Strategy/2023

Strategic plan of Wikimedia Ukraine Non-profit Organization (hereafter — the Organization) includes our mission, vision, and values, as well as the overview of internal changes in the Organization and external factors that influence our activities. Main activity, directions, goals and subgoals for every direction, and risk map are defined here as well. This plan is based on the strategic direction for 2020—2022 updated for 2023 to account for current challenges.

Mission, vision, and values

Mission

To assist the realization of the human right to use the common heritage of mankind through supporting initiatives on generating, developing, sharing, and popularising free knowledge.

Vision

The world in which everyone has access to knowledge in their native language and can competently use it.

Long-term vision of the Organization

Wikimedia Ukraine is a leader of a widespread, diverse and distinctive volunteer movement for free knowledge. The organization supports generating and popularising free knowledge, as well as open access to it. Wikimedia Ukraine supports sharing content in Ukrainian and other languages, especially languages of the ethnic groups traditionally inhabiting Ukraine, as well as active and quality development of wiki-community's capacity.

Values

• Free knowledge. We create conditions for generating and sharing free knowledge and for open access to it.
• Quality. The quality of our work is important for us, and we strive for constant improvement.
• Openness. We take decisions transparently and openly, and we try to be as public as possible.
• Volunteering. We are primarily an association of volunteers.
• Independence. We are independent of political actors and commercial interests.
• Collaboration. Collaboration built on the principles of equality and mutual support is our core.
• Diversity. We support knowledge equity and are open to everyone who supports our values.

Internal changes

Wikimedia Ukraine exists since 2009. Till 2014 all projects were implemented only by volunteers, and since 2014 staff members and contractors have begun to be involved in programmatic activities. Since 2016, the role of the Board in the operational management had reduced, with a transition to strategic management. Major improvements in the financial management of the Organization have begun in 2018. 2019 saw changes in organizing events and a more systemic approach to advocacy, communication, and project management.

In 2019 we devised Strategy of the Organization for the first time, in order to prioritize our activities in a better way and choose which projects we implement and which we do not. In 2022, in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it was decided to extent the 2020—2022 strategy for another year.

Environment

Wikimedia Ukraine depends on the environment — on the rapidly changing world and the place of Ukraine in it. Various factors influence our activities:

• Social: Our activities depend on the social situation in Ukraine, namely: level of development of public opinion and mass media, the situation with freedom of speech, as well as the culture of volunteering and fundraizing in Ukraine.
• Political: We are influenced by the political climate in Ukraine; in particular, it defines the ability of legislators, political leaders, and opinion leaders to pay sufficient attention to the issues that we are fighting for.
• Legislative: Our activities are based on the legislation of Ukraine: laws of Ukraine and international treaties signed by our country; changes to the legislation may influence us considerably.
• Technological: Wikimedia Ukraine operates in the conditions of rapid technological development — the spread of the Internet, the increasing importance of big data, the emergence and spread of new models of media consumption.
• Economic: Our development depends on the economic situation in Ukraine and the general economic situation in the world, particularly on donors' ability and will to support the development of free knowledge.
• Ecological: The Organization exists in conditions of the rising importance of climate change issues and environmental protection questions.

In 2022, the key external factor that impacts Wikimedia Ukraine's work has been Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, which among other consequences led to a decrease in the activity of Ukrainian wiki projects volunteers.

Wikimedia Ukraine is a part of the international Wikimedia movement and therefore depends on the global environment: economic, technical, social, and other changes that will influence Wikimedia projects will influence us as well. In addition, we depend on the political, economic, and social situation in the United States of America as a country of operation of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., an organization that supports the technical infrastructure of Wikimedia projects and disseminates funds which Wikimedia Ukraine depends on.

Strategic directions and goals

Wikimedia Ukraine's programmatic activities in 2023 can be divided into five directions: 1) Content Enrichment; 2) Increasing Participation; 3) Wikimedia Projects Community Support and Development; 4) Awareness for Wikimedia; 5) Advocacy.

