On 29 April 2014 01:00, Asaf Bartov <abar...@wikimedia.org> wrote: > 1. Chapters are free to set their own course and come up with their own > strategy, goals, and annual plans. They are thus independent. > 2. Chapters that want to avail themselves of _movement funds_ -- a > relatively plentiful and relatively accessible source of funding -- do need > to propose compelling plans with at least a considerable emphasis on the > goals identified as strategic goals for Wikimedia.
Thank you, Asaf. I now understand how this works. So long as a Chapter is willing to further the WMF's larger strategic vision, they can get access to WMF funds - assuming, of course, they have a plan and the proven capability of delivering that. It's this latter bit that the WMF/FDC has raised questions about? Best, Gautam ________ http://www.akshara.org.in/ They are still free to > pursue specific programs and interests that are a good match for their > context -- regional, organizational, and motivational (i.e. what their own > volunteers are most motivated to work on). The balance between > definitely-strategic and perhaps-less-strategic-but-making-sense-in-context > initiatives needs to be a reasonable one, and to be reasonably argued for, > but it can certainly be done. > > 3. In my earlier comments, I was suggesting that WMIN _not_ forego movement > funding, because, in my opinion, its actual goals and its volunteer base > _are not_ in fact too divergent from movement goals and WMF's expectations. > I asserted that the abiding disagreement between WMF and WMIN is much more > around the _how_ than the _what_, and that that disagreement can be > surmounted. (I acknowledge, however, that it has so far seen little > positive development: despite much investment of time and effort from both > sides, and multiple channels (including face to face conversations) > attempted, neither side has accepted the other's expectations so far.) > > I remain interested, as mentioned earlier on this thread, to engage with > WMIN on a more constructive note, on a path toward greater credibility and > confidence in WMIN from WMF; such a path would need to go through realistic > growth planning, demonstrable community engagement and support, and some > sustained record of success. In a way, the latest round of discussions with > WMIN has resulted in something along those lines, at least in terms of > WMIN's current plans and three short-term focuses (I wonder if they were > shared with this list -- if not, perhaps the EC would consider doing so). I > remain frankly skeptical of WMIN's ability to execute those plans in terms > of volunteer engagement (and even EC/board engagement), but I would be > _delighted_ to be proven too pessimistic. I am happy to discuss more > strategic planning (as distinct from the three short-term focuses) any time, > if WMIN's current leadership would show interest. > > Cheers, > > Asaf > > -- > Asaf Bartov > Wikimedia Foundation > > Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the > sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality! > https://donate.wikimedia.org _______________________________________________ Wikimediaindia-l mailing list Wikimediaindia-l@lists.wikimedia.org To unsubscribe from the list / change mailing preferences visit https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaindia-l
