Wikimedia UK Strategy 2025-2030

Introduction

Welcome to Wikimedia UK’s Strategic Framework for 2025 - 2030. This document is the result of input from staff, trustees, volunteers and partners through board and staff away days, online meetings with staff, board and volunteers, in person discussions including community meetups, and asynchronous input. We also created a survey to gather feedback from Wikimedia UK’s allies and partners, which was very helpful in understanding the broader challenges, opportunities and strategic priorities for organisations in the cultural, education and open sectors.

Wikimedia UK’s vision, mission and values—all of which were reviewed and updated for the 2022 - 2025 strategy—remain the same for 2025 - 2030. The values are intended to inform how we work, as much as what we do. They are used as part of staff annual appraisals, with an assessment of how people have lived up to or demonstrated these values through their work, as well as in board evaluation. The six new strategic aims for 2025 - 2030 represent how we plan to work towards our vision and mission over the next five years, with objectives for the upcoming year that feed directly into our annual Delivery Plan.

Wikimedia UK’s long term outcomes were first defined by the Board of Trustees in 2015, when the charity shifted towards a more socially-driven mission and strategy. The long term outcomes represent the societal changes we want to make, and were always understood to be beyond the scope of a single strategic planning period. Whilst the language of these outcomes has been reviewed and updated several times over the years, they continue to guide our work; whilst medium term, or intermediate, outcomes are defined for the lifetime of each strategy. Within this strategy for 2025 - 2030, we have added new long term ambitions relating to the volunteer community and international movement, and established clearer links between the outcomes we are working towards and our strategic aims. We have also defined intermediate outcomes for 2025 - 2030, and indicated how these will be measured.

The strategic framework is based on a series of assumptions described later in this document, and the Wikimedia UK community’s collective ambitions for the future. It is intended to guide our work for the next five years but it doesn’t have to remain static, particularly if the external environment changes in ways that we weren’t able to predict in 2024. In any case, the strategy will be reviewed on at least an annual basis, when new annual objectives are developed for the following year.

Our Vision, Mission, Values and Long Term Outcomes

Wikimedia UK is committed to the ideal of a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge, and believe that here in the UK, we can play a unique and important role in realising that global vision.

Wikimedia UK’s strategy for 2025 - 2030 is informed by and supports the strategic direction of the global Wikimedia movement to 2030. Our work focuses on knowledge and communities that have been left out by structures of power and privilege. We break down the barriers that prevent people and organisations from accessing and contributing to open knowledge, and support the development of people-centred and technical solutions to help eradicate inequality and bias on the Wikimedia projects.

Our VISION is of a more informed, democratic and equitable society through open knowledge

Our MISSION is to enable people in the UK to engage with open knowledge and access reliable information in order to develop their understanding of the world, and make informed decisions about issues that affect them.

We strive to act with integrity in upholding and inspiring the following VALUES

• Equity
• Inclusivity
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• Boldness

We are working towards the following long term outcomes

1. Wikimedia reflects our diverse world and is free from systemic or systematic bias
2. Wikimedia is a welcoming and sustainable platform for volunteer contributions  
3. Wikimedia is recognised as a vital source of reliable knowledge and information
4. UK society is less polarised as a result of high levels of information literacy
5. Wikimedia UK plays an essential role within a thriving global Wikimedia movement
6. Wikimedia UK is a thought leader in harnessing the information ecosystem to support a more informed, democratic and equitable society

Strategic aims, objectives and outcomes

Wikimedia UK’s strategic aims for the period 2025 - 2030 directly map to the long term outcomes described above. Our five year aims are to:

Strategic Aim 1: Hold equity, diversity and inclusion at the heart of the organisation and our charitable activities, increasing the involvement and representation of the global majority and other minoritised groups and subjects.

Strategic Aim 2: Develop and diversify the UK community of contributors, volunteers and community leaders; recruiting new editors, celebrating and amplifying the work of longstanding contributors, and supporting effective project governance.

