Minutes 2023-09-15

Wikimedia UK board meeting

15th September 2023, 10 am - 12.30 pm at the RSA

Chair’s Welcome

1. Present, Apologies, and Introductions

Present: Monisha Shah, Vivan Wineman, Rod Ward, Caroline Ball, Adrian Beidas, Daria Cybulska, Jane Carlin, Lucy Crompton-Reid, Sharon Mitcheson, Mark Cruickshank  (remote), Natasha Iles (remote), Sammy Tarling (remote) and Chuks Ogbonna (minutes).

Apologies: Sangeet Bhullar, Marnie Woodward, and Julian Manieson.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, including the three new trustees.

Declaration of interests

None.

Review and Approval of minutes of the previous meeting

Approved.

Matters arising

None.

Consent Items

Appointment of Alex Ashby and Sarvesh Ramachandran to the Board

Decision: Approved

Agreement to add Alex Ashby to bank mandates in his capacity as Treasurer

Decision: Approved

Executive Reports

CEO Report (LCR)

LCR gave the report, noting the presence of the new trustees following a recruitment exercise for a new Treasurer, and drawing attention to the appointment of a new staff member, Outreach and Community Coordinator Rupal Karia. She noted that her presentation on our climate residency at Wikimania in Singapore was well attended and received, and that the conference as a whole was a great opportunity to build connections.

There was a discussion about the considerable amount of work that has taken place in relation to the Online Safety Bill, with the Board praising all that has been achieved by LCR and the wider team.

LCR and MS proposed moving the Governance Committee to a standing committee that meets when needed, rather than on a quarterly basis. The board supported this proposal.

Organisational Dashboard for Q2 (LCR)

LCR gave the report, clarifying that as we are halfway through the year, we may be on course to achieve some targets even if the figure looks low compared to previous years. NI noted that we have been losing audiences on Twitter as the platform’s popularity amongst our stakeholders and audiences has declined.

Further discussion included the following points:

• Some targets are linked to funding from WMF, whereas others are internal. These are indicated on the full quarterly performance report.
• There was some discussion over whether it would be helpful to add numeric figures to the dashboard. LCR responded that this would only work for some of the KPIs, and would need further explanation. The purpose of this is just to give a snapshot of the organisation’s progress and performance, and that other papers are available which provide a lot more detail.
• AB praised the Strategic Report, and noted the relationship between the metrics presented through the quarterly performance reports and the quantitative achievements foregrounded in the report.
• MS concluded that the board needs to trust the senior management team is representing achievements fairly and accurately on the dashboard, while also noting that the detailed papers allowed for scrutiny and challenge as necessary LCR noted that as part of planning our next strategy, she would welcome input into what metrics the board would like to be highlighted.

Programmes Report (DC)

DC spoke to the report and highlighted several areas of particular interest (both within and outwith the report), including:

• Biases related to religion
• Working with knowledge communities in a trauma-informed way
• Interest in our programme from movement leaders  
• Skills development for volunteers, including our collaboration with Wikimedia Argentina on the Volunteer Supporters Network, and our work with Tochi Precious.
• The change in staff at Wikimedia Ireland
• The importance of the models we are developing in terms of information literacy, based on the belief that an informed citizen is a better citizen.

MS invited questions and comments on DC’s report and further discussion included the following points:

• It was noted that many of our activities have worldwide relevance. How can Wikimedia UK’s work be utilised by other chapters? LCR and DC responded with some examples of sharing our work internationally, including through Let’s Connect and more informal mechanisms.  
• There was a discussion about our work with schools and universities, with LCR noting that whilst we have an established programme with the latter, getting funding for school-based activities has been more of a struggle. It was noted however that even within universities, we often rely on individual champions, which is not always a sustainable strategy for embedding Wikimedia in the long term.
• Trustees were highly positive about the extent and reach of her programmes. MS shared that she feels the organisation needs something of a culture shift, where we stop thinking of ourselves as a small organisation but one with a significant and growing profile and impact. She encouraged the staff and board to think more strategically about how to sustain this growth.

Development and Communications Report (NI)

NI gave the report, highlighting our success in terms of project funding, and the expectation that we will meet our target on small donations by the end of Q4. She noted, as per previous discussions, that the Christmas period tends to be particularly good in terms of donations and that budgeted income is phased to reflect this. She added that moving to the new CRM should enable the team to support the donor journey much more effectively.

• In response to a question, the SMT confirmed that membership payments are still not seamless; although the vast majority of our individual income is from small donations rather than membership fees. NI added that she anticipated the new CRM solving some of these problems.

Action Point: NI to review mechanisms for membership payments, particularly setting up direct debits.

There was a further question about staff training on the new CRM, and if there will be a report to show if it has been a good investment. LCR reminded the board that we agreed to report on the new system after the first year; although NI noted that it may take longer to demonstrate a return on investment. She and SM mentioned that so far it is much more user friendly than CiviCRM.

Finance and Operations Report (SM)

The report was taken as read. SM highlighted that we will be looking to move funds to the Insignis platform within the next few months, and that there is some work involved in setting up the account. It was agreed that Adrian Beidas and Alex Ashby would be the board signatories to the account alongside Lucy and Sharon from the staff team,

SM confirmed that we successfully moved out of Europoint in August, and that we are still in discussion with the British Library about a possible move there. The board asked about IT considerations, but as the team has been hybrid for several years we are all set up to work remotely for a period. Items that we need to keep (e.g. files, merchandise) are in storage.

Reports from Committees

ARC, 4th September (JC)

JC gave the report, and confirmed that the Annual Accounts have now been signed. There was some discussion about the service provided by our current auditors and it was agreed that we should go out to tender for new auditors.

There was further discussion about the OSB including recent developments and associated risks. It was agreed that we should consult lawyers independent of Wikimedia Foundation to determine the risks to Wikimedia UK. MC offered to support this process. Action: LCR to follow up and update the board at the next meeting.

SM brought the board’s attention to some items on the board finance commentary, including an overspend on staffing costs (mainly related to an increase in restricted funds compared to budget) and an overspend in Governance - approved by Monisha and ARC - related to trustee recruitment. Our year end forecast shows a total projected income of over £1 million for the first time. AA said he was very happy with the report. LCR mentioned that she and SM are planning to hold finance training for trustees before the next board meeting.

Any Other Business

NI told the group that she’s about to send over a couple of things concerning Wiki Loves Monuments and updates on upcoming NLHF activities.

MS thanked everyone for attending the meeting.

MS and LCR thanked Jane Carlin for her huge contribution to the board over the past five years as trustee and Chair of ARC. JC expressed her pleasure at being able to contribute. She was given a round of applause. JC, MS and LCR also noted their thanks for MW (not present) for all her input and support as Treasurer.

Meeting ends

The formal meeting was followed by a presentation from guest speaker Dr Martin Poulter, Wikimedian in Residence at Khalili Foundation, and a short question and answer session with the trustees.

Date of next meeting:

Wednesday 13th December - Q4 board meeting, in person, afternoon meeting