Submissions:2014/You're invited! Developing innovative models for participation

Title of the submission

Themes (Proposal Themes - Community, Tech, Outreach, GLAM, Education)

Community

Type of submission (Presentation Types - Panel, Workshop, Presentation, etc)

Seminar

Author of the submission

Dominic McDevitt-Parks

E-mail address

dominic@wikimediadc.org

Username

User:Dominic

US state or country of origin

MD

Affiliation, if any (organization, company etc.)

Wikimedia D.C. & U.S. National Archives

Personal homepage or blog

Abstract (at least 300 words to describe your proposal)

Are there new/better ways to leverage interested chapters, GLAMs, universities, tech non-profits, etc. to stimulate Wikimedia's growth in mutually beneficial ways? I would like to facilitate a group discussion on developing new innovative models for inviting or sustaining participation in Wikimedia-related projects through partnerships with or allied external or community organizations. This will be a more open-ended and interactive session than most, but here is the hook: by the end of the session, if we can come up with a role which the National Archives could pilot and offer to Wikimedians, I will make it happen.

Most "Wikipedians in Residence" (the dominant participation model for partnerships) have been required to work full-time, have some skills in communication/outreach, event planning, community relations, copyright, and technical matters. That is, the institution brings a single expert Wikipedian in-house to organize all of their Wikipedia engagement. This model is not broadly appealing or applicable enough for all Wikipedians or cultural/academic institutions. It is time for new thinking, and I would like to facilitate a brainstorming session where we come up with new ideas. I plan to set the scene by giving examples of various participation models for context (Wikipedian in Residence, Wikipedia Affiliate, Campus Wikipedian, Campus/Online Ambassador, E-Volunteer, others?) and then open the floor to suggestions.

Questions we might try to answer:

• Would we like to see institutions facilitate Wikimedia content contributions through their own official volunteer programs? Internships?
• What sort of incentives are most meaningful to the community? (Formal recognition, academic credit, job reference, professional mentorship... Also, are any of these distasteful to the community?)
• Would expanding these sorts of external affiliations be a good thing in general? How would we handle potential conflicts of interest? Does the community need to be involved in vetting or certifying opportunities or candidates?
• What about Wikimedia-affiliated organizations (i.e. chapters/Wikimedia Foundation)? Do they have a role to play in offering these sorts of opportunities?
• What about broader community roles, like a WikiProject organizer or a national Wikipedia Loves Libraries coordinator?

And, finally, can we write a concrete proposal that an organization could implement after the WikiConference USA? I want to go beyond the normal case study or and actually break new ground!

Length of presentation/talk (see Presentation Types for lengths of different presentation types)

30-60 minutes

Will you attend WikiConference USA if your submission is not accepted?

Likely

Slides or further information (optional)

Special request as to time of presentations

Interested attendees

If you are interested in attending this session, please sign with your username below. This will help reviewers to decide which sessions are of high interest. Sign with four tildes. (~~~~).

1. Kosboot (talk) 20:07, 14 May 2014 (EDT)
2. Lange.lea (talk) 17:14, 21 May 2014 (EDT)
3. --Another Believer (talk) 22:23, 29 May 2014 (EDT)
4. Add your username here.