Strategic Aim 3: Increase free, verified and open access to knowledge and information about the climate crisis and other important topics, by delivering impactful projects with relevant partners, and advocating for the release of content.

Strategic Aim 4: Support the public’s ability to make informed decisions about critical issues by developing information literacy skills, promoting digital citizenship, advocating for the responsible use of AI, and campaigning for public policy measures that support and sustain a healthy information ecosystem.

Strategic Aim 5: Make a significant contribution to the overall Wikimedia ecosystem and the delivery of the Wikimedia 2030 strategy through international support, collaboration, leadership and innovation.

Strategic Aim 6: Elevate Wikimedia UK's influence and impact by communicating its work to a wide range of audiences; building visibility and profile and demonstrating thought leadership through our media activities, campaigns, research, publications and speaking engagements.

These aims are explored in more detail below, including their alignment with the global Wikimedia movement strategy and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, accompanying objectives which describe our planned activities under each aim in more detail, the long term outcome that they support and the medium term outcomes we hope to achieve by 2030.

In order to support these aims and enable a successful, impactful and well resourced programme across the UK, we will develop the charity’s financial sustainability and resilience, aiming to grow income by 50% during the lifetime of this strategy. Fundraising objectives as well as year-on-year financial growth projections are included below.

Strategic Aim 1

Strategic Aim 1: Hold equity, diversity and inclusion at the heart of the organisation and our charitable activities, increasing the involvement and representation of the global majority and other minoritised groups.

This aim strongly resonates with the Wikimedia 2030 strategy, in particular the emphasis on knowledge equity in the overall strategic direction, and the recommendation to Identify Topics for Impact - which includes initiatives focused on bridging content gaps and developing content initiatives with underrepresented communities. It also resonates with a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals including Gender Equality (Goal 5); Reduce Inequality (Goal 10); and Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development (Goal 16).

2025/26 Objectives

1. Ensure that Wikimedia UK is shaped by people from a diverse range of backgrounds, with those from marginalised communities represented in the leadership and governance of the charity as well as within the wider staff team.
2. Develop and deliver a range of partnership projects and other activities that support the involvement or increased representation of minoritised people and subjects.
3. Advocate at a sector-wide level for changes to policy and practice that enable the ethical release of content relating to minoritised groups and subjects.
4. At an institutional level, promote the Wikimedian-in-Residence programme as a key vehicle for the release of underrepresented content, working with residents and partners to support an ethical approach with a focus on community engagement.
5. Develop activities that strive to decolonise the online information environment, focusing on Wikimedia’s own content and practices, and working with partners seeking to decolonise their collections or curricula.
6. Support the development of indigenous and other underrepresented languages on Wikimedia, in recognition of the UK’s linguistic and ethnic diversity.
7. Develop pilot projects, volunteer outreach activities and organisational partnerships in Northern Ireland, in consultation with Wikimedia Community Ireland.
8. Continue to advocate for and deliver activities to address the gender gap on Wikimedia, both in terms of content and contributors; and help to create a welcoming, inclusive environment for LGBT+ people engaging with the projects.
9. Explore new models of partnership working for knowledge equity, with a focus on working with smaller organisations and community groups; implementing the recommendations from our 2023 research to make our activities more accessible.

Long term outcome relating to this strategic aim:

• Wikimedia reflects our diverse world and is free from systemic or systematic bias

Intermediate outcomes:

• Wikimedia UK is shaped by people from minoritised communities, who are represented within the volunteer community, staff team and governance (measured through our demographic metrics and staff and board EDI surveys)
• Work focused on underrepresented people has actively involved those communities as co-creators, not just participants or beneficiaries, and our partnership models are seen as inclusive and accessible (demonstrated through narrative evidence)

Strategic Aim 2

Strategic Aim 2: Develop and diversify the UK community of contributors, volunteers and community leaders; recruiting new editors, celebrating and amplifying the work of longstanding contributors, and supporting effective project governance.

