1. Regular board and other meetings taking place in the office.
During the project period 27 board meetings, 1 general assembly, 7 project team meetings, 2 workshops, 1 edit-a-thon and 1 public event for new editors were held. The tranquility of an office space was also required for holding development talks with employees and recruiting a substitute for assistant.
General Assembly in autumn 2014
Wikimedia Eesti has a long tradition holding weekly board meetings, which supports good communication within the governing body of the chapter, as well as decision making processes. During its beginning years Wikimedia Eesti used both public space in local library and rooms of employers of board members to carry out the board meetings. As using public space proved to be rather inefficient and it was no longer possible to use other rooms, renting an office became the most reasonable option for continuing quotidian activity of the chapter. As a result 27 board meetings were held in the office during the project period and the tradition continues in year 2015.
Wikimedia Eesti has also welcomed community members in the office. Although the office space has not become as popular as we hoped, some community members have found their way to the office. In September 2014 also the general assembly of Wikimedia Eesti was held in the office, as to make people more acquainted with the working space of the chapter.
An important role of the office space is being the meeting place of project teams of Wikimedia Eesti. Before having the office it was really hard for Wikimedia Eesti to call together physical meetings of project teams, which made project management and execution more challenging. During the project period 7 meetings were held in the office, including education and GLAM team meetings, meeting for Tartupeedia team, as well as meetings of organisers of article and photo competitions.
Office space has also been used for training new and even experienced editors. 2 workshops were held on specific topics, there was 1 edit-a-thon organised and also a meeting organised to introduce new editors to Wikipedia. Without an office space organising such events depended largely on partnerships and their interest, but with the office it has been possible for Wikimedia Eesti to be more active in planning events that have a direct online impact on Wikimedia projects.
2. Installing and re-organizing accounting and administration-related documents.
During the project period all paper documentation related to the activity of Wikimedia Eesti was archived in the office. Although the process of re-organising them in a more structured manner is still under way, access to them has been significantly improved.
Wikimedia Eesti office
Before renting the office, all the documents of Wikimedia Eesti were scattered between accountant and responsible board members, usually ending up in the hands of one designated board member, which made managing of the documents rather challenging and also impeded access to all accounting materials for interested parties. With renting of the office space it was made possible to store and collect al the documents in one place and also increase their accessibility level. Although restructuring the process of managing administrative documents has proven to be slower than expected and by the end of the grant period Wikimedia Eesti still experienced problems with document management, things are improving and Wikimedia Eesti will continue its progress in archiving and document management practices in the year 2015, which is significantly supported by available office space.
3. Introducing and maintaining open office hours for general public.
On the 24th of September 2014 open Wednesday kicked off in the office of Wikimedia Eesti. During the project period the office doors opened on 12 Wednesdays, for more than 60 hours alltogether.
Edit-a-thon organised in the office of Wikimedia Eesti on the 11th of September 2014.
One of the aims of Wikimedia Eesti is to increase notability of the chapter, Wikimedia projects and free knowledge and culture in general with the physical presence of the office in the cityscape. Part of the plan is to open office doors for general public. Usually Wikimedia Eesti announces most of the edit-a-thons and workshops publicly, but having an office space created a possibility to have open office hours for general public.
Although during the project Wikimedia Eesti opened its doors for a total of 60 hours on 12 days with the help of volunteer board members and staff input, such open Wednesdays did not prove to be popular and Wikimedia Eesti will inquire into possibilities to be more visiple in the public space in the future.
4. Furnishing of the office.
During the project period the office was equipped with shelf and closet, as well as 2 tables, 6 chairs and 2 armchairs to meet the needs of archiving documents and exhibitions, shelving books and holding regular public and private meetings.
Coffee cups in Wikimedia Eesti office
As a result of the project, office of Wikimedia Eesti is well equipped to host smaller events, to store property of the organisation and to archive all its documents. Wikimedia Eesti reduced furnishing related costs with buying furniture from second hand shops, which proved to be rather successful. Although the styling may not be completely homogenous, Wikimedia Eesti has everything it needs to carry out board and project meetings, edit-a-thons and workshops.
Wikimedia Eesti has had a tradition to make itinerant exhibitions of the best pictures from its various photo competitions and without an office space storing of all these pictures became a problem. Having an office space has given an opportunity to store all these pictures in a common and easily accessible place.
Addendum: Use of the office space
Although Wikimedia Eesti did not measure the use of the office space throughout the period, there was measurement done in 2 randomly chosen periods, one in the beginning of the project and other in the end, i.e. in the week from the 28th of April 2014 to the 4th of May 2014 and from the 8th to 14th of December.
