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Board Member Support

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This page is an overview on certain issues that are relevant for board members of Wikimedia affiliates and lays a basis for a community-wide board-skill-documentation. The materials presented here have been used during the annual Board training workshops.[1][2][3][4][5][6] An evaluation of these workshops was published in 2020.[7]

Board member transition

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Definition/General info
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Examples

Bylaws and policies

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Definition/General info
  • „Corporate and organizational bylaws regulate only the organization to which they apply and are generally concerned with the operation of the organization, setting out the form, manner or procedure in which a company or organisation should be run. “ (w:en:By-law#Organizational_by-laws).
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Communication policies

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Definition/General info
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Conflict engagement

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Conflict of interest

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Definition / General info

„A conflict of interest (COI) exists when you have a personal or financial interest that competes with your duty to Wikimedia's mission. If you have a duty to a Wikimedia organization, that duty is your primary obligation. Another personal interest should not influence your ability to make a decision in the best interests of your Wikimedia organization.“

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Funding

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Definition/General info
  • Fundraising ... (also known as "development") is the process of gathering voluntary contributions of money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies (see also crowd funding). (w:en:Fundraising).
  • Besides the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia Germany and Wikimedia Switzerland are able to run banners and process payments in their respective countries ("payment processing chapters"). General information on Fundraising in the movement can be found here.
  • The Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC) is a group of Wikimedians who make recommendations to the WMF Board about Annual Plan Grant proposals. Annual Plan Grants (APG) are Wikimedia movement funds allocated to support an organization’s overall annual plan to achieve mission objectives. Further information can be found here.
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Governance reviews

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Definition/General info

Links to external governance reviews of different WM-affiliates.

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See Governance Review.

Handbooks

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Definition/General info

A board handbook is a document which exposes what it means to be on the board − expectations, posture, dos & don'ts − like a shareholders' agreement. It ensures that every current member of the board has the same vision of the governance. It's also necessary that new or prospective members of the board read and assimilate this vision. The aim is to improve the governance by defining explicitly with all stakeholders "who decides what?" and "who does what?". Thus the handbook does not have to describe the current (and maybe inadapted) functioning but it has to describe the ideal functioning. That way, each stakeholder knows what they have to do, what is expected of them and what they can expect from others.

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See Board Handbook

International relations

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Definition/General info
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Participatory management

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Definition

Participatory management requires guessing the motivations and expectations of the stakeholdes and designing their interactions during the planning phase of most projects.

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Personal effectiveness

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General info

The origin of the word "effective" stems from the Latin word effectīvus, which means creative, productive or effective. w:en:Effectiveness

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Role of a board

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including board composition and diversity

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Role of ED / staff

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Definition/General info

Board-ED-relation is – if applicable – one of the most crucial relationships of the whole association (cf. Carver 2006a).

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Learning pattern

Self-evaluation of the board

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Staff member

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Strategy

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Definition / General info

«Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. [...] Strategy has many definitions, but generally involves setting goals, determining actions to achieve the goals, and mobilizing resources to execute the actions. A strategy describes how the ends (goals) will be achieved by the means (resources).»[8]

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Tasks of individual board members

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Definition/General info
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Travel policies

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Definition/General info

A travel policy is a document that defines the conditions, processes, amounts and expectations surrounding travel reimbursements.

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See Travel policies.

Volunteer Support

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Course material
  • Job Description Volunteers. This is a form that can be used to write a Job Description for volunteers. It was first presented at the Pre-conference Boards training 2018.

Wikimedia Trademarks

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Definition/General info

A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a recognizable sign, design, or expression which identifies products or services of a particular source from those of others. The trademark owner can be an individual, business organization, or any legal entity. A trademark may be located on a package, a label, a voucher, or on the product itself.

The Wikimedia marks are trademarks of the Wikimedia Foundation. The Wikimedia trademarks may only be used in accordance with the Wikimedia trademark policy and the visual identity guidelines. Use of these trademarks with the permission of the Wikimedia Foundation does not suggest endorsement by or affiliation with the Wikimedia Foundation.

Almost all Wikimedia chapters have signed the Chapter agreement. Article 4 and 5 of the 2007 Chapter agreement template deal with the use of the Wikimedia trademarks by Wikimedia chapters.

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May I use the Wikimedia marks? Q and A page

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Here you can find the official Wikimedia trademarks.

References

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  • Carver, John (2006a): Boards That Make a Difference: A New Design for Leadership in Nonprofit and Public Organizations. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
  • Carver, John (2006b): Reinventing Your Board. A Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing Policy Governance. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.

Notes

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  1. ↑ Wikimedia_Summit_2019/Boards_Training
  2. ↑ Wikimedia_Conference_2018/Pre-Conference_Boards_Training
  3. ↑ Wikimedia_Conference_2017/Pre-Conference_Boards_Training
  4. ↑ Boards training workshop April 2016
  5. ↑ Boards training workshop March 2014
  6. ↑ Boards training workshop August 2014
  7. ↑ Evaluation Board Member trainings 2016 - 2020
  8. ↑ strategic planning on English Wikipedia
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