Wikimedia is, at its core, a volunteer movement. Without the involvement of volunteer editors and other contributors, Wikipedia and the other open knowledge projects would quickly become obsolete. Wikimedia UK’s programme of charitable activities also relies on volunteer trainers, organisers and community leaders. This strategic aim is aligned with a number of the Wikimedia 2030 strategy recommendations including 1. Increase the sustainability of our movement, 2. Improve user experience, 3. Provide for safety and inclusion, 6. Invest in skills and leadership development and 9. Innovate in free knowledge. Our activities will be planned and implemented with the desire to improve the volunteer experience, expand the volunteer offer, and diversify the volunteer base, with our specific objectives under this aim informed by the organisation’s orientation towards Equity, diversity and inclusion.

2025/26 Objectives

1. Support the recruitment and retention of new Wikimedia editors; developing our approaches to stewardship and enabling new editors to continue contributing through a range of volunteering tasks (drawing on automated tools as appropriate), and providing relevant training and other opportunities for skills development.
2. Broaden the scope of volunteer opportunities across the organisation both including and beyond programmatic opportunities - for example, in communications and fundraising.
3. Support, celebrate and amplify the work of established editors through the provision of grants, equipment, materials and other resources; events such as the annual Community Celebration; and targeted training that draws on movement-wide learning spaces where relevant.
4. Build volunteer connections and exchange by holding online and in person events for sharing and networking, and drawing on learning from managing the international Volunteer Supporters’ Network to explore the creation of a UK-specific volunteer-led peer-learning programme.  
5. Engage with global majority and other underrepresented communities through outreach, advocacy, events, training and support, with a particular focus on people from Black and South Asian (including Black British and British Asian) backgrounds.
6. Promote the health and sustainability of the UK volunteer and editor community, including safeguarding those working on marginalised content, nurturing smaller communities, and supporting effective project governance.

Long term outcome relating to this strategic aim

• Wikimedia is a welcoming and sustainable platform for volunteer contributions                                          

Intermediate outcomes

• There are volunteer opportunities that are attractive, easy, and safe for people to engage in (measured through participation metrics and narrative evidence)
• Community leaders are active, supported, and celebrated (measured through Community Leaders’ Survey and narrative evidence)

Strategic Aim 3

Strategic Aim 3: Increase free, verified and open access to knowledge and information about the climate crisis and other important topics, by delivering impactful projects with relevant partners, and advocating for the release of content.

This strategic aim resonates with a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. It also orients the movement’s ‘topics for impact’ priority (recommendation 8) towards the needs of readers, and the difference it can make for the consumers of knowledge.

2025/26 Objectives

1. Work with the Global Systems Institute and other stakeholders to ensure the legacy of our first Wikimedian-in-Residence for Climate; documenting the impact of the project as well as lessons learned and replicable models of engagement, and coordinating any expansion of the programme into new geographic territories.
2. Collaborate and coordinate with the global community of editors and affiliates working on climate and related information on Wikimedia; helping to ensure a joined-up approach to the provision of up-to-date, accurate and unbiased information about the impact of climate change on our planet and people.
3. Advocate at an institutional and sector level for the free and open release of climate-related knowledge and information; particularly where this can inform personal or collective decision-making, or support adaptation and resilience.
4. Facilitate the participation of contributors to Wikimedia’s climate coverage and related articles; drawing on public engagement and crowdsourcing models to enable people to participate in capturing and disseminating climate information.
5. Collaborate with the Wikimedia Foundation and other movement partners to explore and identify ‘topics for impact’ on Wikimedia, both within our local context and at an international level. Develop a plan for targeted content partnerships (such as in health or human rights) in relation to these topics over the lifetime of this strategy.
6. Explore the potential of AI tools to support the creation and dissemination of content on Wikimedia and accelerate the work of staff and volunteers, whilst developing our own understanding (and that of our stakeholders) of the ramifications of GenAI on the information environment including issues of bias, copyright and attribution, misinformation and disinformation, and the erosion of trust.

