the overall organisational structure of the Wikimedia movement;
the current and future distribution of roles and responsibilities between Wikimedia Foundation, its affiliates and committees;
movement-wide governance and decision-making processes, including relationships between entities, and the accountability of those who exercise power;
distribution of responsibilities: from global to local or thematic as well as from full-time staff to the volunteer community;
equity within our structures and distribution of responsibilities for crucial functions needed by the movement (software development, fundraising, communications, legal);
The movement’s ability to respond effectively to social, political and technological change in future.
There are presently a large number of online projects, organisations, committees, and informal entities within the Wikimedia movement. These have mainly developed organically, and there has never been an overall plan.
종종 운동의 다른 부분 사이의 관계가 불분명합니다. 운동의 다른 요소들 사이에 토론을 개최할 명확한 장소가 없으며 그러한 대화의 결과를 결정하는 확립된 방법도 없습니다. Wikimedia Foundation은 때때로 이러한 종류의 문제에 대한 토론과 결정을 주도하는 역할을 했지만 일관되게 수행할 수 없거나 수행하지 않을 것입니다.
While there are many positive examples of mutual support and collaborative problem-solving, this lack of clarity poses challenges. Expectations are often unclear and communication is felt to be lacking. Tasks and projects, including some of strategic significance, do not happen because it is presently no-one's job to do them.
Our aim is to document and evaluate the existing governance and organisational structures of the Wikimedia Movement through consultation with a wide range of past and current stakeholders, to identify where roles and structures are working well (responsibilities/authority for decision making and communication are clear, and responsibilities are being executed) and where they are not. This “mapping” will also include other known gaps or obstacles that must be addressed in order to reach our 2030 goals. With this baseline in place, the group will then examine other governance models in terms of their suitability for reaching our direction for 2030, bearing in mind both current ‘pain points’ and the likely future environment and challenges the Wikimedia movement will face.
The process the group is following is adapted from the book “Farsighted”, which focuses on best practices for decision-making in situations where long-term consequences and high-stakes results are a key factor.
The goal is to identify a future structure for the Wikimedia Movement that will create less friction and more synergies by better allocating the roles and responsibilities we need to strengthen Wikimedia's role as a pioneer in knowledge sharing, and to support the Strategic Direction.
What are the key questions within the scope of the Working Group?
What governance and organizational structures do we need to support the delivery of the strategic direction, particularly knowledge equity?
How do we ensure that our governance and operational structures can adapt to social, technological and political change?
How and to whom should movement roles and structures be accountable?
What structures, processes, and behaviours will enable us to include all voices (including e.g. current contributors and emerging audiences) in our decision-making?
What is the best way to understand the contributions and capabilities of the nodes in our future network?
Which responsibilities are better placed at a global, regional, local or thematic level; which should be centralized and which decentralized?
How might we integrate the Wikimedia Movement with the greater free knowledge ecosystem?
How should conflict management and resolution be structured across the movement?
How can we be strategic about ensuring relevance as we scale while still supporting the existing editing community? (Note: This point is about the relevance, quality and richness of content)
