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User:Mike Cline/USCAN Working Group Drafts/Phase I Task Forces/U.S. Canada Education Program Proposed Structure

< User:Mike Cline‎ | USCAN Working Group Drafts‎ | Phase I Task Forces

Decisions that the Structure task force needs to be made in Phase I

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Board

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How many people are on the Board?   Done

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12–15

Which stakeholder groups need to be represented on the Board, and how many slots should there be for each group?   Done

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  • Wikipedians (including chapter members)
  • Academic
  • WMF
  • At-large spots

Which skillsets need to be covered on the Board?   Done

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  • Accounting/finance
  • Legal
  • Organizational/business development (e.g. HR)

What are the demographic diversity goals of the Board?   Done

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  • Racial
  • Gender
  • At least some Canadian representation

What personal characteristics do Board members need to have?

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  • Personal integrity
  • Having good connections is a plus
  • ...

Are there separate "boards" that are non-voting, such as any advisory boards?

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Organizational structure

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We'll make final proposals about all these questions on October 20, in person. For now, please feel free to share your thoughts and comments below!

Overall structure of the organization? Who is in charge of what?

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What's the process of starting a new local group / chapter?

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We will encourage these not just where there are existing chapters, but importantly focus on developing local groups for each of the Regional Ambassador regions, and also subregions and specific universities if there is sufficient interest. The board should take applications of local groups / chapters for new regions; this can be pursued in conjunction with a US federation and Canadian local outreach.--Pharos (talk) 17:34, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

How does the rule-setting work (e.g. is there a charter for local chapters / for the whole organization)? What does it look like?

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How does the reporting work? (e.g. what are the channels?)

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How does the sharing of learnings work? (especially with university-based organizations that have a high turnover rate among their members)

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How do people in local groups / chapters get chosen for specific positions (also: is there a clear career path for members?)

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People in local groups / chapters are chosen by local community structures and elections. A "career path" for an energetic newbie student might be: student in ambassador class -> campus ambassador -> regional ambassador or thematic ambassador.--Pharos (talk) 17:23, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

How does the decision making work? (e.g. is the organization membership-based? is there an annual meeting where strategic decision are made?)

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Does the organization have a central office? What is the role of the paid staff?

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Yes, but a small central office, ideally oriented as a "center" within some larger institution. The role of the paid staff is as enablers and force-multipliers, rather than as directors. Possibly there are subsidiary part-time offices with volunteers and university staff as well.--Pharos (talk) 17:16, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

How does the bonding between the members work? (e.g. what are the regular social activities?)

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How does the cooperation between the different local chapters work? (in particular those that are geographically close to each other)

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What are the different models for board elections?

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A healthy combination of:

  • Direct election from the English Wikipedia global community
  • Organizational membership from overlapping local groups and thematic groups
  • Election from special classes of participants
  • At-large expert seat appointments--Pharos (talk) 17:39, 4 October 2012 (UTC)

In case the organization is university-based (e.g. AIESEC): how do the individual local groups cooperate with the university?

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What's the process for becoming a member of the organization? Is there a standardized orientation for new members? Or should the organization not be membership-based (like the WMF)?

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By-laws

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Exact Definitions of Wikipedian and Educator

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Caucus Formation requirements

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Diana: Ideal to have wording sufficiently flexible so that bylaws don't need to be change to alter these.

How often should the board meet?

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Diana: Unless we plan most of the work to be done by Executive Committee, I would recommend 2 to 3 times a year, with one meeting possibly being via teleconference or skype.

What are the requirements to join the Education Program?

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Where should we incorporate?

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Diana: Delaware is a place where the law is highly developed and generally viewed as an advantageous place to incorporate. However, I don't know if Delaware permits email decision-making. I don't think we should pick Florida just because the WMF is incorporated there, unless there are otherwise logical reasons to do so.

Pros and cons of adding the CEO/Executive Director to be a Trustee.

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Should the bylaws provide for any of the following common board committees: Executive Committee, Audit and/or Finance Committee, Governance Committee?

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Timeline

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  • Oct 1–15: Task force members start answering questions/decisions that need to be made
  • Week of Oct 8: Task force meeting (call)
  • Oct 15: Kathrin Jansen sends us her results
  • Week of Oct 15: Meeting with Kathrin Jansen to go over her analysis results (other Working Group members are invited to participate too if they want)
  • Oct 20: Task force meeting (possibly in-person)
  • Oct 22: Task force sends its final recommendation to whole WG, to start reviewing/voting process


Proposals

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Organization Name and Mission Statement

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