2021–22 Annual Plan

(created draft)
 
(further drafting)
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== Introduction ==
== Introduction ==
After three years of planning, implementing and reporting against an annual grant, Wikimedia Australia is ready to step up our capacity in order to realise a larger vision. Hence this Simple Annual Plan Grant application includes an ongoing staffing component. The pandemic in 2020-21 caused us to re-think a number of our community support programs that focussed primarily on travel, and provided an opportunity to redirect funding and contract support for the community across several areas.
After three years of planning, implementing and reporting against an annual grant, Wikimedia Australia is ready to step up our capacity in order to realise a larger vision. Hence this Annual Plan includes a [https://wikimedia.org.au/w/images/5/5f/PD_Community_Support_and_Outreach_Coordinator.pdf contracted Community Support and Outreach Coordinator position] dedicated to assisting the Wikimedia Australia committee enact this plan across our key programs. As well as managing the chapter, we will focus our work in the two program areas of:  
 
As well as managing the chapter, we will continue to focus our work in the two program areas of:  
# Community Support  
# Community Support  
# Outreach and Engagement
# Outreach and Engagement


Major achievements in 2020-21 included several successful outreach and engagement events, many of which involved community members as facilitators. A key priority for the next twelve months is to build strategic partnerships with a number of these organisations, with a view to sustaining the initial interest and activity.
Major achievements in 2020-21 included several successful outreach and engagement events, many of which involved community members as facilitators. The pandemic in 2020-21 caused us to re-think a number of our community support programs that focussed primarily on travel, and provided an opportunity to redirect funding and contract support for the community across several areas. A key priority for the next twelve months is to increase the capacity of editors working on Australia content across the Wikimedia projects. This will help reduce the workload of those involved in maintenance of Australian content. It will involve education and awareness campaigns and building strategic partnerships with organisations that can support this work.


Our other key activity is engaging with, and supporting the editor community. Our online community meetings have had regular attendance with the celebration of Wikipedia's 20th birthday event in January 2021 a high point. We have contributed to the organisation of ESEAP online activities, as well as engaging in SWAN and global consultation related to the Strategy process.
Our other key activity is engaging with, and supporting the editor community. Our online community meetings have had regular attendance with the celebration of Wikipedia's 20th birthday event in January 2021 being a high point. We have contributed to the organisation of ESEAP online activities, as well as engaging in SWAN and global consultation related to the Strategy process.


Our governance processes are well-established. Professionalising the role of the governing committee and increasing the diversity of the Wikimedia Australia membership and committee are ongoing goals for the next period.
Our governance processes are well-established. Professionalising the role of the governing committee and increasing the diversity of the Wikimedia Australia membership and committee are ongoing goals for the next period.
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Two key concerns regularly expressed by the editing community in Australia include the small, and reducing number of active editors and administrators combined with an increasing load of maintenance work required on Australian content.
Two key concerns regularly expressed by the editing community in Australia include the small, and reducing number of active editors and administrators combined with an increasing load of maintenance work required on Australian content.


Thus the best way we can support the existing community in Australia is to increase the number of editors working on Australian content, and to increase the capacity of existing editors by providing better tools for maintenance work.
Thus the best way we can support the existing community in Australia is to increase the number of editors working on Australian content, and to increase the capacity of existing editors by providing better tools for maintenance work.  
This will bring our community support goals in close alignment with outreach goals.
 
This will also bring our community support goals in close alignment with outreach goals.


On order to engage directly with current and emerging editors in Australia, we will continue our monthly online community meetings, which have been successful and a good solution for connecting our geographically dispersed community. We recognise that face to face events are also important for engagement and learning new skills. WikiClubs and User Groups, training events and meetups will continue to be locally organised, but can call on administrative and promotional support from the WMAU Coordinator.
On order to engage directly with current and emerging editors in Australia, we will continue our monthly online community meetings, which have been successful and a good solution for connecting our geographically dispersed community. We recognise that face to face events are also important for engagement and learning new skills. WikiClubs and User Groups, training events and meetups will continue to be locally organised, but can call on administrative and promotional support from the WMAU Coordinator.

Revision as of 22:45, 3 April 2021

This is Wikimedia Australia's annual plan for the 2021-22 year [in preparation April 2021]. It will form the basis for our Simple Annual Plan Grant application for the same time period.

