Wiki Movement Brazil User Group/Plan of Activities 2024/Context
Introduction
This is the annual plan of activities of the Wiki Movement Brazil User Group (WMB) for the year 2024. WMB is based in Brazil, with the mission of being an agent in the activation, coordination and social transformation of open knowledge.
WMB seeks to consolidate a sociotechnical infrastructure of the open internet with equity, reliability and security. From our actions, we hope to:
- Develop voluntary, collaborative practices on the internet in Portuguese, strengthening the sense of community and visibility of underrepresented knowledge;
- Consolidate scientific culture and processes of open knowledge in Brazil; and
- Improve the quality, diversity, reliability and veracity of information available on the internet in Portuguese.
The Plan of Activities for 2024 was approved at Wiki Movimento Brasil's General Assembly, on November 5, 2023.
Strategy
This document is in accordance with WMB's strategic plan for 2023-2025. This plan includes the following five strategic axes with its respective intentionalities:
- (Re)imagine the sociotechnical infrastructure of the Wikimedia Movement
- Lead processes and develop products and technologies in an autonomous South-South practice.
- Articulate the Brazilian Wikimedian agencies
- To contextualize autonomous Brazilian protagonisms in networks, participatory governance and safe spaces.
- Foster and diversify partnerships for open knowledge in Brazil
- To weave sustainable networks of cooperation and dissemination between peers of open knowledge and Brazilian Wikimedian agencies.
- Promote knowledge equity
- To critically recognize the absences and activate the emergencies of marginalized communities and knowledge with fair and safe methodologies.
- Densify and direct governance networks in the Wikimedia Movement
- To coordinate strategic processes of the Portuguese-speaking community, partner affiliates and emerging political structures in the Wikimedia Movement.
Our strategic axes guide the organization of projects and the focus of collaborations. They are transversal, flexible and adaptable to changes in our ecosystem. The following activities plan is based on our strategic axes.
About this plan
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This yearly plan of activities, also referred to as annual plan, outlines a comprehensive set of activities, goals, and objectives for Wiki Movimento Brasil. It serves as a roadmap, providing direction and structure to guide decision-making and progress tracking.
The plan of activities for 2024 serves as a tangible manifestation of Wiki Movimento Brasil's overarching mission and strategic objectives. It is designed not only to align with our Strategic Manifesto core principles but also to embody them in actionable, day-to-day operations. This plan underscores WMB's commitment to purposeful, goal-driven activities that directly contribute to its mission's fulfillment.
A key emphasis is placed on adaptability, recognizing the dynamic nature of the operating environment. WMB acknowledges the need to remain responsive to evolving circumstances, whether they be related to new projects, shifts in community needs, or external factors that may impact its work.
The plan of activities for 2024 will undergo quarterly reviews by Wiki Movimento Brasil's management team. These reviews are integral to our organizational culture, providing a structured mechanism for assessing the plan's execution and progress. They serve as vital checkpoints to ensure that we remain on track in fulfilling our mission and objectives. Furthermore, the insights gained from these reviews will directly inform the refinement of our key performance indicators and the enhancement of our progress tracking tool.
Methodology
The creation of WMB's plan of activities began with a thorough evaluation of the previous yearly plans, which followed a wishlist model. This model was radically democratic and served our organization well when it was small and simpler. As we grew and became complex, shortcomings became evident and led us to reevaluate our planning approach.
One notable shortcoming of relying solely on a yearly plan based on a wishlist model is its potential lack of strategic alignment. Wishlist-based planning often encourages stakeholders to submit a wide range of ideas and activities without a clear strategic framework, which might lead to a collection of disparate initiatives lacking a cohesive direction. Another limitation lies in the fact that wishlists –several-month-long community consultations– are time consuming for our members and staff and by its nature many not easily accommodate changes, unexpected opportunities, or emerging priorities that require a more flexible participatory approach. Furthermore, wishlist-based planning may sometimes result in unrealistic expectations and in the process of negotiation about these expectations based on available resources, timeline constraints, risk management and capacity constraints might lead to burn out and disengagement.
In light of these shortcomings, WMB recognized the importance of reevaluating its planning methodology. While the wishlist model had its merits in terms of inclusivity and idea generation, it also required a more structured and strategic approach to address alignment, adaptability, resource allocation, and stakeholder input effectively.
To ensure a comprehensive and collaborative approach, WMB formed subcommittees. We established one subcommittee for each strategic axis outlined in our Strategic Manifesto and extended an invitation to every volunteer member within our organization to become a part of the newly formed subcommittees. The mandate of these subcommittees is broad in scope. However, their initial assignment was to evaluate the activities conducted by WMB and engage in collective discussions within each subcommittee to determine our priorities for the year 2024. Each subcommittee also featured the active involvement from one or two experienced managers, so that the plan's development benefited from their expertise and input in early community conversations.
Throughout the planning process, WMB's volunteer board and executive director met to align objectives and establish strategic priorities based on open discussions on how to operationalize our Strategic Manifesto and on inputs from the subcommittees. These meetings served as platforms for decision-making and provided opportunities to address challenges and adapt the plan in response to changing circumstances.
To consolidate the diverse array of ideas and proposals generated during the subcommittee discussions, WMB organized management meetings. These gatherings enabled the merging of various perspectives, the review of proposals, and the refinement of goals and metrics of specific planned activities.
Following a collaborative and deliberative process open to all volunteer members, the plan was ultimately approved during a General Assembly, signifying a collective commitment to its successful implementation.