Wikimedia Conference 2014/Documentation/1b
Session 1b Grantmaking and funds: APG/FDC process
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Speakers: actually no speakers, session was facilitated by Anna Lena Schiller (conference' facilitator) and Winnifried Ollif (WMF)
tl;dr: Feedback was gathered and will be submittet to the FDC advisory group, which has meeting in May.
Notes
edit
Feedback that was submitted before the sessions was mapped onto three categories: stop, start, keep. During the session, more feedback were added. There was no further (broad) discussion or summary.
Stop
edit- Bad communication
- Jargon
- Too much time for decision
- Guardrails based on percent, not absolute amount
- At the moment, chapters ask for more than they need, because they expect cuts, so find a way to stop encouraging padding.
- More positive messages from the process
- Ways that grantees participate
- Stop perceiving the FDC as an organ that will always cut what has been asked for.
- Have a "necessary" and "ideal" list of requirements, for example core needs vs proposed project.
Start
edit- Suggesting cuts
- Ask donors
- Multiyear funding
- Proposed collaboration between chapter
- Adding conversation between grantees + FDC
- Participate in proposal development
- Reach out 6 months in advance
- More feedback specific to projects
- Window of opportunity in proposal process where plan can be modified. [note: this can already be done, but maybe formalise this option?
- Preliminary feedback
- Timeline for adjusting your plan
- Sometimes the recommendations are not completely clear: what constitutes "unhealthy growth", for example. Give more detail in feedback on proposals.
- More real-life meetings to discuss proposals, including videoconferencing.
- More honesty around grant process
- More instant feedback during process.
- Start leaving more time between the grant decision and the start of the grant
- More help with translation for smaller chapters
- Conseration of abilities
Keep
edit- Use of templates + standards
- Keep our devoted staff
- Keep funds unrestricted
- Visits to the chapters (is this happening? Make it more visible!)
Feedback not fitting any of the categories
edit- Lightweight processes