Long term outcome relating to this strategic aim

• Wikimedia is recognised as a vital source of reliable knowledge and information

Intermediate outcomes

• Clear contribution pathways established for new and existing editors within high impact areas (measured through contribution and participation metrics)
• Productive content partnerships developed within target sectors (measured through strategic partnerships metrics and content metrics)
• High quality content is produced on key topics (measured through new tools currently being developed by the Wikimedia Foundation, otherwise through existing article quality metrics on Wikipedia).

Strategic Aim 4

Strategic Aim 4: Support the public’s ability to make informed decisions about critical issues by developing information literacy skills, promoting digital citizenship, advocating for the responsible use of AI, and campaigning for public policy measures that we believe will create and sustain a healthy information ecosystem.

This strategic aim resonates with the global movement strategy’s initiatives concerned with misinformation, and the public’s ability to access and understand content on Wikimedia. It also supports the UN Sustainable Development Goal to ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ (Goal 4); and ‘Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels’ (Goal 16).

2025/26 Objectives

1. Create a significant step change in our work with schools; building on our learning from past and existing activities across Wikimedia UK and the wider movement to pilot a new Wikimedia and information literacy programme for the secondary sector.
2. Support the delivery of information literacy projects within higher education, through existing and emerging strategic partnerships as well as smaller projects and interventions such as Wikimedia in the Classroom courses.  
3. Promote the importance of media and information literacy skills to digital citizenship and civic engagement, and demonstrate Wikimedia’s value in developing those skills through running targeted interventions.  
4. Work with the Wikimedia Foundation, the volunteer community, other affiliates, partners and allies to help prepare for and combat a sudden rise in misinformation and disinformation in national or international emergency situations.
5. Use our relationships and networks and leverage our public profile to advocate for open knowledge practices, principles and policies at an institutional and sector level, supporting a collective move towards openness as default.
6. Advocate for a strong focus on media and information literacy skills in schools and university curricula, and work with partners and allies to campaign for public policy initiatives and investment to support these skills across society.
7. Develop Wikimedia UK’s profile and position as a leading proponent of information integrity, including human-centred content creation and the responsible use of AI.
8. Monitor and respond to public policy developments in areas of interest for Wikimedia such as online safety, copyright, open access, and information integrity.
9. Support global public policy advocacy through our involvement in the network of staff and volunteers leading this work; providing support and advice to other affiliates and joining up with movement-wide activities where relevant to the UK chapter.

Long term outcome relating to this strategic aim

• UK society is less polarised as a result of high levels of information literacy

Intermediate outcomes

• WMUK has an established and tested offer for information literacy interventions in schools (measured through the receipt of grants and evaluation of funded projects).
• WMUK is participating in key policy discussions and consultations in areas related to the information ecosystem and civic space (measured through Policy Touchpoints and Policy Change metrics).
• WMUK has an internal knowledge bank of thought leadership research and policy positions that supports staff advocacy and communications.

Strategic Aim 5

Strategic Aim 5: Make a significant contribution to the overall Wikimedia ecosystem and the delivery of the Wikimedia 2030 strategy through international support, collaboration, leadership and innovation.

Wikimedia UK is the national charity for the global Wikimedia movement and our own success depends to a large extent on a thriving international ecosystem for Wikimedia and open knowledge. As per the Wikimedia 2030 strategy, it’s only by creating and strengthening organisational structures, communication channels, and tools to contribute, that we will move toward a more cohesive movement with communities that trust each other and cooperate at full potential. As one of the largest and most well-resourced affiliates, we believe that Wikimedia UK has a direct responsibility to help achieve this; whether that’s through providing advice or training to other chapters and user groups; drawing on our convening power to bring together diverse communities around a topic of interest; acting as a thought partner for the Wikimedia Foundation or the global network of affiliates; or playing a leadership and innovation role within our particular areas of expertise within the movement.

