Partnership advisory board

Terms of Reference

Purpose of the group

The Partnerships Advisory Group was established through consultation with the Wikimedia community about the organisation’s committee structure, with an initial meeting taking place in October 2015 and a follow up meeting in April 2016 where this Terms of Reference was agreed. The overall purpose of the group is to advise and support the WMUK staff team in the development of our work with partner institutions. The group will have a particular focus on the education and GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sectors, but with a broader remit to explore where there is the greatest potential for WMUK to deliver its strategy and achieve maximum reach and impact. The group will:

• Act as a hub of expertise within our trustee group, and enable the charity to bring in external expertise regarding potential partnership activity
• Identify best and next practice for open knowledge within the GLAM and education sectors and beyond, and advise the Executive on the best way of supporting partner organisations to achieve this, to the maximum benefit of WMUK
• Consider and advise on potential partnerships across a broad range of GLAMs as well as institutions such as universities, research institutions, government and NGOs
• Promote WMUK to potential partners, and build high level contacts and interest in the above sectors on behalf of the charity
• Identify opportunities to secure additional resources on behalf of the charity, such as Gifts in Kind, grant funding, staff secondments etc.

Membership and Meetings

The Partnership Advisory Group is not a Board committee and membership will therefore be informal and relatively fluid, with the intention that trustees and staff will form the core of the group plus invited volunteers, partners or other people with experience, knowledge and/or networks in this area of work. There is no specific restriction on numbers, or period of membership, but to be most effective there will generally be a maximum of 10 members at any one time. The group will meet as needed, probably two or three times a year, with meetings convened and chaired by the Chief Executive.  As an informal group, no minutes will be recorded, although a member of the staff team will usually take and circulate notes of key decisions and action points.

Accountability and Review

There is no formal requirement for reporting back on the activities of the group, however the Chief Executive is likely to refer to particular discussions, recommendations or programme outcomes as part of his or her quarterly Chief Executive’s Report. The Group will review its purpose and value and revisit the Terms of Reference no later than October 2017 – two years following its first meeting.