Resources+-+Case+Studies+-+Wikimedia+Foundation—Strategic+Planning

**//Overview//**
In the beginning of 2009, the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) – a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of content from wiki-based projects free of charge – started pondering the idea of doing a strategy process. In less than a decade, the Wikimedia movement had grown to include 400 million visitors per month, 95,000 active contributors, and over 700 projects. While its reach was still growing rapidly, WMF was aware of flagging contribution numbers and a lack of diversity among the contributors.

In the last five years, moreover, the Wikimedia Foundation had grown from an 11-person $2.4M organization to a 50-person $16M organization. Sue Gardner had recently come on board as ED. Her professionalization efforts were still ramping up, and the organization felt extremely under-capacity. There were clear challenges on the horizon and no organizational or movement-wide mandate. Engaging in a movement-wide strategy process was an opportunity to clarify a path forward for the Wikimedia movement and Foundation.

WMF engaged The Bridgespan Group and Blue Oxen Associates to help them develop a movement-wide 5-year strategy in an open, collaborative way. Wikimedia wanted to invite participation from anyone who was inclined to help, believing that an open process that engages a broad base would result in a smarter, more effective strategy, while activating the community around agreed-on goals (Wikimedia Strategic Plan 2011). Stakeholders were engaged both online and in-person; the team created a “Strategy Wiki” as a space for stakeholders to openly work together; more than 65 experts and advisers were interviewed; hundreds of discussions were staged, face-to-face in cities around the world, and via real-time chat, Skype and telephone conferences, mailing lists and wikis.

//What they did://

 * //Level Setting// (Oct 2009 – Jan 2010): In order to establish a shared fact base to provide context for the planning effort, the Foundation created a space where Wikimedia users and editors could reflect on and discuss three key questions: //Where is Wikimedia now? Where should it go? How should it get there?// Stakeholders were encouraged to submit and discuss proposals on the wiki. It also issued a Call for Participation, which included applications to participate in Phase II Task Forces.
 * //Deep Dives// (October 2009 – Jan 2010): Input from Phase I was synthesized, and a Task Force Selection Committee posed strategic questions to task forces made up of members of the current Wikimedia community as well as external volunteers with specific expertise.
 * //Synthesis// (Jan 2010 – April 2010): Task forces made recommendations and the broader community was invited to help evaluate and prioritize. A Strategy Task Force then synthesized the different recommendations from the deep dives.
 * //Business Planning / Call to Action//(Jan 2010 – July 2010):
 * The Foundation developed an organizational strategy and business plan that aligned with the emerging movement strategic priorities.
 * Members of the Wikimedia community were encouraged to commit to helping implement the recommendations that emerged from the Synthesis. The community was asked to link proposals from the Level Setting phase to the five goals of the movement, and sign up to help execute.

//Results://

 * Expectations for participation were surpassed. More than a 1,000 people worldwide contributed to the Wikimedia Strategy Project in more than 50 languages, and over 900 proposals were submitted to address a wide variety of challenges and opportunities.
 * The strategy process yielded five goals for the movement: increase reach, improve content quality, increase participation, stabilize infrastructure, and encourage innovation. Alignment around these goals by Wikimedians around the world has given the Foundation a community-backed mandate for action. For example, since the conclusion of the project the Wikimedia Foundation has bolstered its capacity and increased investment in the developing world.

//Lessons Learned//
(Based on conversation with Eugene Kim, March 2011, and “Strategic Planning for Networks” webinar by Eugene Kim, March 2011)
 * //Focus on Questione.// Engage participants by getting them to generate questions. Ask why and push participants to develop more strategic questions. In the process, their ownership of the process and outcomes will grow.
 * //It’s all about people//. Focus on engaging the right people and invest in trust-building.
 * Initially, the Wikimedia Foundation identified key stakeholders based on their titles, but these people weren’t necessarily the most influential. In hindsight, it would have been helpful to conduct a social network analysis at the beginning of the process to target key stakeholders.
 * The strategy team hosted weekly office hours with no explicit agenda. Anyone could show up and the groups took the conversations where they wanted to. This was an effective way to build trusting relationships. The strategy team then tapped these relationships during the planning process.
 * //Create a space//: Kim recommends creating, “A space that’s inviting and compelling, and where work can happen"
 * The strategy team succeeded in cultivating inviting spaces where Wikimedians could contribute. There were clear norms that all were expected to follow (e.g., online community etiquette 101 on the strategy wiki). As a result, many participants have incorporated similar practice into their own wikis.
 * The Strategy Wiki was at an advantage, because members of the wiki community were already literate with the tool. However, even with a participant base of Wikimedians, Kim felt that the process could have benefited from more face to face gatherings to build trust and increase participation.
 * //Model Transparently//. Working in an open way is not about giving up control, but rather sharing control. The facilitation team clearly described the process and the reasons behind it, and pushed forward. At the same time, it invited others to either replicate the approach or propose alternative approaches. In some cases, the facilitation team actually scrapped their own approach for processes that emerged on the wiki that seemed more effective.
 * //Fail Forward Fast//. Expect that some things won’t work and design your process so that it’s adaptive.

//Questions Addressed://

 * //What roles should the funder play, particularly in the context of movements?//
 * //How to develop strategy for and with a network?//
 * //How to work with a network mindset?//

//Sources://

 * Strategy Wiki: [|http://strategy.wikimedia.org]
 * Conversation with Eugene Kim, March 2011
 * Wikimedia Strategic Plan, Feb 2011
 * Notes from NNF Convening, March 2010
 * “Strategic Planning for Networks” March 2011 webinar by Eugene Kim