Application or grant stage: approved

Applicant or grantee: Wikimedia Australia

Amount requested: AU$86,100 / US$67,020.67

Amount granted: 86,355.23 AUD (67,000 USD)

Funding period: 1 July 2021 - 30 June 2022

Midpoint report due: 15 January 2021

Final report due: 30 July 2022

Application

Background

Following three years of strategic planning, 2021 marks a significant milestone in Wikimedia Australia's history with the contracting of its first part-time Community Support and Outreach Coordinator staff position. The 2021-2022 annual plan builds on the increased organisational capacity this position has enabled, to fuel growth and momentum in three key program areas: community support, outreach and engagement and professionalised chapter governance and operations.

Annual Plan

The Wikimedia Australia 2021-2022 annual plan.

This follows the Wikimedia Australia 2020-2021 annual plan.

Budget Plan

The Wikimedia Australia budget 2021-22

The budget comprises of three key program areas:

Community Support: AU$12,000
Outreach and Engagement: AU$24,000
Governance and Operations: AU$50,100

Total: AU$86,100 / US$67,020.67

Staffing Plan

Within the Governance and Operations program is an allocation of AU$40,000 for the continuation of a part-time Community Support and Outreach Coordinator for 2021-2022, providing administration, communications, project and outreach support for the Australian Wikimedia committee, members and broader community approximately 15 hours per week. This position reports to the Wikimedia Australia Committee through the President. A full position description is available here. This follows the establishment of the position as a three-month contract in April 2021, currently filled by Caddie Brain.

Strategic plan

With support of the new Community Support and Outreach Coordinator, Wikimedia Australia has budgeted for the commencement of a new multi-year strategic planning cycle by the new Wikimedia Australia committee following the Annual General Meeting currently scheduled for 8 August 2021. The newly developed Wikimedia Australia Strategic Plan will be supported by a Communications Strategy and Operational/Program Plan that is also currently in development. This follows the initial strategic planning development that occurred in 2020, after the completion of its previous multi-year plan.

Introduction

Wikimedia Australia (WMAU) exists to support, advocate and promote the activities and needs of the diverse editing community across Wikimedia platforms in Australia, also offering regional support and leadership where possible.

Formed in 2007, WMAU is an independent, not-for-profit organisation, whose primary aim is to promote equality of opportunity to access and participate in the collaborative creation of free and open content in Australia, with a focus on its history, culture, languages, environment and regional context. Increasingly, this work is prioritising supporting marginalised and regionally disadvantaged communities to remove barriers that prevent people and organisations from accessing and contributing to free knowledge, and supporting the development of solutions to help eradicate inequality and bias on Wikimedia projects.

After three years of capacity building in planning, implementing and reporting against an annual grant, 2021-22 represents the maturation of Wikimedia Australia as an organisation through the contracting of a Community Support and Outreach Coordinator dedicated to delivering this annual plan alongside the Wikimedia Australia committee. This work will take place under three core program areas:

Community Support
Outreach and Engagement
Governance and Operations

There is no question that 2020-2021 has been one of the most challenging years to deliver outreach and community engagement activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly when delivering these services across an enormous geographical area. It has however also highlighted many new opportunities and grown capacity and agility in engaging with our members and community in new ways. Major achievements included the adaption and delivery of outreach and engagement events in the online space and establishment of monthly community meetings and seminars for the first time, which supported the growth and development of community members as facilitators across the country who are increasingly engaged in regular edit-a-thons, events, workshops and meet-ups. This culminated in Wikimedia Australia's 20th birthday celebration in January 2021 and launch of our animated 20 year video that went viral on social media and resulted in many media opportunities including on our ABC Radio National, the national broadcaster.

Wikimedia Australia has also set new strategic priorities for the next twelve months. This includes growing engagement with First Nations editors in Australia to deepen discussion about growing inclusion and what efforts may be needed to contribute to the decolonisation of Wikimedia platforms. This is part of a broader push to diversify and increase the capacity of editors working on Australian content across the Wikimedia projects. WMAU is also planning to address a growing need for maintenance tasks across these platforms, that will require education, awareness campaigns, the development of new tools and strategic partnerships with organisations that can support this work. We need to ensure that local data remains accurate, relevant and current in order to preserve trust in our platforms. We also aim to step up our regional leadership supporting campaigns and projects in partnership with Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand, and through participation in SWAN and ESEAP activities.

While our governance processes are well-established, 2021-22 will represent a critical period of professionalisation for the governing committee, in stepping back from day-to-day operational responsibilities now undertaken by the new Community Support and Outreach Coordinator, instead growing the kinds of strategic capacity and partnerships needed to secure the future of Wikimedia platforms for the next 20 years.

