[Foundation-l] WMF Chapter Development Director job posting

Sun Aug 22 21:51:58 UTC 2010

Gerard,

As a Wikimedia from the United States, I think I can speak to concern about
a lack of a U.S. chapter.

There are many factors that have thus far held back the formation of a
chapter in my country, some of which are unique because of the history of
the movement, and some of which we share with other large, developed nations
with high levels of Internet penetration.

I can go into them at length if you like, but suffice it to say that I don't
think the lack of the U.S. chapter in any way devalues Wikimedia's focus on
chapter development outside the U.S., Barry's work, or the prospective hire
at the Foundation.

Steven Walling

On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 2:13 PM, Gerard Meijssen
<gerard.meijssen at gmail.com>wrote:

> Hoi,
> The reality of chapters in the WMF is that the most obvious chapter does
> not
> exist. Not only does it not exist the WMF itself confuses the issue by
> functionaing in effect as both the worldwide organisation and the USA
> chapter.
>
> The consequence is that it is not possible to appreciate when the WMF
> functions as one or as the other and also it is perfectly possible to
> accuse
> the WMF of spending money where it has the least effect. It is equally
> problematic to learn if and how the WMF actually appreciated the recent
> Indonesian contest. I do argue that the new USA outreach project will spend
> much more and will not have an equal effect. This may depend on what
> metrics
> are chosen, I refer to the metrics chosen for the Indonesian contest.
>
> I truly wonder how you can believe in an organisation that relies on
> chapters without an USA chapter.
> Thanks,
>       GerardM
>
>
>
> On 18 August 2010 21:01, Barry Newstead <bnwikimedia at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I am pleased to share the position description for the new Chapter
> > Development Director position [1] with the Wikimedia Foundation. We are
> now
> > open for applications and aim to fill this position with an outstanding
> > candidate by November. Thank you to those who shared perspectives on the
> > Chapter Development role on the Meta page [2] that was set up a few weeks
> > back. The process of defining ways for chapters and WMF to work together
> > effectively is an ongoing one that I look forward to continuing with all
> of
> > you and with our new staff member. Please do forward on the posting and
> > suggest candidates. It would be great to find candidates from within the
> > Wikimedia movement.
> >
> >  The position description draws from the input received on Meta as well
> as
> > informal discussions and input received from various sources. [3] The
> > description provides a window into how I am thinking about the
> relationship
> > between chapters and WMF. Let me share some of my thoughts in the
> interest
> > of openness and transparency. These are just preliminary thoughts and I
> > welcome ongoing feedback about where I'm on point and where I might be
> > off-base.
> >
> >  Let me start by saying that I am very committed to the chapter mission
> to
> > "empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop
> > educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to
> > disseminate it effectively and globally"[4] In my analysis (and I think
> > most
> > share this conclusion), we are still a long way from realizing this
> > mission,
> > even in our largest chapters. We, in the Global Development team, are
> > investing in Chapter Development roles (we plan to add to the team in the
> > future) to support the realization of the mission.
> >
> >  For me, success in five years would be to be in a position where 75% of
> > chapters would be rated “effective” and over 50% would be rated “very
> > effective” based on an objective set of mission-focused metrics I would
> > like
> > to develop collaboratively with chapters over the next year. In addition,
> I
> > would like there to be at least 60 chapters that are reasonably [5]
> > representative of the global population. It would be great if we generate
> > some shared goals in the coming months.
> >
> >  I have designed the WMF role as articulated in the position description
> > with success metrics in mind and with an orientation toward mutual
> > cooperation and a strong respect for the fact that virtually all of the
> > chapter participants today are volunteers and that our future strength
> will
> > remain in the initiative, commitment and creativity of volunteers, even
> as
> > we add staff and spend money in chapters and at WMF. I expect that the
> WMF
> > staff (as well as capacity building support on organizational
> development)
> > will help make voluntary action easier, more scalable and more
> sustainable,
> > particularly for the leaders who have expressed a certain level of
> fatigue
> > in carrying the full weight of their chapters.
> >
> > It is important to be clear that I see the Foundation and chapters as
> > independent organizations who are both ultimately accountable to the
> > Wikimedia movement. In my team's work, I would like to earn our role by
> > demonstrating our value. We do and should have clear agreements about the
> > work we do together along with our financial relationships. These may
> > require some trade-offs; however, these should lay out mutual
> expectations
> > that encourage positive, productive work that supports the Wikimedia
> > mission. As such, I would expect that we are able to negotiate and abide
> by
> > contractual agreements that help us all do our work.
> >
> >  A final word on openness. This note is an attempt to be open about how
> I'm
> > thinking now. I want my team's (and our) work to be open and transparent
> to
> > the movement. We should share publicly our thinking, reports on our
> > activities, evaluations of our successes and failures and a standard
> report
> > card of our effectiveness. I don't see this as a mechanism for reward or
> > punishment, but as a way to open us up to the movement at large and most
> > importantly to enable us to be a learning community where we can
> critically
> > assess our work and adapt. I hope this note is a reasonable start.
> >
> >  I look forward to working with you all, to having your feedback and to
> > bringing a strong Chapter Development Director on board soon.
> >
> >  Barry
> >
> >
> >  [1] See
> >
> >
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Job_openings/Chapter_Development_Director
> >
> > [2] See http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Chapter_development
> >
> > [3] Berlin Chapters meeting discussions, strategy project, Wikimania
> > discussions, generous proactive input from Delphine Menard reflecting on
> > her
> > prior experience, thoughts provided by Sebastian Moleski and an email
> > exchange with Bence Domokos
> >
> > [4] See http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_chapters
> >
> > [5] Added “Reasonably” caveat as we might not be in a position to have
> > chapters in places such as the People's Republic of China for policy
> > reasons
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