Content Enrichment

Supporting initiatives aimed at content enrichment of Wikimedia projects is a key model for the realization of generating and developing free knowledge, which is a part of our Mission. This direction has been an integral part of programmatic activities of the Organization, in one way or another, for the most part of its history.

It is important for the Organization to work on defining specific content gaps in Wikimedia projects and encouraging their closure, as well as drawing more attention to the quality of the content (articles quality, media files relevance, etc.).

Goal 1.

Expanding and enhancing the variety and quality of content on Wikipedia and its sister Wikimedia projects

Sub-goal 1. Bridging text content gaps

• Support of initiatives to work on uploading sources published under free licenses
• Support of research for identifying gaps on Wikipedia and working with volunteers to close them
• Improving content related to the local context
• Attracting content to sister Wikimedia projects, particularly digitizing for Wikisource

Sub-goal 2.Enhancing quality of content

• Organizing targeted improvement of key articles
• Improving access to information on Wikipedia, Wikidata and other Wikimedia projects: arrangement, structuring, and categorization of information which already exists
• Support of initiatives to organize expert evaluation of articles quality

Sub-goal 3. Attracting media content

• Support research for identifying gaps in the Ukrainian content on Wikimedia Commons and working with volunteers to close them
• Organizing contests to attract photographs and other types of media
• Support of initiatives to work with institutions and experts to attract thematic media content

Increasing Participation

Working on increasing participation in Wikimedia projects is one of the key tasks of Wikimedia Ukraine. Wikiprojects exist owing to the volunteer community, and expanding this community has a positive impact on the development of wikiprojects and, therefore, on sharing free knowledge. To achieve this, the Organisation works on supporting newcomers and engaging Wikipedia and wikiprojects contributors to the community, as well as increasing diversity of the wikicommunity.

We strive to integrate work with Wikipedia into the educational process more closely, to use modern online technologies to engage new people and to encourage participation of experts in the work on Wikimedia projects.

Goal 2. Increasing the number of active volunteers in all fields of Wikimedia activity.

Sub-goal 1. Attracting new editors to Wikimedia projects

• Organizing training sessions to attract new editors to Wikipedia and its sister projects
• Organizing contests and other content campaigns, particularly for attracting specific target audiences, to attract new contributors to Wikipedia and sister projects
• Using contemporary online technologies to teach the general public how to edit Wikipedia
• Supporting integration of reading and editing Wikipedia in education

Sub-goal 2. Increasing diversity of the community of editors

• Setting up cooperation with state, scientific, cultural, and educational institutions to increase the number of experts involved in editing Wikipedia
• Identifying underrepresented groups of users and holding targeted events aimed to engage them in editing Wikipedia
• Supporting development of communities of sister projects and projects in the languages of ethnic groups that have traditionally inhabited Ukraine.

Community Support and Development

Wikimedia projects are contributed to and supported by a self-organized volunteer community, but the organizational support that Wikimedia Ukraine can provide is useful for this community. This direction has long been part of the Organization's programmatic activities, and we will continue to use the proven ways of working with the wikicommunity.

At the same time, we seek to make an additional emphasis on developing the technical skills of the community in order to avoid "bottlenecks": situations where the skills of several people are crucial to the quality and timeliness of projects. In addition, focus more on initiatives aimed at motivating contributors and communicating on the Organization's work with the wikicommunity.

Goal 3. [Reaching a] motivated, informed, active, responsible and skilled community which acts effectively and cohesively for sharing and popularizing free knowledge.

