2013 Annual Review/Wiki version/Governance
Governance
In September 2012 Wikimedia UK and the Wikimedia Foundation jointly commissioned a governance review. Conducted by Compass Partnership, the review was intended to help Wikimedia UK to establish good governance practices after some issues around conflicts of interest. The review took an in-depth look at our charitable governance with a view to making recommendations to improve processes and procedures.
For a charity in its first year after receiving recognition from the Charity Commission the review was a very valuable process and led to a set of 50 recommendations to improve our charitable governance. The implementation of these recommendations is well under way and includes allowing for the co-option of trustees with specific skills and the establishment of various committees to oversee specific activities of the charity. Steps taken so far include the instigation of a trustee recruitment process and the establishment of a Governance Committee.
Another benefit of the governance review is the benchmark it provides for other organisations within our global movement. The review and the recommendations have been made publicly available and other Wikimedia chapters are encouraged to read the report and assess how their governance compares to the good practices it outlines.
Wikimedia UK is continuing to take proactive steps to improve and enhance its governance practices and policies and makes these steps public wherever possible. For more information about the review please visit our website.