Strategic Plan/Movement PrioritiesSince July 2009, more than a thousand people have participated in a Wikimedia movement-wide strategic planning process. The goal was to develop a set of movement-wide priorities over the next five years. In order to achieve this goal, there was a tremendous amount of brainstorming, research, deep deliberation, and analysis.
In February 2010, a group of volunteers who have been deeply engaged in the strategic planning process formed a Strategy Task Force to try to synthesize the strategic planning work into the set of movement priorities articulated on this page. Now, our hope is to recruit many broader groups of people to discuss and refine these ideas, so that we may finalize this draft by the end of May 2010. In June 2010, we're going to circulate these priorities as widely as possible and encourage those who support them to sign it.
Please help by doing the following:
* Read the guidelines on crafting good priorities.
* Read the research and analysis on the Wikimedia-pedia page. Refer back often. None of these priorities are arbitrary. They are the result of significant research, analysis, and discussion, and it's helpful to become as familiar as possible with this work as you think about the movement priorities.
* Post your thoughts and questions on Talk:Strategic Plan/Movement Priorities.
* Be bold in editing and refining this page, and stay engaged in the discussion.Wikimedia Strategy TaskforceWST_8c3f1678-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2aSee http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Task_force/StrategyOur vision is a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge._8c414ccc-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2aTo be the central gathering point for further discussion and to write the draft five-year plan for Wikimedia by April 30, 2010._8c414e52-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2aA Theory of ChangeDevelop a theory of change_8c414fba-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2a1Given where the Wikimedia movement currently is, what should its primary goals be over the next five years? What can those of us in the movement do to get us closer to achieving this lofty vision?
To help answer this question and to provide some context for these goals, we've developed a theory of change. In a nutshell, there is a virtuous circle between participation in our movement and the quality and reach of our content. These three elements are inextricably tied. Without a healthy and diverse community of participants, the quality of our content will suffer. Without high-quality, multilingual content, we will not be able to reach broader audiences.
Investing in any of these elements will have a positive effect on the others. Or put another way: reach drives participation, which drives quality, which in turn drives reach.
Investing in any of these three areas will also require a corresponding investment in our technology infrastructure. If we want to have more contributors or more audio and video content, we must have the infrastructure to support this. Furthermore, change is certain: the world may be vastly different in five years than it is right now, and we should adapt to fit that changing world. We must be prepared to experiment and to learn.
Our theory of change suggests that we spend the next five years focusing on the following four goals:
1.Infrastructure
2.Diversity
3.Participation
4.Innovation
The rest of the article is about these movement priorities._8c41508c-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2aInfrastructureStabilize the Infrastructure Underlying the Projects_8c415122-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2a22015 Goal: In 2015, the underlying project infrastructure is stable and poised to support future project growth.
Rationale: Without financial and technological stability, the projects will have trouble achieving other key goals.
Summary: Infrastructure includes everything from the technology required to run the Wikimedia projects to the financial sustainability of the movement. No priorities can be achieved if the technology isn't running and responsive. Our current technology infrastructure is not as reliable as it could be. We need more redundancy in our network and better tools to support our operations. We also need more resources to support this infrastructure, from technology to expertise to funds. Playing catch up is not a sustainable strategy, especially if we are looking to expand both reach and participation substantially over the next five years. We must rapidly stabilize our infrastructure beyond our current capacity, so that we have room to grow.
Measures [How will we know we have achieved the above?]
Measure: In 2015 Wikimedia is more financially secure because it operates on X% less of its budget than today.
Measure: In 2015 Wikimedia has X% less downtime than today.
Measure: In 2015 Wikipedia has X% more secure funding than today._8c4151c2-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2aGlobal CoverageReduce Broad Content Gaps and Improve Global Coverage_8c415258-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2a32015 Goal: In 2015 broad content gaps in the project have been significantly reduced and global coverage of knowledge has expanded.
Rationale: There are broad content holes in both quality terms and global coverage of knowledge.
