Expert outreach/Jisc Ambassador/Summary 8 September 2013

This is an overview of activity for the Jisc Wikimedia Ambassador project from the start of the project until 8th September. I have worked mostly 3 days per week since 8th July, when the time was freed up by my other jobs. I was on holiday for the first two weeks of August. I was also involved in a conference for another job from 4th-6th September, which frees up more days for this project in the rest of September.

Planning

Objectives and intended outcomes for the project have been defined and a range of activities have been set out and time-budgeted. Some work has been done to turn this into a month-by-month plan, although since we are still finding out which events can take place and when, some of the plan is still in flux. The objectives, outcomes, activites and plan will be published on-wiki once final.

The objectives are "To demonstrate how publicly-funded research and education projects can benefit from crowdsourcing, using Wikimedia as a platform and a model. To capture this knowledge in a way that permanently changes how Jisc and the wider sector works with Wikimedia." These objectives include showing how open and free content are crucial to the success of Wikimedia projects. They also involve raising understanding of Wikimedia as a whole, and putting processes in place so that people in research or education know what to do to engage with those projects. A lot of Jisc work is at least as relevant to Wikisource, Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata as it is to Wikipedia, and often when people ask how to get their content "on Wikipedia", what they really need to know is why and how to engage with these other projects.

Events

Arranged so far

• A Wikipedia/WikiVet editathon at the Royal Veterinary College, London, open to both veterinary professionals and the public. A comms plan, publicity text and booking form have been created, and approved by WikiVet contacts. Publicity is starting now.
• An innovation-in-teaching seminar at University of Oxford, on the topic of "Using Wikimedia to link Open Education and Research Impact", to be followed by an Ada Lovelace editathon, also at the University of Oxford
• Workshop at the Learning and Teaching Experts Group

Currently investigating

• A webinar for Jisc staff on the overlaps between Jisc and Wikimedia and why they are working together
• An open education/research impact event at University of Bristol, along the same lines as that for Oxford
• An event with Jisc Netskills
• Presenting at a Jisc Innovation Group meeting
• Wikipedia training for Jisc-funded staff in Manchester

Publications

All publications arising from the project will be licensed under CC-By-SA.

• Jisc infoNet have agreed that the documentation I create about Wikimedia and crowdsourcing can be published as an infoKit. The final version of the infoKit will be submitted in January and published in February. The aim is to publish early drafts on-wiki in September/October, and to use events and mailing lists to get feedback from Jisc staff and other stakeholders. The eventual size of the infoKit will be 8-9000 words in a series of short, self-contained pages. Two thousand words have been written so far.
• A lot of work has gone into a flowchart of small pages on the Wikimedia UK wiki to explain in a small amount of text how project holders can engage with Wikimedia. Though there are presently gaps, this is nearly complete. Additional entry points could be introduced for different kinds of prospective partner (e.g. Jisc-funded project, GLAM staff, University staff). The intention is similar to what Andrew Gray did in his write-up, but using short text and bullet-points rather than a long-form document. Whereas Andrew's work provides a lot of detail for researchers, the present work is aimed at a wider variety of stakeholders. This could be included as an interactive tool in the infoKit.
• A case study about Humphrey Southall's Wikipedia educational assignment is ready and has been approved by Southall. I'm just waiting for him to approve the release of a couple of illustrative images under a free licence.

Currently investigating

• A short brochure introducing Wikisource: already had very useful input from the Wikisource community towards this.
• Whether I can add documentation about Commons to Jisc Digital Media's collection of advice sheets
• Other Jisc communication channels

Content sharing

• I have discussed with Caren Milloy the possibility of Wikipedians getting access to some Jisc Journal Archive papers on scientific instruments, as part of a Wikipedia Library arrangement. These materials are not freely reusable, so whether this can happen depends on negotiation with the content owners.
• I have advised, and offered further help to, the Digitised Diseases project and the British Geological Survey about sharing images through Commons.

Finance

So far, the only non-staff expenses have been three train trips to London for meetings with Jisc and WMUK. Rooms for events are being provided freely by event partners. Friends and colleagues have kindly provided London accommodation.

This page has been created as part of the 2013-14 partnership between Jisc and Wikimedia UK