On Wed, Nov 25, 2015 at 2:37 PM, MZMcBride <z...@mzmcbride.com> wrote:
> Is it accurate to say that all large Wikimedia affiliates go through the > Funds Dissemination Committee except the Wikimedia Foundation? Somewhat, yes. The process for community consultations and feedback is in the works, but essentially WMF currently does not undergo the same kind of application as the affiliates. One of the reasons for this is the size of WMF: its huge budget makes it a much more time-consuming and expertise-demanding endeavor to evaluate it, and the FDC is composed of volunteers (believe me, I chaired the FDC for three terms, and just handling the two rounds is lots of work). A separate round would make it easier, and yet it would require three sessions per year, so it would further decrease the poll of available candidates for the FDC, Even with WMDE the analysis is really a challenge, and their budget is significantly smaller than that of WMF - and the quality of feedback and evaluation from the FDC is of highest importance. With budgets this size it is a somewhat different set of skills and experience that is needed than at the level of organizations with budgets roughly 100 times smaller. > Or from a > different angle: how is the Wikimedia Foundation budget allocated? Does > the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees currently do its own direct > allocation, bypassing the FDC? > I hope you realize that the Board has decided to set up the FDC as an advisory body :) The FDC is making recommendations to the Board, it is the Board that makes the allocations. As of know, the Board has not decided to cede the WMF's initial review to the FDC, and it approves the budget by itself. In my personal opinion (which I often voiced during my tenure at the FDC, and which I uphold as a Board member now) it would be reasonable, useful and justified to have some parts of the WMF's budget undergo the FDC process. The WMF's executive team is also generally supportive of this idea and it is my understanding, that the conversation on how to make it happen most effectively is ongoing. We basically need to find a sensible way to do it, to make the best use of the FDC's, staff's, and the Board's time and skills, for the optimal outcome. However, I want to emphasize that even if just for symbolic reasons it is important that the WMF serves as a paragon for other organizations in our movement. TL;DR: I personally would love to make it happen, but I also think it is imperative to make it right. Dariusz Jemielniak "pundit" _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