Summary: The project suffers systemic bias that naturally grows from its contributors' demographic groups, manifesting an imbalanced coverage of a subject, thereby discriminating against the less represented demographic groups. See an explanation of systematic bias on Wikipedia for how this may impact articles and content. This project aims to control and (possibly) eliminate the cultural perspective gaps made by the systemic bias, consciously focusing upon subjects and points of view neglected by the encyclopedia as a whole.
Wikimedia must present a variety of perspectives in order to have quality content that is both neutral and comprehensive.
Active contributors make up less than 1% of our readers across all Wikimedia projects and yet are responsible for more than half of our content. This is an incredible phenomenon, and it speaks largely to our success thus far. However, our readership is also largely single men under the age of 30 who mostly live in the global north. The implications of this are staggering: we know that there are broad holes in content areas that can only be filled through recruiting a broader, more diverse editorial base. Achieving greater diversity will require continued attention to the health of the community. Wikimedia needs to be a respectful, civil, and welcoming place. It needs to value boldness and collaborative changes, rather than control or obstruction. This will continue to build Wikimedia as a movement where many different ideas and topics from all perspectives across the globe are presented.
Measures: [How will we know we have achieved the above?]
The backlog of w:Category:Articles with limited geographic scope is reduced by 80% compared with June 1, 2010 (after adjusting for the increasing number of articles in Wikipedia).
All articles listed on w:Wikipedia:WikiProject Missing encyclopedic articles as of June 1, 2010, have either been created or otherwise dealt with.
The backlog of w:Wikipedia:Requested articles has been reduced from over three years to less than one year.
The number and length of articles on Wikipedia in each language, compared to the English Wikipedia, is closer to 1:1, or at least closer to the ratio of English speakers to speakers of that language._8c4152f8-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2aViewpointsPromote and Encourage A Multiplicity of Viewpoints_8c4153a2-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2a42015 Goal: In 2015 the project actively promotes and encourages a culture that attracts a multiplicity of viewpoints by its contributors.
Rationale: Wikimedia must have a culture that encourages and supports the presentation of a variety of perspectives in order to have quality content that is both neutral and comprehensive.
Summary: Active contributors make up less than 1% of our readers across all Wikimedia projects and yet are responsible for more than half of our content. This is an incredible phenomenon, and it speaks largely to our success thus far. However, our readership is also largely single men under the age of 30 who mostly live in the global north.
The implications of this are staggering: we know that there are broad holes in content areas that must be filled through recruiting a broader, more diverse editorial base. Achieving greater diversity will require continued attention to the health of the community. Wikimedia needs to be a respectful, civil, and welcoming place. It needs to value boldness and collaborative changes, rather than control or obstruction. This will continue to build Wikimedia as a movement where many different ideas and topics from all perspectives are presented.
Measures: [How will we know we have achieved the above?]
The number and length of articles on Wikipedia in each language, compared to the English Wikipedia, is closer to 1:1, or at least closer to the ratio of English speakers to speakers of that language.
The sources cited are more diverse._8c415442-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2aParticipationImprove Participation_8c4154ec-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2a5ReadershipMaintain Strong Growth in Readership_8c4155a0-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2a5.12015 Goal: In 2015 Wikimedia has 600 million readers.
Rationale: Wikimedia wants more readers to benefit from their content. Some new readers will also become new editors, thus driving participation.
Summary: Wikimedia has experienced strong, steady growth in readership since its inception. There are currently about 400 million readers accessing Wikimedia content all over the world every month. While that's a huge number, it's also only about 6% of the world's population. We have a long way to go before every human on earth has access to our content - which still is short of our goal, to be the sum of all knowledge. There are signs that growth is slowing with our more mature projects, which are largely centered around languages spoken in the global north. In order to maintain strong growth in other areas, our more mature projects must remain stable while our less mature projects must see greater growth. In order for that to happen, we must continue to increase the quality of our content so that the global south sees Wikimedia as an invaluable source of educational content.
Measures [How will we know we've achieved the above goal?]:
Measure: Total number of readers per month.
