Wikimania 2013 – Hong Kong

Submissions/Flow Funding - power to the movement

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This is an accepted submission for Wikimania 2013.

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Submission no.
3021
Subject no.
E1
Title of the submission
Flow Funding - power to the movement
Type of submission
presentation
Author of the submission
(1) Thomas, (2) Kiril, (3) Andrew G. West
Country of origin
(1) Brazil, UK, (2) Macedonia, (3) United States
Affiliation
Flow Funding Pilot Project
E-mail address
(1) thomassouzabuckup@gmail.com, (2) kiril.simeonovski@gmail.com, (3) westand@cis.upenn.edu
Username
(1) TSB, (2) Kiril Simeonovski, (3) West.andrew.g
Personal homepage or blog
-
Abstract

In a recent pilot project supported by the Wikimedia Foundation, 10 volunteers from around the globe were entrusted with decision-making power to distribute with autonomy up to USD 2,000 to initiatives aligned with the movement's goals. In this presentation we will discuss the opportunities and challenges of this innovative approach, called Flow Funding, and how it could contribute to building a stronger Wikimedia movement.

Detailed proposal

Over the past years the Wikimedia community has been engaged in a discussion about how to most effectively disseminate funds across the movement. And in May 2012, while a member of the advisory group to the Funds Dissemination Committee (FDC), I adapted a process called “Flow Funding” to design a pilot project where Wikimedia volunteers would be entrusted with autonomous decision-making power to fund initiatives aligned with the movement's goals.

In October 2012 the Wikimedia Foundation approved a USD 20,000 grant to implement the aforementioned pilot project in order to assess if and how the Flow Funding process could contribute to building a stronger Wikimedia movement. Since then I have been coordinating this pilot project, where 10 Wikimedia volunteers have been entrusted with USD 2,000 each, to autonomously identify and fund projects aligned with the movement's strategic goals. The ten so called "flow funders" were either 2012 Wikimania scholarship recipients or Grants Advisory Committee members that agreed to participate in the pilot project. A portal was created on Meta, where every flow funder has been reporting back on their experience. Funds have been directly transferred from the Wikimedia Foundation to initiatives identified by flow funders and all transactions are transparent and accessible to the Wikimedia community to appraise.

By July 2013 the pilot project is expected to end. The proposed presentation at Wikimania in Hong Kong would focus on the report that I have to produce for the Wikimedia Foundation evaluating three critical aspects assessed during the pilot project: the "supply" of volunteers collaborating and working in a decentralized way; the "demand" from fund-seekers not served in the current option set; and the potential problems of gaming the system.

Track
WikiCulture and Community
Length of presentation/talk
25 Minutes
Language of presentation/talk
English
Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?
yes
Slides or further information (optional)
Flow Funding Pilot Project
Special requests
-


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  1. Solstag (talk) 00:56, 19 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Fascinating! Yes! There should be a system for sharing decision-making processes at the local level. Blue Rasberry (talk) 20:12, 1 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  3. Slashme (talk) 17:16, 7 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  4. អមីរ ឯ. អហរោណិ 07:45, 12 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  5. Daniel Mietchen (talk) 21:47, 22 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  6. The wub (talk) 14:07, 30 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  7. Ocaasi (talk) 16:21, 30 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  8. Mglaser (talk) 23:48, 30 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  9. Bishdatta (talk) 17:42, 2 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  10. Superbellymonster (talk) 03:04, 8 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  11. Ijon (talk) 23:17, 15 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  12. Eloquence (talk) 06:32, 18 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  13. --Jduranboger (talk) 01:50, 31 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  14. Nicole Ebber (WMDE) (talk) 00:07, 1 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  15. Denis Barthel (WMDE) (talk)
  16. --SusikMkr (talk) 18:58, 3 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  17. Poco a poco (talk) 09:51, 5 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  18. Pundit (talk) 02:43, 7 August 2013 (UTC) a bit late, but genuinely interested :)[reply]
  19. Shiwei Liu.
  20. Ganesh Paudel (talk) 08:48, 9 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  1. Your name here!
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