Wikimedia Conference 2014/Documentation/1b
Session 1b Grantmaking and funds: APG/FDC process
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Speakers: actually no speakers, session was facilitated by Anna Lena Schiller (conference' facilitator) and Winnifried Ollif (WMF)
tl;dr: Feedback was gathered and will be submittet to the FDC advisory group, which has meeting in May.
Notes
[edit]
Feedback that was submitted before the sessions was mapped onto three categories: stop, start, keep. During the session, more feedback were added. There was no further (broad) discussion or summary.
Stop
[edit]- Bad communication
- Jargon
- Too much time for decision
- Guardrails based on percent, not absolute amount
- At the moment, chapters ask for more than they need, because they expect cuts, so find a way to stop encouraging padding.
- More positive messages from the process
- Ways that grantees participate
- Stop perceiving the FDC as an organ that will always cut what has been asked for.
- Have a "necessary" and "ideal" list of requirements, for example core needs vs proposed project.
Start
[edit]- Suggesting cuts
- Ask donors
- Multiyear funding
- Proposed collaboration between chapter
- Adding conversation between grantees + FDC
- Participate in proposal development
- Reach out 6 months in advance
- More feedback specific to projects
- Window of opportunity in proposal process where plan can be modified. [note: this can already be done, but maybe formalise this option?
- Preliminary feedback
- Timeline for adjusting your plan
- Sometimes the recommendations are not completely clear: what constitutes "unhealthy growth", for example. Give more detail in feedback on proposals.
- More real-life meetings to discuss proposals, including videoconferencing.
- More honesty around grant process
- More instant feedback during process.
- Start leaving more time between the grant decision and the start of the grant
- More help with translation for smaller chapters
- Conseration of abilities
Keep
[edit]- Use of templates + standards
- Keep our devoted staff
- Keep funds unrestricted
- Visits to the chapters (is this happening? Make it more visible!)
Feedback not fitting any of the categories
[edit]- Lightweight processes