility for potential, new, nascent, dormant, moribund or defunct chapters
  • relations with volunteers otherwise unaffiliated within the Wikimedia movement
  • relations with entities beyond Wikimedia movement
  • oversight: who is responsible for monitoring, auditing and ensuring compliance
• define where key decisions for the movement are made (e.g. for money, resources, use of name, new initiatives):
• by Wikimedia Foundation
• by Wikimedia Foundation with other entities
• by other entities (chapters committee, new gov bodies)

Future meetings

• On-Wiki / Phone between now and October
• Foundation board meeting in SF in October or early November
• Possible meeting of working group in January
• Board meeting and chapters committee in Berlin 2011-3-25/26
• Wikimania in Haifa 2011-8

Deliverables for October

• Formal proposal to the board (and other stakeholders)
• refined version of scope/deliverables
• Initial findings of needs of Wikimedia movement - Skype interviews
• Quick scan of best demonstrated practices

Initial research to be completed by October

• Interviews and discussions with stakeholders (live + wiki) (50-60%)

• scan of external best practices where applicable (20%)
• preparation of materials (memos, presentations, etc.) (20-30%)

Core working team of 6-8 people TBD (anybody else can participate)

Action steps (suggested person responsible)

• Finalize working group (Arne, Sue)
• Establish meeting times (Arne, Barry, Jon)
• Create private wiki and private mailing list (James)
• Initiate page on strategy wiki via Philippe Beaudette (James)
• Establish resources for research and analysis: (Sue)