Grants talk:PEG/WM FI/WMFI 2014/Report/Interim2

Thank you for this detailed interim report. We appreciate your efforts in documenting activities, both for our benefit, but more importantly, for the benefit of the community. It sounds like the maps work is on track, despite some frustration with the level of use in these early stages. It also looks like you have made great connections in the GLAM world. We have a few questions below:

1. What has been your strategy to continue to engage editathon participants? Are there any particular activities that help to retain new users?
2. Great that so many GLAM institutions participated in the Commons training! What has been the follow-up since the training? Are you developing partnerships with the institutions that participated? Have any of the institutions independently initiated Wikimedia projects?
3. How have you progressed with bringing on new WMFI members and/or offline volunteers?

Thanks, Alex Wang (WMF) (talk) 23:32, 14 November 2014 (UTC)

Thanks for the questions! Not all of them are addressed currently, but we could make answering them an issue in the forthcoming association meeting and the editathon wrap-up.

Best, Susannaanas (talk) 12:51, 15 November 2014 (UTC)

Thanks, Susannaanas. We look forwarding to hearing from you here after the association meeting. Alex Wang (WMF) (talk) 20:53, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

Hi Susannaanas. Before we review your new grant request, it would be great to have a response to the above questions. Thanks, Alex Wang (WMF) (talk) 21:59, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

Hi! The association meeting will be held next Friday, December 12. By that time we should have written out the practices with the GLAM partnerships as well. Cheers, Susannaanas (talk) 23:08, 8 December 2014 (UTC)

Reply to the request for information

Please find attached the answers to the questions posed:

What has been your strategy to continue to engage editathon participants? Are there any particular activities that help to retain new users?

During the Tuo kulttuuri Wikipediaan editathon series over 70 people were exposed to editing Wikipedia and the sister projects.

We have not developed any novel ways to hang on to the new editors.

It could be a good idea to create a system to manage feedback and thanks for the contributions - the significance of thanking cannot be overestimated! Communicating through user pages could encourage participation.

Yes, definitely! There are a couple grantees and volunteers experimenting with different follow-up techniques and on-wiki mentorship programs. We'll be sure to keep you informed if any tools are developed or ideas that mature. Alex Wang (WMF) (talk) 03:59, 23 December 2014 (UTC)

What has been the follow-up since the training?

There has been a follow-up survey for the participants about wishes for future activities, and motivations for continuing editing. Some think that adding to the shared knowledge base in itself is motivating, some would wish to have external motivation or doing together. We can offer the latter by inviting them to future events. We have collected the contact information from the participants along with their permission to be notified of future events. Everyone was interested to learn about future events, and many were interested in an advanced course.

Are you developing partnerships with the institutions that participated?

There has been a separate survey to the GLAM institutions that participated in the Commons training. That will inform us about the willingness to participate in Wiki projects, editathons, WiRs, content donations etc. Some have answered, some are interested.

Great. We look forward to reading the full results of the survey. Alex Wang (WMF) (talk) 03:59, 23 December 2014 (UTC)

In addition, we are constantly communicating with different GLAM institutions about participation in different programs and projects.

There are a few editing events initially planned for the Spring term: two new GLAM contacts, one existing. This is what we are prepared for in the budget.

Wiki Loves Maps in February 2015 is organized in tandem with the #Hack4FI hackathon. While the #Hack4FI focuses on broad participation among Finnish GLAMs, the Wiki Loves Maps gathers partners more focused on the spatial aspects of the materials. There are many crossovers, though!

The theme of local knowledge will be the focus of activities in 2015. We will again work with some of the same GLAM institutions, but will expand to many new directions. We are heading out of Helsinki to Lahti, Turku and Mikkeli to work with local institutions (will depend on the success of local funding).

We are expecting to launch the first Wikimedian in Residence with the institutions that we have already started working with. The survey will help us chart the interests of the institutions.

Have any of the institutions independently initiated Wikimedia projects?

The editathon series was organized as an outcome of collaborative workshopping in the Open Culture Data Master Class, organized by AvoinGLAM network. Wikimedia Finland GLAM coordinator Sanna Hirvonen was among the participants and Susanna Ånäs gave a presentation about the possibilities of Wikimedia. But the spark came from all the participating organizations themselves.

Rupriikki hosted a second editathon, and there the initiative came from the organization.

Great! Alex Wang (WMF) (talk) 03:59, 23 December 2014 (UTC)

We have not learned about GLAM events that have been carried out without Wikimedia Finland participating.

How have you progressed with bringing on new WMFI members and/or offline volunteers?

There has not been the projected growth of the member base in 2014. Many think that making the member base bigger does not serve a purpose. Another question raised was whether to grow taller or broader: meaning whether to expand the scope of members or to engage more wikipedians.

The association meeting decided that the membership fee will be 0€ for the next fiscal year. This is to facilitate joining, as the financial significance of the fees is non-existent. The board will need to control the motivations of the new members with other means.

We started using a membership management service to be able to more easily check the status of member contact information and to deliver messages to the members. That would also facilitate the collection of the membership fees, but that will now not be needed.

Several volunteers participated in the editathon series as assistant teachers. The editathon events has introduced several seasoned wikipedians to each other for the first time.

Learning Wikidata makes us gather a new community that will also work together to learn and teach each other, in order to be eventually capable of doing outreach on the topic.

There are two new experienced wikipedians joining the Board in 2015.

--Susannaanas (talk) 14:44, 13 December 2014 (UTC) / Please let me know if you need further information, links or details!