2014-15 Wikimedians in Residence applications

For blog entry see we're-looking-for-wikipedians-in-residence

- blog needs creating

A Wikimedian in Residence (WIR) is a role in which a Wikimedia editor accepts a placement with an institution to facilitate close working relationship between Wikimedia movement and the institution through a range of activities, both internal and public-facing. These can include:

• Organise outreach work to encourage understanding and development of Wikimedia projects internally and externally
• Explore sharing institution's digital resources on Wikimedia Commons
• Organise events to create or expand existing articles about notable items or subjects of specific relevance to the collection and the organisation's expertise
• Work with institution's staff to explain Wikipedia's and sister projects' practices and how they might be able to contribute. This can be done via events, workshops, producing case study and documentation content
• Develop other projects supporting open knowledge in the UK.

These activities can focus on engagement with Wikipedia, but are encouraged to take a broader scope.

For further details of what this means, you can read the page at Outreach - Wikipedians in Residence. You are also encouraged to explore projects delivered by past and current UK Wikimedians in Residence by reading their project pages linked from here.

Wikimedia UK has a limited budget to support Wikimedians in Residence up until January 31st 2015. We expect to allocate funds throughout 2014-15 budget to continue the work. Last year our average grant for a WIR was £5,000.

We are now seeking institutions to make bids for these positions. This could be for full or part-time posts - they could be fully or part funded by the institutions, or in exceptional circumstances WMUK would consider paying for the post.

Who can apply

• Any institution that wants to further its open knowledge activities by engaging with Wikimedia projects, and believes a residency project is the most suitable way to achieve that.
• Past experience of engagement with Wikipedia projects and the open movement will be a benefit.
• We are focusing on cultural institutions, however, organisations with a different focus (e.g. education) are also welcome.

How to apply

We would like institutions interested to contact daria.cybulskawikimedia.org.uk for an application form. The closing date for expressions of interest will be February 23rd at 5pm. Please return completed forms to daria.cybulskawikimedia.org.uk

The decision will be made by a panel mid March 2014. We would like the Residencies to start soon afterwards.

When applying, you will need to provide the following information:

• Name of institution
• Its aim and purpose
• Contact details of the institution and the name of someone to liaise with
• Whether they are willing to fund or part fund the post
• Whether this post would be full or part-time and how long it would last
• What support the person would be offered
• How the institution would see the iR recruited and managed
• An explanation of how they see the Wikipedian in Residence working with the institution and its research/community/collections
• Whether this builds on any existing programs or work with the Wikimedia community or other open content projects.
• Confirmation that they, and specifically the person who will be managing the Wikipedian in Residence, understand Wikipedia's policies on conflict of interest and how this interacts with the resident's role.

Interested organisations are welcomed to seek additional information about the possible project before submitting the application by contacting Wikimedia UK office or Wikimedia volunteers.