Sub-goal 1. Instruction for community members and facilitation of experience sharing

• Organizing training sessions for specific skills (templates, files, mentorship, etc.)
• Holding events for sharing experience between editors
• Organizing hackathons and other events for the development of technical skill for Wikimedia projects
• Supporting participation of community representatives in international Wikimedia events for sharing experience and acquiring skills

Sub-goal 2. Increasing the community's resilience, motivation and awareness

• Supporting Ukrainian community members in crisis situations, particularly during the war
• Supporting community initiatives for distinguishing and motivating editors (virtual and physical rewards, support of newbies)
• Improving communication, informing about and popularizing the Organization's activity among the community of Wikipedia and sister projects

Awareness about Wikimedia

Effective dissemination and promotion of free knowledge are only possible if there is widespread public awareness of Wikimedia projects and principles of their work. Promoting Wikipedia, wikiprojects and free knowledge has always been among the tasks of the Organization.

Goal 4. Increasing awareness of Wikimedia Ukraine, Wikimedia projects, and free licenses

Sub-goal 1. Media support and promotion of Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects

• Developing and implementing a consistent set of communications practices for the Organization
• Working with news media to increase awareness of the Organization's work, Wikimedia projects and free licenses
• Spreading information about the Organization's activities, Wikimedia projects and free licenses via publication on social media and other information resources
• Organizing promotional events (press breakfasts, press conferences, lectures etc.)

Sub-goal 2. Working with readers and the general public to increase awareness

• Cooperation with national and international partners in the field of free knowledge
• Organizing surveys for readers and target audiences
• Developing information materials about Wikipedia, Wikimedia projects and free licenses, participating in events for increasing awareness about them

Advocacy

One of the goals of Wikimedia Ukraine is to advocate at the state level for the changes needed for the development of free knowledge. In this direction, we are currently working almost exclusively on “freedom of panorama,” and the existence of “freedom of panorama” in Ukraine is the Organization's primary objective in the context of advocacy within this strategic plan.

At the same time, we must also work to advocate for other changes in legislation that bring benefits to the development of free knowledge in a more long-term perspective.

Goal 5. Ukraine has the "freedom of panorama"

Institutional development

The implementation of the Strategic plan is also impossible without further changes in the Organization. These changes are roughly divided into three big blocks: strategic, operational and financial. The Organization needs to work on improving the Organization's communication and look for ways to ensure sustainable funding.

Strategic management

• The Board is responsible for strategic decisions, and not operational ones
• Review of the Strategic Plan the risk map takes place regularly: once a year
• In 2023 / when martial law is lifted, a strategic plan is discussed for the next three years

Operational management

• In 2023 / after martial law is lifted, there is a person responsible for the Organization's fundraising
• Fundraising plan of the Organization has been developed and is being implemented

Financial management

• Timely submission of information to the Board on balances and potential deviations from the planned budget is ensured

Map of risks

The risk map gives an idea about the risks of various levels (strategic and operational) that may affect the Organization and its activities. These risks and the ways to minimize them should be reviewed regularly by the Board.

Strategic risks

Low-impact, unlikely

• The Organization's inability to adapt to significant changes in the environment

High-impact, unlikely

• Rise to power of undemocratic forces
• Collapse of the financial (banking) system
• Repressive measures against the Organization by the authorities
• Raider takeover of the organization
• Loss of relevance by Wikipedia and wikiprojects

High-impact, likely

• Large-scale escalation of military actions or riots on the streets of Kyiv
• Lack of sustainable financing
• Adoption of legislation that significantly limits the activities of NGOs
• Rejection of the activities of the Organization by the wikicommunity

Low-impact, likely

Operational risks

Low-impact, unlikely

• Outgrowth by staff members and contractors of their role in the organization

High-impact, unlikely

• Delay, substantial reduction or loss of funding from the Wikimedia Foundation
• Unpreparedness of the Organization's staff, contractors and volunteers, as well as its established practices, to the dynamics of its growth
• Weak mechanism for a prompt response to external events

High-impact, likely

• Prolonged full or partial power blackout in Ukraine
• Loss of confidential information
• Sudden outflow of key staff members, contractors or/and volunteers for the Organization

Low-impact, likely

• Lack of internal monitoring and evaluation in the Organization