2014 Activity Plan
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This annual activity plan is based on our five year strategy 2014-2019 and our 2014-15 budget. Each section describes the area of work and is then linked to a more detailed page behind covering each of the programme areas.
In previous years we allocated a specific amount against each programme area. This year we have made broader allocations to "Programme Areas", with indicative amounts against each budget that will be subject to amendment during the year as circumstances dictate.
Community
Volunteer Support
Volunteer support is the central key to growing our capacity and engagement with our community. An extensive volunteer programme has been established and a Volunteer Support member of staff appointed. She has created a working plan and we intend to commission a study into developing our volunteer base when capacity allows within the next year. A lot of the activities in this stream of activity will come from the proposals in our agreed volunteer activity programme – see the volunteering strategy. This budget has, as its fundamental aim, the ambition that initiatives come from our community. If staff support is needed in addition to financial support, it will be given.
Key elements include local activities focused on Wales and Scotland (Wales supported additionally by the Wales Manager and the Living Paths project); local activities in England: volunteer meetings, editathons, training for the volunteers (as per demand, e.g. media and photography workshops, to supplement our Train the Trainer courses and the continuing support through our Virtual Learning Environment); grants programme & scholarships. It has in the past and will continue to react to initiatives from the community.
Main goals are supporting new volunteers in order to grow the community, and supporting the community with resources to increase their activity and participation in WMUK projects.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Volunteer Support
Annual Conference and AGM
The Annual Conference has traditionally been the opportunity for members of the chapter, and anyone else interested, to discuss topics of interest and make the annual decisions at the AGM. We aim to generate discussion about chapter’s activities.
In 2014 we have reduced the costs as Wikimania 2014 will serve part of this purpose.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Annual Conference and AGM
Wikimania 2014
Wikimania 2014 will be held in August in London. WMUK has supported the bid and the implementation team. During the next eleven months we will be allocating staff time to supporting the team, especially in the areas of fundraising and communications. We will also be employing an administrator until February 2014 to assist the team.
The goal in this area is to support this independent community event as an opportunity to raise international awareness of our chapter and compliment our 2014-15 programme.
For details see
Train the Trainers
As a part of Wikimedia UK's remit to support Wikimedia outreach projects and develop volunteer skills, we continue to deliver the Train the Trainers programme where volunteer Wikimedians are taught to deliver effective training. With ambition to build our outreach programme, there is a need to continue delivery of this strand of work, particularly focusing on geographical areas that lack trainers.
Our aim here is to increase the number and quality of WMUK’s events, eventually leading to more UK based editors doing better or more effective editing. This area feeds into other programme activities where we are delivering outreach events, e.g. Program 2. Better quality training should result in more retention in those trained at the Wikimedia events.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Train the Trainers
Development budget
The development budget seeks to support the day to day system administration of the Chapter’s IT infrastructure, including the hosting of its community and internal wikis, databases, email accounts and so on. This is vital to ensure as a movement entity we are managing data and donations in a secure and professional way. In addition, it seeks to solicit, develop and deliver community generated ideas for software projects that will support content production or improvement.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Development budget
Promoting open knowledge
GLAM Outreach
The aim of this programme area is extending the GLAM work through local and national events, lead by the GLAM Organiser and also resulting from initiatives from our volunteers and GLAM environment. We are also working with our community to find opportunities to improve content, secure material for open use, crosstrain editors. This is done through outreach activities, GLAMcamp-style events and partnerships with particular cultural institutions. We work to balance the GLAMs that are keenest to work with us against the geographic and subject preferences of our community.
Ultimately, we are working to improve the content of Wikimedia projects through partnerships with GLAMs, and increasing their awareness of the open knowledge movement.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/GLAM Outreach
University and Education Outreach
Wikimedia UK is working with some of the country's most respected and innovative institutions to explore how Wikimedia projects can benefit UK education. In partnership with universities and support bodies, we are gradually establishing Wikimedia as part of the landscape of UK education (as on the UK wiki).
The aim is to be extending the education work through local and national events, led by the Education Organiser and also resulting from the initiatives from the volunteers. Working with our community to find opportunities to improve content, secure material for open use, train new editors. This is done through outreach activities, workshop/conference-style events, partnerships with particular education institutions.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/University and Education Outreach
Extending Reach
We seek to target groups and individuals normally under-represented in our community, by supporting outreach projects aimed at increasing participation in the Wikimedia movement (especially amongst women, or involving any minority ethnic, LGBT, linguistic or other community in the UK). We are working with our community to find opportunities to increase participation from the relevant groups, and improve the content in the under-represented areas on Wikimedia projects. This is done through outreach activities, partnerships with particular outreach institutions, on-wiki initiatives (such as Wiki Loves Monuments). These activities have parallel aims of improving content and attracting more participation from the target groups.
Additionally, we are working with scientists, scholars, learned societies and funders to help experts improve targeted content areas of Wikipedia and its sister projects, bringing that expertise to the widest possible public, in the stream of work called Expert Outreach. Many scholarly societies are, like Wikimedia UK, registered charities whose mission includes informing and educating the general public. These common goals are advanced with internal training events, publications and public events. This work complements WMUK's partnerships with GLAMs and Education sector.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Extending Reach
Merchandise and publications
Through the promotion of our work by publishing guides to what we do, education work, GLAM projects, How to Edit, How to use Commons etc we offer online and in-the-hand material to enthuse newcomers and reinforce the learning we offer. Of course T-shirts, mugs and other merchandise work too to reward people, help them identify with our work, and help brand our workshops and conferences.