Measure: Total number of readers in the global south.ContributionIncrease contribution_8c415654-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2a5.22015 Goal: In 2015 Wikimedia has X active contributors participating in the project.
Rationale: More active contributors will be able to maintain and improve more content.
Summary: Every active contributor started off by making a single edit. Whether that edit consists of fixing a small typo, starting a new article, or simply experimenting with the project, what happens after that first edit sets the tone for that person's experience with Wikimedia. There are some signals that in our more mature projects, we are not as effective as we could be in helping new editors become active contributors. There are also signals that more experienced editors and administrators are leaving due to stubborn behavior, let alone outright hostility. Respect, civility, and good faith are critical to ensure a long and active life-cycle at Wikimedia. The Foundation may be able to reduce community friction by communicating their strategic priorities, and by improving community tools and processes in order to enable more constructive experiences.
Measures:
Measure: Total number of active contributors reaches X.
Measure: X% of new contributors become active contributors.
Measure: X% of new contributors come from partnerships with public and private organizations, including academic and government agenciesContentContent Quality Improvement_8c415712-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2a5.32015 Goal: In 2015, Wikimedia has significantly increased high quality content, and significantly raised quality content.
Rationale: Quality drives Wikimedia's reputation, which drives readership and participation.
Summary: The most important activity we want to encourage is the creation and improvement of content. Recruitment drives for specific tasks (e.g. a particular maintenance backlog) or specific types of people (e.g. university professors with expertise in a particular subject matter) should show up in the counts of specific maintenance queues. Whether or not overall quantity and quality of editor participation is adequate can be tracked by measuring overall content quality, through WikiProject assessments.
Measures:
Measure: All w:Wikipedia:Vital articles (level 3) are A-class or above.
Measure: Article counts tracked on w:Category:Wikipedia backlog have been reduced by 50% (after adjusting for the increasing number of articles in Wikipedia)
Measure: The backlog at w:Category:Articles needing expert attention is reduced by 80% (after adjusting for the increasing number of articles in Wikipedia), indicating the successful recruitment of subject experts to edit articles in their area of expertise
Measure: As listed on w:Wikipedia:Version 1.0 Editorial Team/Index, the majority of Top Importance articles are GA-class or better, the majority of High Importance articles are B-class or better.InnovationEncourage Innovation_8c4157e4-65c3-11df-be09-2c197a64ea2a5.42015 Goal: In 2015, innovation is encouraged and projects have mechanisms in place to maximize the contribution of innovation to project success.
Rationale: Innovation must respond to competition from other online services, and address challenges associated with growth.
Summary: Wikimedia has existed for nearly a decade. In that time, we've seen the proliferation of mobile devices, content-rich websites, social networking tools, and internet access across the globe. Although the Wikimedia movement has seen amazing growth since 2001, the fundamental platform has remained largely static. This path is not sustainable, and Wikimedia will need to innovate to respond to changes in technology and online behavior.
Key innovations could include interfaces for WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editing, or a wizard that suggests appropriate activities for editors based on their Wikipedia experience and real-world interests. But innovation must allow room for experimentation, which requires a willingness to accept failures and learn from them -- to "fail well". The Wikimedia movement must be willing to experiment with new tools and processes, and must learn from failures and embrace successes. Wikimedia must also organize the volunteer community to embrace iterative change, rather than stagnation and obstruction.
But it must also remain backwards-compatible with existing technologies, including a recognition that technological changes in the USA will not be adopted rapidly, or perhaps at all, in developing countries; and it must recognise that progress is made by expanding its user-base, not by swapping one set of users for a different set.
Measures [How will we know we have achieved the above goal?]:
Wikimedia will have tried and iterated on new ideas to meet all of the movement priorities in this document.
Increase the number of third party Extensions that add more features to the platform.
Survey editors and find more overall satisfaction from Wikimedia volunteers.
Reduce abandoned edits. (An abandoned edit is when editors click the edit button without clicking the save button.)
Increase the number of editors using research and citations.
Increase the number of editors who have engaged in talk page discussion.2010-05-22OwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net