Introduction

After three years of planning, implementing and reporting against an annual grant, Wikimedia Australia is ready to step up our capacity in order to realise a larger vision. Hence this Annual Plan includes a contracted Community Support and Outreach Coordinator position dedicated to assisting the Wikimedia Australia committee enact this plan across our key programs. As well as managing the chapter, we will focus our work in the two program areas of:

  1. Community Support
  2. Outreach and Engagement

Major achievements in 2020-21 included several successful outreach and engagement events, many of which involved community members as facilitators. The pandemic in 2020-21 caused us to re-think a number of our community support programs that focussed primarily on travel, and provided an opportunity to redirect funding and contract support for the community across several areas. A key priority for the next twelve months is to increase the capacity of editors working on Australia content across the Wikimedia projects. This will help reduce the workload of those involved in maintenance of Australian content. It will involve education and awareness campaigns and building strategic partnerships with organisations that can support this work.

Our other key activity is engaging with, and supporting the editor community. Our online community meetings have had regular attendance with the celebration of Wikipedia's 20th birthday event in January 2021 being a high point. We have contributed to the organisation of ESEAP online activities, as well as engaging in SWAN and global consultation related to the Strategy process.

Our governance processes are well-established. Professionalising the role of the governing committee and increasing the diversity of the Wikimedia Australia membership and committee are ongoing goals for the next period.

Community support program

Two key concerns regularly expressed by the editing community in Australia include the small, and reducing number of active editors and administrators combined with an increasing load of maintenance work required on Australian content.

Thus the best way we can support the existing community in Australia is to increase the number of editors working on Australian content, and to increase the capacity of existing editors by providing better tools for maintenance work.

This will also bring our community support goals in close alignment with outreach goals.

On order to engage directly with current and emerging editors in Australia, we will continue our monthly online community meetings, which have been successful and a good solution for connecting our geographically dispersed community. We recognise that face to face events are also important for engagement and learning new skills. WikiClubs and User Groups, training events and meetups will continue to be locally organised, but can call on administrative and promotional support from the WMAU Coordinator.

Maintenance Tools

Goals: Fund the development of bots, tools to perform Australian maintenance

    • Pay a coder to build Australian Census Tool, eg Update for 2016 census - with minimal human endorsement - plus training and promotion about how it works, Weather data from BOM

(eg Australian community to develop the coding brief, WMAU contract the coder and supervise coder)

Increase the number of Australian administrators, increase the breadth of functions we can support: Strategy - Outreach to particular cohorts; including rewards; feedback       - promote tools - run regular communications about Wiki tools

Grants: Experiment with seed funding to engage new audiences - data hack-a-thons, hacker thons - activities from Wiki, become a data provider - visualisations - from data scientist - develop bots/tools - set challenges from Wikidata - research projects - use the API to ...

Strategies - being a data provider for GovHack - promote tools - run regular communications about Wiki tools

Indigenous engagement

Indigenous content projects, including the Noongarpedia project remain an area of importance for Wikimedia Australia, and the Wikimedia movement. As an Indigenous language project promoting knowledge equity it involves partnerships with both the Noongar and the academic communities and is a tangible model for future Indigenous language partnerships in Australia, and globally. The significant project goal for the next period is to continue to tell the story of Noongarpedia. This will involve engaging with The Noongar community, Western Australian organisations, such as Museums and universities, in order to further develop Noongarpedia. We see it as a priority to follow on from initial engagement with the WMF language committee at Wikimania 2019, to build global understanding of local issues of colonial impact, cultural impediments and support for the project team at Wikimania 2021. Take a leadership role Address/improve Australian First nations content on Wiki projects - Engagement of the Australian Wiki community with Australian Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander communities Output: Issues and discussion paper on cultural knowledge concerns     Strategies for a pilot: small advisory group meeting to develop the paper - Partner with GLAM organisations, eg SLQ who are already working in this area, for networks, protocols and secondary content (CC licensed) - Work with institutions to request content is published CC-licensed - Wiki Scholar/WiR positions dedicated to this topic, including relationship building, brokering conversations, meetings of key groups - Develop Australian Indigenous cultural protocols on Wikimedia platforms - Mediation/negotiation on Wiki projects between editors - policy on payment of Indigenous consultants - support a research agenda

Mini Grants Volunteer Support Programme

WMAU offers a mini grants programme for Australian contributors to obtain resources or share their knowledge about the projects and/or WMAU activities. Funds involved are generally small amounts and 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. All applicants are required to be in good standing as well as to have a demonstrated contribution history available, including providing a report on their activity. Grants: Experiment with seed funding to engage new audiences - data hack-a-thons, hacker thons - activities from Wiki, become a data provider - visualisations - from data scientist - develop bots/tools - set challenges from Wikidata - research projects - use the API to ...