Office use between 28th of April 2014 and 4th of May 2014 visualized
Day
User
00:00-07:59
08:00-08:59
09:00-09:59
10:00-10:59
11:00-11:59
12:00-12:59
13:00-13:59
14:00-14:59
15:00-15:59
16:00-16:59
17:00-17:59
18:00-18:59
19:00-19:59
20:00-20:59
21:00-21:59
22:00-23:59
Monday 04 / 28 /2015
Employee
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
Board member
Other
Tuesday 04 / 29 /2015
Employee
1
1
1
2
1
Board member
3
3
1
Other
Wednesday 04 / 30 /2015
Employee
1
1
1
1
Board member
1
2
2
Other
Thursday 05 / 01 /2015
Employee
1
1
1
1
Board member
Other
Friday 05 / 02 /2015
Employee
1
1
1
1
1
1
Board member
Other
Saturday 05 / 03 /2015
Employee
Board member
Other
Sunday 05 / 04 /2015
Employee
Board member
Other
Numbers in the box show the number of representatives of group being present in the office in designated time
Office in use
Office out of use
Office use between 8th of December 2014 and 13th of December 2014 visualized
Day
User
00:00-07:59
08:00-08:59
09:00-09:59
10:00-10:59
11:00-11:59
12:00-12:59
13:00-13:59
14:00-14:59
15:00-15:59
16:00-16:59
17:00-17:59
18:00-18:59
19:00-19:59
20:00-20:59
21:00-21:59
22:00-23:59
Monday 12 / 08 /2015
Employee
Board member
1
1
1
1
Other
1
1
1
1
Tuesday 12 / 09 /2015
Employee
1
1
2
2
2
Board member
1
1
1
1
1
1
4
4
4
Other
1
1
1
1
Wednesday 12 / 10 /2015
Employee
1
1
Board member
1
1
1
Other
Thursday 12 / 11 /2015
Employee
Board member
1
1
Other
1
1
Friday 12 / 12 /2015
Employee
Board member
Other
Saturday 12 / 13 /2015
Employee
Board member
Other
Sunday 12 / 14 /2015
Employee
Board member
Other
Numbers in the box show the number of representatives of group being present in the office in designated time
Office in use
Office out of use
Short analysis
The office is not used as much as it could be, with only 18 hours per week in the second week of December and 27 hours per week in the end of April and May. Nevertheless the office provided a quiet meeting place for the right moments during that time, namely a place to work on 2013 grant report with all the financial documents reviewed during the process, have board meetings and also meetings with candidates for the position of the assistant (as the assistant had received a scolarship to be an exchange student). Although the absolute numbers of office use are not high, the use of the office is of extremely high value for the organization, making it possible to have open discussions behind the closed doors of an office space. As a result, the office has helped to sustain a healthy climate within the chapter, even in difficult times.
A second aspect that is not well reflected by hours spent in the office, is the possibility to store the equipment and posessions of Wikimedia Eesti in the safe place. The most problematic storing issue before having an office was related to pictures of itinerant exhibitions, which took up a notable amount of private space of chapter members. Also memorabilia used by Wikimedia Eesti can be now stored in an accessible place and provides more possibilities to really use it. And although there have been some problems with archiving all the documents, office makes it possible to store the documents in one place, increasing accessibility to them and their usability.
Support of Wikimedia Foundation and the decision to give advance to Wikimedia Eesti to rent an office made it possible to make use of a good offer, as well as ensured rapid installment of the organization in the office space. As a result operational effectiveness of Wikimedia Eesti increased in an important time for writing grant reports, discussing the development of organization and restructuring the staff.
Also the costs of moving into the office were lower than expected and as the board and employees helped to furnish the office, there was no need to spend too much time for furnishing activities. As the human resources needed to settle in the office were minimal, it also guaranteed an increase of inspiration and motivation within the chapter. The need for an office for Wikimedia Eesti was discussed for a long time and finally getting an office space with reasonable effort had a really positive impact on motivation of active chapter members.
What didn't work?
Good archiving practices and easy access to all the documents was a fundamental goal of this project and although it can be stated that it has been easier to access the documents in general, some major problems with archiving have surfaced during reporting period of 2014 grants. Wikimedia Eesti did not manage to take the most of the space made available for proper archiving activities.
Wikimedia Eesti hoped to increase its visibility in city of Tartu through having a public physical office space. Unfortunately, public office hours have not been popular and the participation levels of meetings oriented towards new and unaware users of Wikimedia projects have been very low.
What would you do differently if you planned a similar project?
We would prioritize installing proper archiving practices as soon as we can use the office space.
We would try to foresee our essential needs and plan better to eliminate the need for a separate grant proposal for an office not included in the annual plan.
Reconsider the strategy for increasing the visibility of the chapter through physical presence in the cityscape.
There is a possibility to create learning pattern about using the office for outreach activities and for proper archiving of and accessibility to the documentation of the organization once we have found solutions to these problems.
to increase the organizational effectivity of Wikimedia Eesti by providing a convenient and private space for discussions and coordination activities;
to improve the level of documentation, archiving and reporting activities of the organization by assembling all the relevant documents in one, generally accessible locus;
to increase public recognition of Wikimedia Eesti by establishing its physical presence.
Did you achieve your project goal? How do you know your goal was achieved? Please answer in 1 - 2 short paragraphs.
The goal to increase the effectivity of Wikimedia Eesti was reached on a certain level, as many of the processes (restructuring staff, conducting development talks, hiring employees, dealing with the reporting issues) would have been much harder without the office space (as months before the rental proved). It was easy to hold weekly board meetings which improved internal communication and helped to avoid further difficulties in management of chapter.