2025/26 Objectives

• Contribute to peer learning and knowledge exchange across the movement through regular participation in conferences and events and active involvement in the Executive Directors Group and other peer learning networks.
• Support capacity building across the movement by ensuring our learning, research, materials and models are widely known and accessible, drawing on international channels such as WikiMove and Let’s Connect as appropriate.
• Further support capacity building for affiliates by acting as an advisor, thought partner or innovation lab for new approaches, delivering training, providing fiscal sponsorship or seed-funding for strategy-aligned initiatives, and harnessing our expertise in crafting narratives to support affiliates in strategically communicating their work and impact, especially around digital volunteering and civic engagement.
• Continue to co-manage the Volunteer Supporters Network, and work with Wikimedia Argentina and the Wikimedia Foundation to explore the potential for this to become a hub for best practice and peer learning within community development.
• Collaborate with others in the movement to support the development of small language communities, through initiatives such as Celtic Knot, the Language Diversity Hub and Wikitongues.
• Integrate international initiatives and partnerships within our programme delivery, for example through participation in Art+Feminism or Wiki Loves Earth, and through collaborative projects that draw on the UK’s collections and resources.
• Prioritise less well-resourced communities, particularly those from the global majority, in providing support and capacity building and in developing collaborative programme ideas that draw on the UK’s international collections.
• Demonstrate the value of Wikimedia UK and other affiliates to the wider movement ecology, by acting as a strategic thought partner for the Wikimedia Foundation and the global network of affiliates, helping to shape movement strategy, contributing to the delivery of shared objectives and articulating the reach and impact of our work at a local and global level.

Long term outcome relating to this strategic aim

• Wikimedia UK plays an essential role within a thriving global Wikimedia movement

Intermediate outcomes

• WMUK exemplifies and communicates the case for affiliates as a key entity within the movement (measured through a new metric for movement policy touchpoints).
• WMUK is known and respected for our areas of expertise and has developed the capacity and knowledge of other affiliates and groups  (measured through enquiries from affiliates for advice/training, delivery capacity building activities, and connecting to learning spaces in the movement)

Strategic Aim 6

Strategic Aim 6: Elevate Wikimedia UK's influence and impact by communicating its work to a wide range of audiences; building visibility and profile and demonstrating thought leadership through our media activities, campaigns, research, publications and speaking engagements.

In order to achieve its vision and mission it’s essential that Wikimedia UK is able to connect with and inspire a wide range of audiences including existing and potential volunteers, partners, allies, donors and funders. We also need to ensure a good flow of communication within the organisation, to make the most of the communications opportunities presented by our existing projects and partnerships. This strategic aim supports a number of the Wikimedia 2030 recommendations, including 1. Increase the sustainability of our movement, 5. Coordinate across stakeholders and 6. Manage internal knowledge and 9. Innovate in free knowledge. Whilst the aim doesn’t directly map to the Sustainable Development Goals, it resonates with Goal 17) Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.

2025/26 Objectives

• Identify, segment, and establish relationships and connections between the charity’s stakeholders through mapping.  Develop relevant messaging that resonates with staff, donors, volunteers, and beneficiaries etc, and cultivate ongoing support.
• Develop storytelling and narrative and leverage the charity's existing collateral to support communications and development activities, helping people outside of the Wikimedia movement - including potential casual supporters and volunteers - to understand what makes us a charity.
• Enhance internal engagement by fostering a culture of collaboration and regular communication among staff and between departments to ensure strategic alignment, and the effective capturing of any compelling narratives that can be shared externally.
• Develop a digital fundraising strategy that integrates regular ‘asks’ within our communications. Diversify our social media and digital content to expand our reach and attract new audiences and supporters, particularly among the Gen-Z demographic.
• Secure speaking engagements at events and conferences and seek other ways such as reciprocal marketing arrangements with partner organisations to educate about and raise awareness of our work. Maximise these opportunities to build connections and possible partnerships that will boost our brand visibility, profile and credibility.
• Consolidate and develop Wikimedia UK’s position as a thought leader by sharing opinion, data, publications and reports etc, promoting rich and authoritative content produced by or in collaboration with, Wikimedia UK staff and volunteers.
• Review and refine our membership offer and ensure that it clearly articulates benefits and is inclusive and accessible. Develop a robust scheme that includes seamless payment processing, data management and timely communication for enhanced engagement, loyalty and support.
• Deliver a major communications campaign for Wikipedia’s 25th birthday, and evaluate what worked in order to feed into future campaigns.
• Develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation framework to effectively measure the impact of our communications.

