Tender for Phase Three of WMUK Governance Review
The board of Wikimedia UK has agreed, in line with the Hudson Review and the subsequent Chapman Review, to hire a consultant to conduct the third independent review of governance.
Tender specification for review consultant
Part 1
Governance audit for Wikimedia UK
In January 2013, Mike Hudson of Compass Partnership completed a comprehensive review of our governance, which is available online. The published Governance Review included 50 recommendations, including a recommendation for follow-up reviews: While the organisation is developing quickly and as an outcome of this review, an external governance audit should be commissioned to take place nine months and 18 months after delivery of this review.
In October 2013 Rosie Chapman carried out the first follow-up review and reported on the charity's progress on most of those recommendations. She was, however, asked, to omit consideration of those relating to personal working relationships given the recent board changes that had just taken place.
Tenders are now invited to carry out the second follow-up review.
Proposed scope of the review
1. Review progress on working relationships since the Hudson Review, and report on compliance with the remaining unreviewed Hudson recommendations:
- 38: Discussions to be handled with respect
- 39: Governance audit to monitor tone of interactions between staff and trustees
- 43: Respectful and professional working relationships
- 46: Respectful and professional communication
2. Briefly review and report on the actions taken by the charity to effect the recommendations of the Chapman review.
3. Offer commentary on how WMUK procedures compare with those in similar sized UK charities.
Proposed list of tasks
- Read the Governance Reviews and background papers, and attend inception meeting with CEO and Chair of the board of trustees.
- Review recent board papers, minutes and correspondence
- Attend as an observer the Board meeting of October 4th 2014 in London
- Obtain feedback from and discuss governance progress with the CEO, staff and board members (including meetings as needed)
- Prepare a draft written report, and discuss with the charity's governance committee and/or main board
- Provide final report and feedback in person to the board at their meeting in Cambridge on 13th December 2014.
In line with the charity's open mission, it is intended that the final written report will be published online, and the author should be prepared to agree a suitable copyright licence (eg CC-BY-SA) to allow that to happen.
Part 2
Board workshop
Based on observations made during part 1 of the tender, and any additional review of working practices, prepare and deliver a focused workshop for the board in Cambridge on Sunday 14th December (the day after the December board meeting). The exact scope will be for discussion, based on the author's observations.
Tender
Please include the following information with your tender:
- A description of your previous engagement in such work, especially in the not-for-profit sector.
- Two referees, preferably from organisations similar in size/age/growth rate to WMUK who can attest to the quality of your work.
- A description of the methodology you would employ.
- A provisional timetable for the work.
- Your fee for the work including all extras. Please include any necessary costs of travel to and from Cambridge. The charity will cover the costs of a hotel over the weekend of 13/14 December if requested.
Please send the tender to Richard Nevell, richard.nevell@wikimedia.org.uk
Closing date
The final closing date for tenders is: July 15th at 5pm. If you would like to tender but are unable to meet that deadline please let us know immediately.
About Wikimedia UK
Wikimedia UK is a UK charity that promotes and supports Wikipedia, its sister projects, and other open educational resources in the UK. Following the principles of Wikipedia, we are a volunteer-led organisation, and volunteers have a central role in all our activities. We were established in 2008 and were granted UK charitable status in 2011. We are one of over thirty similar associations in countries around the world, recognised by the Wikimedia Foundation but operationally and legal independent. We work with individuals, museums, universities, businesses and media companies to make freely licensed content available and to help other people re-use open content. We seek to have a close relationship with other open content organizations in the UK, and with the global community of Wikimedia readers and editors.
Useful information
The Governance Reviews can be seen at http://uk.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_UK_gov_review_rpt_v5.pdf and https://wikimedia.org.uk/wiki/File:Interim_governance_audit_report,_Oct_2013.pdf
Please send your tender to Richard Nevell, richard.nevell@wikimedia.org.uk
Further information can be obtained from the CEO, Jon Davies jon.davies@wikimedia.org.uk or from our Governance Committee chair, Michael Maggs Michael.maggs@wikimedia.org.uk.