Wikimedia Movement Strategic Plan Summary

A collaborative vision for the movement through 2015

Wikimedia Movement Strategic Plan (PDF)

February 2011

The strategic plan is the culmination of a collaborative process undertaken by the Wikimedia Foundation and the global community of Wikimedia project volunteers through 2009 and 2010. The process aimed to understand and address the critical challenges and opportunities facing the Wikimedia movement through 2015. It has culminated in a series of priorities and goals, as well as specific operational initiatives for the Wikimedia Foundation, that will define the movement's continued success.

The Wikimedia Foundation is the U.S.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that operates and manages the Wikimedia projects: Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikibooks, Wikisource, Wikinews, Wikiquote, Wikiversity, Wikispecies, Wikimedia Commons and MediaWiki. The Foundation presents this document on behalf of the community of strategic plan contributors, the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, and the global community of Wikimedians.

Strategy the Wikimedia Way

In July 2009, we launched our first-ever strategy-development project designed to produce a five-year strategic plan for the Wikimedia movement.

From the outset, we believed that an open process would result in a smarter, more effective strategy. Just as Wikipedia is the encyclopedia anyone can edit, we wanted the strategy project to invite participation from anyone who wanted to help.

As the project unfolded, more than 1,000 people from around the world contributed in more than 50 languages. We received more than 900 proposals aiming to meet a wide variety of challenges and opportunities. We conducted more than 65 interviews with experts and advisers. We carried out a survey of more than 1,200 lapsed editors. And we staged hundreds of discussions both face-to-face in cities around the world, and via IRC, Skype, mailing lists and wiki pages.

Non-profit strategy consultancy The Bridgespan Group provided frameworks, data and analysis. Discussions were facilitated by Eugene Eric Kim of Blue Oxen Associates and by longtime Wikipedian Philippe Beaudette.[1]

The project lasted a full year and resulted in 1,470 content pages on the wiki. That work has been summarized and condensed, resulting in this document.


Women and other under represented groups will need to be invited/recruited, and the culture of WMF projects will need to be adjusted to accommodate them when they arrive. Some of these changes are happening already, such as the focus on making the sites more user friendly for people that are less technically savvy. But other changes will be needed, too. It will be important to acknowledge the discomfort that current users will feel when proposals are made for changes. And we need to help everyone adjust to the idea that changes are truly needed in order for WMF to accomplish its mission.

— User:FloNight

Contents

What We Believe
The Opportunity
Our Strategic Priorities
Stabilize Infrastructure
Increase Participation
Improve Quality
Increase Reach
Encourage Innovation
The Resources We'll Need
The Role of the Wikimedia Chapters
Acknowledgements
Summary

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Footnotes

  1. http://strategy.wikimedia.org/wiki/Process For complete details on the process and the facilitation, see the details on the process pages.