We use the materials to support outreach events, activities, and the Wikimedia UK volunteer community in general. The information booklets also serve an aim of raising awareness of free knowledge and Wikimedia UK, eventually leading to more engagement of external parties with our projects.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Merchandise and publications
Wikimedians in Residence
In the past year we have seen more institutions (GLAM, education and others) working with Wikimedia UK. The chapter is nurturing the drive to share collections and information to increase the sum of human knowledge. The UK Wikimedian in Residence programme is a powerful expression of this drive. We are part-funding Wikimedian in Residence positions to support opportunities in particular areas. The number of positions depends on negotiations with partner institutions about how a Wikimedian in Residence fits with their organisation and how much support they will make available. These posts build strong bridges with institutions and also act as a focus for community involvement and development.
Each residency has individual goals that are in line with Wikimedia UK's objectives; to learn more please see below.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Wikimedians in Residence
Living Paths project
We are continuing to deliver the project, which was started in 2013-14. The aim is to develop the content and community of Wicipedia Cymraeg and English language Wikipedia in Wales through encouraging and training new editors.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Living Paths project
Membership and public support
External relations
WMUK takes its global responsibilities very seriously. We occupy a key role in the movement - we are one of the larger chapters and unusually accessible to the worldwide community owing to our use of English and our geographical position. For that reason, we see ourselves as working in two important ways to fulfil our duties - supporting other chapters, and strengthening the general open knowledge movement. Several staff are responsible for this area of activity - Stevie Benton, Daria Cybulska, Katherine Bavage and Jon Davies.
For historic reasons the UK has an unusually large share of humanity's cultural patrimony in its Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums. Enabling open access to such material is an important part of our GLAM program.
Open Space Advocacy Work
Open space advocacy work - we want to make an impact in the wider open knowledge movement. This is a new area where we will be trialing various approaches to benchmark for the following year - in particular building an Open Coalition, and engaging with the Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU. As an aspiration we want to be seen as subject experts in the field of Open.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Open Space Work
International Chapter Support
WMUK worked hard at the Berlin and Milan conferences to support the emergence of the Chapters’ Association. With that on ‘pause’, we agreed with other leading chapters that we should pick up the positive aspects of the Association and ensure they were developed.
To that end we are planning initiatives to share our best practice with other chapters and support them in our joint aims. We have allocated a budget specifically to helping with this work. As London is the host of Wikimania 2014 we are unusually well placed to offer support to the other chapters, particularly those which are developing.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/International Chapter Support
Finance
General Finance
Our finance budget is allocated to ensuring first rate financial management of our resources including matching expenditure to all aspects of our programme. This will happen principally through three means:
- Strict internal financial controls and protocols
- The use of external accountancy expertise on a regular basis to support the staff and trustees in creating accurate and timely financial reports.
In 2014-15 this budget will include a management accountant on a part-time basis to ensure the timeliness and reliability of our new Quarterly Financial Management Reporting system.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Finance
Fundraising
This programme refers specifically to the current costs of processing membership fees and donations by staff and our outside agencies such as Paypal, as well as other fundraising costs which may be incurred.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Fundraising
Governance management and administration
Audit
- External auditors to offer guarantees that our financial systems and accounting reflect the best practice of the UK Charity commission and Company Law.
Membership
Apart from these procedures, the aim of this strand of work is to build membership so it can support the chapter - we are nurturing volunteers and improving the democratic framework of the charity. Growing the membership will also make it more representative of the UK readership.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Membership
Board costs
This funding is allocated to support the board meetings, board training and exceptionally in July 2014 the external review recommended by the Hudson Report. This allowance of up to £10,000 accounts for the increase in the budget although the change in size from 7 to 11 trustees and the institution of our Governance Committee and Audit and Risk Committee will have an impact.
Our aim is to ensure that our trustees are supported and able to carry out their duties with sufficient support.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Board costs
Office costs
The costs of our rental and all other associated office costs will be £50,600. This includes use of shared meeting rooms, a volunteer working space and the ability to entertain and accommodate visitors and host meetings, seven days a week. We are able to use the office as a means of strengthening and growing of our community.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Office costs
Legal and consultancy costs
We will seek to amalgamate as far as possible any legal and consultancy fees into our project budgets but we feel it is prudent to maintain a separate budget to cover the management support we might need and the broad range of legal questions we have encountered and for which, despite the kind support of the Foundation, UK legal advice is often essential. We also need to account for the final follow-up to the Hudson Review in 2014.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Legal and consultancy costs
Communications
We will seek to represent the Wikimedia movement to the fullest extent within the UK, and the wider movement, particularly in terms of public affairs and advocacy. This budget allows for us to attend conferences and events related to open knowledge and open access. It also allows us to influence opinion formers and policy makers in appropriate fields. It will support ongoing work to build and develop a coalition of fellow traveller organisations to allow for greater collaboration and add volume to our collective voice. To this end it will also support the hosting of a small event to bring together individuals and organisations to explore the potential of future collaboration and the exertion of collective influence. It also allows for the production of appropriate communications materials such as our annual review booklet, guide to Wikimedia Commons and guide to getting started with Wikipedia.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Communications
Staff
Salaries
WMUK does not foresee any increases in staffing in the next financial year. We aim to remain at our current level of 9 FTE including one person, our Wales Manager, on a 12 month contract and one person sponsored by the Foundation working on Wikimania liaison.
All staff resources are assigned to programme work in a quarterly exercise to determine the monetary value of staffing allocated to our seven programme areas.
We are awarding staff a 3% salary increase to reflect the UK’s cost of living increases. There will also be a further £3,000 to be used as needed to reflect changes in staff duties. The staff organogram can be seen here. This budget also includes some staff travel and training.
- For details see 2014 Activity Plan/Staff
Other Staff Costs
£10,000 for other sundry staff costs, such as:
- Payroll & recruitment costs
- Staff training