I wouldn't worry about possible further centralisation after 2016, by then the pendulum will have swung and centralisation will be out of favour. The movement is by its nature global and decentralised, you can't work against the grain for long before that reality hits you.
There is a lot to that remark. But in any case, the "hot potato" will have gone tepid by then: the chapters who really want to qualify and have not done so far will presumably have been dealing with the WMF. Enough detailed grant negotiations with staff in San Francisco, and issues of principle may come seem less central than working the system effectively. (Hey, I think that happened onsite ... didn't it? Historically.)
Charles