Outreach and engagement

Outreach to the wider Australian population is a priority, in order to increase engagement. Wikimedia Australia activities continue to increase the number of people who know about Wikipedia and related projects, who understand how the projects work, and who are attracted to contributing. Specific target audiences include educators, the GLAM sector, and rural and Indigenous communities. A Communications plan is a high priority to guide this outreach and engagement goal. We will use our Coordinator's expertise in media outreach to work on training and support for partner organisations, as well as for increased understanding of the value Wikimedia brings to partners. Advocacy opportunities are part of this plan.

Communications plan

  - audiences: members, donors, media, public   - messages:    - redevelop the WMAU website to be outward focused, rather than knowledge management for the committee    See other chapters's sites, e.g. https://wikimedia.or.id/ http://wikimedia.org.za/    Could re-skin the WMAU wiki to look better. examples: https://skins.wmflabs.org/    - Collateral for community engagement, stickers for laptops - use WMAU/Wikipedia logos    - Develop more professional looking kit for presentations, handouts,    - Video content for new editors/short intro to certain topics/skills    Engage with media

  • Focus on journalist audience on both
  • understanding Wikipedia and
  • writing stories about Wikipedia projects

- particularly regional media areas, and small topic-based media - engage citizen journalists - Partner with Trove, National & State Libraries Association (NSLA)

Advocacy Ensure WMAU is represented on key Australian bodies Partnership with other Australian - AOASG - alignment with campaigns - within our area of expertise, remaining a-political

Goal: Increase editor community working on Australian content Strategies: Improve the environment so we don't lose existing editors - raise general public awareness - through talks, media etc - education sector, curriculum, eg local history - photography competition for schools - universities, including Indigenous students. Speak to students, clubs, Union, ongoing promotion, support divisions - Uni Sydney course follow up, and promotion to other universities. Contact with Frances and team for publishing/replicating - postgraduate /Higher Degree Research students, eg ANU program. WikiClubs, events for O-Week, pamphlets, Coordinator in University, eg Uni Library, Postgrad Studies Board, Student Union, include Wikidata in The Carpentries & digital research tools

Education sector

Wiki Scholar/WiR positions - pilot with specific Indigenous community / institution depending on availability/interest Research projects - leverage opportunities for partnerships which builds knowledge of Wikipedia projects/Wikidata etc, and amplifies the work our funding  

Engagement with GLAMs

Wikimedia Australia has a long history of GLAM-Wiki projects and continues to look for opportunities to build awareness of the benefits to GLAMs of partnering with Wikimedia. As well as collaboration with larger GLAMs, particularly State libraries, there are opportunities this year, to collaborate with small to medium regional libraries, historical societies, museums and galleries in the provision of staff training online. Information programs for GLAM & education - eg public libraries - not necessarily editing training - but advertise training event to follos - online - Series of programs for university or school: online presentations, Strategies: Education coordinator to facilitate programs

Facilitate online training modules

During 1Lib1Ref 2020 Wikimedia Australia is trialling facilitated online training for Australian library staff in two states. Once this course is developed we aim to market this as a professional development activity for libraries, particularly in costly to access regional areas. Content is customised for Australian contexts, and facilitated by experienced trainers.

Chapter governance

WMAU must continue to fulfil 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 WMF 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.

Committee handover and strategy face to face meeting

It is now two years since the committee or the community has been able to meet for a strategic planning summit. We retain the need for one face to face committee meeting, as this is so important to induct new committee members and develop our culture. The committee is intentionally made up of members from as many different states and territories as possible. We have scheduled this for later in 2021, and hope travel will allow us to conduct this meeting face to face. We will again aim for the following in terms of our governance committee:

  • At least 2 new recruits to the committee in 2021
  • At least 4 states/territories represented on the committee
  • Increase the diversity profile of the committee in terms of language, age, gender, etc

Budget

Wikimedia Australia budget 2019-20 (includes per activity/per program targets)

Metrics

Global metrics targets and progress

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