Programs

Program 1: Community Support

Regular community meetings over 2020-21 have highlighted key concerns among our community regarding the limited number of new, active editors and administrators combined with an increasing load of maintenance work required on Australian content. To address this Wikimedia Australia will focus on engagement activities that increase the number of editors working on Australian content, and to increase the capacity of existing editors by providing better tools and support for maintenance and administrative work. This will also bring our community support goals in close alignment with outreach goals. This informs the following activities:

WikiClubs and Meetups

Wikimedia Australia is committed to maintaining a safe, healthy and diverse editing environment and welcomes global policy initiatives such as the Universal Code of Conduct. In order to engage directly with current and emerging editors in Australia, we will continue our monthly online community meetings, which have already been successful in connecting and building community among our geographically dispersed community. Promotion of available wiki tools is an area identified as a gap in editor knowledge, and we plan to initiate regular communications about these tools to the community through online events and newsletters to increase knowledge and editing efficiency.

We recognise that community-based events are also important for engagement and learning new skills. WikiClubs, user groups, training events and meetups will continue to be locally organised, and will be encouraged to call on administrative and promotional support from the Community Support and Outreach Coordinator, as well as funding for local activities. Addressing the gender gap and inherent bias on Wikipedia also remains a focus for our editing community particularly during Women's History Month, International Women's Day, as part of Art+Feminism and the Know My Name initiative so we will continue to grow our support of these activities again in 2022.

Australian Data Maintenance Tools

The Australian editing community has highlighted the ongoing challenge of keeping 20 years of Wikipedia content up-to-date. It has been set as a priority to address, as it is vitally important to retain readers' trust in Wikimedia platforms and information. To attract more editors to this area of work we plan to research and commission the development of a tool or bots to assist in the maintenance of Australian statistical data. A group from the Australian community will develop the coding brief, and Wikimedia Australia will contract an intern or contractor to build an Australian Census Tool that partly automates the process of updating population data before the 2021 Census data is released in June 2022. The tool could work with minimal, or 'light touch' human endorsement and oversight, and the project will also include training and promotion about how it works. After evaluating the success of this pilot we will look to extend the project to consider other data sources, for instance data from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Mini Grants Volunteer Support Program

Wikimedia Australia offers a mini-grant program for Australian contributors to obtain resources or share their knowledge about the projects and/or WMAU activities. Funds involved are generally small grants, designed for maximum flexibility and responsiveness. Most activities are ad hoc, and may be granted for a range of expenses related to presenting at conferences, or hosting events, to purchasing resources in order to generate content, or developing a new skill. Applicants are required to have a demonstrated contribution history and to provide a report upon completion of their activity.

Also for the first time in 2021, Wikimedia Australia will offer an inaugural micro-grant program to produce a prototype from Wikidata, to increase the profile and awareness of and experimentation with this emerging platform in Australia.

Planned activities

Monthly community meetings and seminars
National events aimed at addressing Wikipedia's gender gap (March 2022)
Establishment of working group to support development of Australia Data Maintenance Tools
Offering of mini Grants Volunteer Support Program
Establishment and promotion of inaugural Wikidata micro-grants program

Program metrics and targets

Prototype for a Australian statistical data tool: 1
Community Meetings: 10
Online training sessions: 4
No. of mini grants offered: 4
No. of Wikidata mini grants offered: 4
No. of blog posts/stories based on micro-grant/Wikidata grants program: 2
No. of edit-a-thons focused on gender diversity: 4

Program 2: Outreach and engagement

First Nations engagement

First Nations content projects, including the Noongarpedia Incubator, an Indigenous language partnership project involving the Noongar and academic communities, remain a key area of importance for Wikimedia Australia and the Wikimedia movement. In order to support First Nations content across Wikimedia platforms we will build engagement between the Australian Wikimedia community and Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander communities.

Facilitating this engagement will involve approaching our existing GLAMR partners who are working in this area to make use of existing networks, protocols and content that is appropriately licensed. We will work towards development of Australian Indigenous cultural protocols on Wikimedia platforms, and policies on culturally safe and respectful engagement with Indigenous consultants. In the first instance we will support an issues and discussion paper on cultural knowledge concerns for First Nations and Australian Wikimedians and bring together an advisory working group to meet and develop the paper. This could lead to a future research agenda in conjunction with partner organisations and to Wiki Scholar or Wikimedian in Residence positions dedicated to relationship building, brokering conversations and key partnerships.

