IT Development/Launchpad

This is a proposed policy that has not yet been approved. Please offer any feedback on the talk page.

This page details a possible Wikimedia UK technology platform. In essence, it would be a Wiki Loves Monuments style competition, but for IT tools. It was discussed at the March meeting of the Technology Committee (minutes).

Objectives

• Wikimedia UK would like to make a positive impact on the success of the Wikimedia mission through the targeted use of its resources to support technology projects..
• It would also be useful for the charity to cultivate an evidence basis/track record of the positive impact it can make, in order to galvanise both volunteer and institutional support. (With the additional benefit of developing a technology "brand" that opens doors further down the line.) Wikimedia Deutschland (and its association with the Toolserver) provides one example of how this process can work.
• However, it will be necessary to balance the charity's long term ambitions with its short term resource constraints in a way that maximises value for money but does not appear to mislead or otherwise treat stakeholders unfairly. To put it another way, it would be good to have a project which could grow over time, rather than requiring a large initial leap of faith.

Core pitch

An example banner, just to give a sense of the possibilities (assuming the name Launchpad - or a variant - is used)

• The creation of a central location (microsite, i.e. [name].wikimedia.uk) and branding for Wikimedia UK's technology portfolio. Initially, this would be populated with a small number of existing case studies. This would be low cost and could lean on existing communications expertise, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel. The focus would be on narrative, with links out to source code, exemplars, and so on.
• Possible names, drawn from similar activities undertaken by others, include Launchpad, Incubator, Catapult and Nursery.
• In order to generate further content and build the brand, the charity could host some kind of Wiki Loves Monuments-style competition e.g. for tools that have been created or significantly improved during the month of August (thus including Wikimania). Example name: The Big Launch.
  • Small prizes (up to £100 in value) could be used to encourage contributions. The amount of judge time required would be proportional to success, which is nice. Though the potential for Wikimedia UK to further support the projects would be obvious, no firm commitment would be given − the prizes themselves would need to stand alone. Winners would be showcased on the Launchpad itself.
  • Ideally, the contest would pull in contributors from outside the Wikimedia world - but this should be regarded as a stretch goal for the first round. A more realistic (but still valuable) central goal for the first round would be to engage the existing Wikimedia developer community (among which Wikimedia UK have a relatively low profile).
  • The exact requirements for entry could be fixed nearer the time (a minmum core of being in-keeping with the charity's mission ,open source and open licensed notwithstanding). A reasonable middle ground might be to set out 3 or 4 categories that would inspire contributions as much as they limited them. Suggestions: Wikidata visualisations, tool restorations (popular, but currently non-functional or no longer active), or anything with a UK-specific application.

External links

• Wiki Loves Monuments microsite
• One analysis of the WMF's coding challenge: announcement, results