Long term outcome relating to this strategic aim

• Wikimedia UK is a thought leader in harnessing the information ecosystem to support a more informed, democratic and equitable society

Intermediate outcomes

• Wikimedia UK’s profile, reputation and influence has increased (measured through communications-related metrics, Strategic Partnerships and external speaking engagements).
• Potential and existing supporters, partners and volunteers understand our model and impact, including the role of humans in content creation and governance (measured through surveys, consultation and narrative feedback).

Finances and Fundraising

As previously highlighted, in order to achieve our strategic aims we will need to develop the charity’s financial sustainability and resilience over the course of the next five years. Our aim is to grow Wikimedia UK’s income by 50% during the lifetime of this strategy, which is an ambitious target given the economic and funding landscape, and the Wikimedia Foundation’s financial projections and strategic priorities. Our year-on-year financial objectives are outlined below:

2025/26 (YEAR 1): We anticipate a small amount of income growth by utilising the CRM to free up capacity in the development team and capitalising on the investment in fundraising consultants and storytelling in 2023/24. We expect a breakeven budget for this year and to maintain our unrestricted reserves.

2026/27 (YEAR 2): We expect to continue diversifying and growing our income to see a small but steady growth in individual giving, a growth in major gifts and our first corporate partnerships. We anticipate a breakeven budget and to maintain our unrestricted reserves.

2027/28 (YEAR 3): We would anticipate being on track to hit a turnover of £1.3 million during this year, as a result of investment in growing unrestricted income, as well as increasing grant income to support project delivery. We would anticipate some growth in our development function to support this increase in income. We would hope to make a small contribution to unrestricted reserves by the end of the financial year.

2028/29 (YEAR 4): We hope to be on track to achieving a higher turnover this year and anticipate some growth in our expenditure for the year with a larger staff, particularly within programme delivery. We hope to support this growth with a continued increase in donations and major gifts, and at least one multi-year grant that supports core as well as project costs. With a growth in income, we hope to see another possible small increase in our reserves during the year.

Year 5

2029/30: With investment in our fundraising capacity, we are hoping to have achieved a £1.5 million turnover by 2030 and have ensured the sustainability of the organisation with an efficient team who have a strong ability to increase funding and reserves. We aim to have contributed to our unrestricted reserves to ensure they are sufficient to three to six months’ running costs of a (slightly) larger organisation.

Fundraising Objectives

• Continue to maintain our relationship with, and relevance to, the Wikimedia Foundation and the wider Wikimedia movement; identifying where we can add strategic value and demonstrate leadership and impact at an international level.
• Diversify WMUK’s income streams by developing corporate partnerships, peer to peer fundraising and utilising our social media platforms to actively encourage people to support us financially. Build on initial corporate fundraising training in 2024 and pilot different ways of building an income stream through corporate partnerships (within the framework of our existing policies and the Code of Fundraising Practice).
• Focus on Impact Communication. Develop and refine WMUK’s story to engage potential funders and to articulate our value proposition. Produce creative visual content and develop a high-quality and compelling ‘Case for support’ for key programmes and projects, working with staff across the organisation in the development of impact stories and testimonials.
• Develop our knowledge of and establish relationships with a broad range of trusts and foundations; growing our capacity to respond to different funding criteria and ensuring a strong pipeline of achievable funding opportunities to support both core and project funding.  
• Creatively engage with individual donors by regularly sharing insights and increasing our ‘asking frequency’. Highlighting different ways to donate such as birthday giving, regular giving, payroll giving and legacies, as well as the value of Gift Aid. Simplify the online donor journey and implement a robust stewardship plan to retain donors and ensure a longer lifetime value.
• Develop our strategy for major donors; maintaining existing supporters and exploring ways to encourage individual donors to increase their gift.  
• Build and maintain our relationships with major statutory and Lottery funders; responding to funding calls as relevant and developing our profile and credibility as a potential thought partner on working with open principles.