Education sector outreach

The secondary and tertiary education sector has been identified as an increasingly important area of future partnerships, to build knowledge of Wikimedia platforms and to support research outputs. Wikimedia Australia aims to establish a local Wikimedia Resident and Scholar Program, placing a Wikimedian in Residence within an Australian university. A part of this scoping work we will:

Promote the program to postgraduate and higher degree research students
Explore the potential for Wikimedia Coordinators in universities (as part of the library, postgraduate studies board, or student union organisations.
Highlight Wikidata through The Carpentries and digital research tools
Support particular academic divisions and research centres with projects
Explore case studies of teaching through Wikipedia at both the tertiary and secondary levels (such as Writing for the Digital World at the University of Sydney).
Explore curriculum links in the secondary education sector, particularly for local history and languages

GLAM sector outreach

During 2020-21 Wikimedia Australia successfully trialed facilitated online editor training. To build on this new expertise, Wikimedia Australia plans to collaborate with small to medium regional libraries, historical societies, museums and galleries in the provision of staff awareness presentations and/or training to increase understanding of the potential value Wikimedia platforms may bring to partners. This requires the development of training modules, case studies and materials to support delivery of online modules though potential contracted facilitator support.

Planned activities

Establishment of a pilot Wikimedia Resident and Scholar program in Australia
Establishment of First Nations working group
Development and delivery of an annual program of facilitated online editor training targeted at the GLAM sector
Investigation of GovHack partnership

Program metrics and targets

Delivery of Wikimedia Australia Communications Strategy (with internal engagement targets)
First Nations working group meetings: 4
Development of a First Nations Discussion paper regarding cultural protocols for Wikimedia platforms
Facilitated online editor training sessions: 6
Wikimedia Resident and/or Scholar placement: 1

Program 3: Governance and Operations

Wikimedia Australia will continue to fulfill its legal, financial and reporting responsibilities as an incorporated association registered in Victoria, and a charity registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). As well as Wikimedia Foundation responsibilities, this includes managing our 2021 Annual General Meeting in August, Consumer Affairs Victoria reporting, and Quarterly Business Activity Statements to the Australian Taxation Office, along with the provision of insurance to enable local outreach.

The key priority for the Wikimedia Australia committee is to streamline and professionalise its processes in order to grow into a more focused and sustainable organisation at the governance level. This will begin with the commencement of a new multi-year strategic planning cycle. Considering it is now two years since the committee and/or community has been able to meet for a strategic planning workshop, we retain the need for a face-to-face meeting to set our priorities, future-proof our organisation and properly induct and onboard new members. This is necessitated by the geographic challenges our committee faces, being based across the country in many different states and territories and timezones. We have scheduled and budgeted for this for later in 2021 in the hope that COVID-19 restrictions will enable travel.

Community Support and Outreach Coordinator

For many years, Wikimedia Australia has been limited in its capacity to increase partnerships, offer consistency and support to its members and professionalise its processes and operations due to an entirely volunteer run organisation that has, since 2007, carried responsibility for governance, community engagement activities and communications. While successful to this point, in 2021 the committee reached the limit of its ability to continue to grow operations on a 100 per cent volunteer basis.

In April 2021 Wikimedia Australia contracted an experienced Wikimedian, Caddie Brain to establish the duties and procedures in an interim role of Community Support and Outreach Coordinator. It has already provided considerable growth in communications, volunteer engagement and development, and general administration for the Wikimedia Australia committee and wider community. The continuation of this role will contribute to the development and implementation of Wikimedia Australia’s communications strategies and 2021-22 annual plan through coordination of online and in-person events where possible, expanding partnerships, and supporting the organisation and administration of the Wikimedia Australia Committee.

Planned activities

Monthly committee meetings with new streamlined reporting structure and system support
Strategic planning workshop August 2021 (face to face if possible) to support the delivery of a new multi-year strategic planning cycle supported by development of Operational Plan and finalisation and endorsement of Wikimedia Australia Communications Strategy
Provision of training for executive positions of new Wikimedia Australia committee
Appointment of Community Support and Outreach Coordinator for 12 months

Program metrics and targets

Delivery of multi-year Wikimedia Australia Strategic Plan
Delivery of Wikimedia Australia Annual Operational Program Plan
New committee members: 2
States/territories represented on the committee: 4
Increased diversity profile of the committee (language, age, gender etc)

Grant Metrics Reporting

Metrics, targets and results: grants metrics worksheet here.

Needs Request

We don't have any specific requests at this time.

Midterm report

Program story

Putting Australian music on the record – new Wikipedia projects aims to increase discoverability of Australian artists

Wikimedia Australia and the Australia Council for the Arts have partnered on a new project The Record - Australian Music on Wikipedia which aims to increase the visibility of Australian content on Wikipedia and make it easier for global audiences to discover great Australian music.

Through four edit-a-thon events across Australia, The Record will grow the low number of Wikipedia articles about Australian musicians, organisations and publications. Volunteers will be invited to be trained to edit, expand, and create new articles related to a diverse range of Australian music and musicians.