Although steps were taken to improve the level of documentation, archiving and reporting activities of the organization by assembling all the relevant documents in one, generally accessible locus, these were not executed with sufficient effectiveness and in year 2015 Wikimedia Eesti encountered severe difficulties related to archiving issues.
Public recognition of Wikimedia Eesti was not suffciently increased by establishing its physical presence and public office hours did not meet expectations.
Problem free renting of the office space until the end of the year 2014.
Done
No problems were encountered during the year - working in office was comfortable, rent costs did not change and the prices of utilities were as expected.
Fully operating organization throughout the year (i.e. no or few coordinational or operational drawbacks during the year).
Partly done
Having an office space most certainly supported the effective operating of Wikimedia Eesti throughout the year. Nevertheless, there were some drawbacks with some projects, but many of them were related to external factors and not to ineffective use of the office.
Archiving and accessing the documents of the organization is easier than ever.
Partly done
Although practices were set in place, Wikimedia Eesti did not manage to archive documents in the most effective manner, which resulted in drawbacks related to reporting activities. Access to documents, which were archived properly were significantly improved.
All the financial and activity reports presented in time or with minor delays.
Not done
There were already some minor delays with some project reports in year 2014, but it escalated in 2015 with several reports to various partners became overdue.
Making the office of Wikimedia Eesti visible in the city space of Tartu.
Partly done
Although some efforts were made to make use of office in outreach efforts, the physical space of Wikimedia Eesti did not become as visible as it was hoped for.
Public reception hours created to serve a possible public interest.
Partly done
Although these public reception hours there held, they did not meet the expectations.
We are trying to understand the overall outcomes of the work being funded across our grantees. In addition to the measures of success for your specific program (in above section), please use the table below to let us know how your project contributed to the Global Metrics. We know that not all projects will have results for each type of metric, so feel free to put "0" where necessary.
Next to each required metric, list the actual outcome achieved through this project.
Where necessary, explain the context behind your outcome. For example, if you were funded for an edit-a-thon which resulted in 0 new images, your explanation might be "This project focused solely on participation and articles written/improved, the goal was not to collect images."
Although office rental does not really have a direct impact on Wikimedia content, on the 11th of September 2014 an edit-a-thon was held in office to try its potential for increasing participation in Wikimedia projects. 6 persons participated on the event and global metrics apply to measurement of the results.
Global metric for office edit-a-thon
Metric
Achieved outcome
Explanation
# of active editors involved
0
The event held in office was targeted to newcomers.
# of new editors
6
Although the event was announced quite late, there were still some university students who decided to take part in the evening edit-a-thon event.
# of individuals involved
9
1 Wikimedia Eesti board member and 2 employees attended the event besides 6 newcomers participating on the edit-a-thon.
# of new images/media added to Wikimedia articles/pages
0
The event was targeting article creation and not media uploads.
# of articles added or improved on Wikimedia projects
8
Some new pages were created, some articles were somewhat improved and some language editing was done.
Absolute value of bytes added to or deleted from Wikimedia projects
3609 added
158 deleted
Edit-a-thon lasted for 2 hours and the result is rather good for the number of participants, taking into account that they were newcomers and 2 out of 6 concentrated on language editing. 1 of the 6 participants also edited during 6 months following the workshop.
Learning question
Did your work increase the motivation of contributors, and how do you know?
All the contriubtors stated orally that participation on the edit-a-thon was very interesting for them, however only 1 of them made contributions to Wikimedia projects in 6 months following the meeting.
Option A: How did you increase participation in one or more Wikimedia projects?
Wikimedia Eesti organized events in the office to initiate participation. Only the edit-a-thon for the newcomers can be seen as a successful event.
Option B: How did you improve quality on one or more Wikimedia projects?
Option C: How did you increase the reach (readership) of one or more Wikimedia projects?
Wikimedia Eesti tried to increase its visibility in the cityscape of Tartu and although it was not as successful as expected, it hopefully contributed to some interest related to Wikimedia projects. (This result has not been correctly measured)
Did you send documentation of all expenses paid with grant funds to grants at wikimedia dot org, according to the guidelines here? Answer "Yes" or "No".
Total project budget (from your approved grant submission)
Advance: €486.48 and Grant: €1,769.40
TOTAL: €2,255.88
Total amount requested from WMF (from your approved grant submission, this total will be the same as the total project budget if PEG is your only funding source)
Advance: €486.48 and Grant: €1,769.40
TOTAL: €2,255.88
Total amount spent on this project
From advance: €249.66 and From grant: €1,608.42
TOTAL: €1,858.08
Total amount of Project and Event grant funds spent on this project
From advance: €249.66 and From grant: €1,608.42
TOTAL: €1,858.08
Are there additional sources that funded any part of this project? List them here.
There are no additional financial resources, but employees and board members gave some furniture to the disposal of Wikimedia Eesti to esnure a better working environment in the office.
Please list the total amount (specify currency) remaining here. (This is the amount you did not use, or the amount you still have after completing your grant.)
€397.80
If funds are remaining they must be returned to WMF, reallocated to mission-aligned activities, or applied to another approved grant.
Done
Partly done
Not done