• Empower staff across the organisation to engage in fundraising through relevant training, strong internal communications, and a collective sense of responsibility for income generation. Ensure SMT works closely and effectively to align fundraising activities on key priorities for the programmes team and support the wider organisational strategy.
• Explore the use of AI and other new technologies to support the organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness, in line with our values.

• Develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation framework; ensuring that we maximise the benefit of our investment into Access CRM to effectively measure and better understand the impact of our fundraising and development activities. Regularly track and analyse fundraising and communications data to refine our strategy.

Our fundraising objectives support all of our long term outcomes. The intermediate outcomes that we hope to achieve by or before 2030 are as follows:

• We continue to receive multi-year funding from the Wikimedia Foundation
• We are in receipt of a multi-year grant from at least one other funder
• We have established relationships across a range of trusts and foundations
• We have grown our individual donation income, including major donors
• We have diverse income streams, including corporate giving and legacies
• The growth in our income has enabled a growth in programme delivery

These outcomes will be evidenced mainly through our financial reports, particularly our Annual Report and Accounts.

Strategic assumptions about the external environment

The starting point for creating our new strategic framework for 2025 - 2030 was to think about the likely external environment in which Wikimedia UK would be operating over the next five years, initially using the PESTLE analysis tool to consider Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors. We have revisited and refined these assumptions over the course of developing this strategy, and included how we believe that these external factors will impact upon Wikimedia UK.

The list of ten strategic assumptions below represent our best attempts to capture this by September 2024, when the strategy was approved by Wikimedia UK’s Board of Trustees. We will review these assumptions on an annual basis and more substantively in 2027, when we are halfway through our strategic planning period.

1. Wikipedia’s visibility and reach will decrease as a result of AI and other new technologies, and changing patterns of engagement including the way people search for and find information online. Amongst other impacts, this will decrease the resources available to the movement, making the need for income diversification more urgent.  

2. Conversely, in a communication ecosystem permeated by machine generated content, Wikimedia’s continued emphasis on the role of humans within knowledge production, moderation and governance will make our work even more valuable; and awareness and interest of open knowledge, and the principles that underpin Wikimedia, will gain traction.

3. Wikimedia UK will continue to be the national chapter for the UK, but changing priorities at the Wikimedia Foundation may lead to a reduction or freezing of our grant. With income diversification, the charity’s operations are likely to become more complex, with more project funding in the form of restricted grants, and a need for more flexible staffing models.

4. In the context of diminishing public trust in our politicians, institutions, and traditional media, the importance of media and information literacy will be better recognised amongst educators and policy makers. There will be a greater focus on improving the health of the information ecosystem, and more cross-disciplinary partnership opportunities for WMUK.

5. The cultural and education sectors will continue to develop new ways of working and learning, with a growing focus on digital skills and increasing interest in online CPD and modes of learning such as FutureLearn and other MOOCs.

6. Wikimedia will play a vital role in providing reliable, up-to-date and openly accessible information about the climate crisis, including evidence-led models for resilience and adaptation. Wikimedia UK’s climate partnerships and projects will grow in scale and profile.

7. The introduction of new online safety regulations around the world will lead to more of the movement’s resources being directed to advocacy and compliance, with challenges to our community-led content creation, curation and governance model. Wikimedia UK will continue to act as an advisor and partner on public policy advocacy nationally and internationally.

8. Despite slow economic growth and a shrinking third sector, there will be opportunities for Wikimedia UK to grow its income through digital fundraising, trusts and foundations and new areas such as corporate partnerships and legacy giving.

9. The proliferation of social media platforms will prove challenging for our online engagement, with resource-intensive video continuing to dominate in terms of creative content. Wikimedia UK will need to invest more resources into our development and communications functions to stay visible, raise our profile and increase income.

10. A fraught geopolitical backdrop will result in increasing polarisation, misinformation and disinformation, compounded by the misuse of AI and other newer technologies. Wikimedia UK’s vision and mission will become even more compelling within this context.