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Timeline for "Wikimedia Technology Fund"

Hi there, I have come to the grants pages a few times this year but the technology fund pages continue to say "coming soon". Is there a timeline for these? ·addshore· ^{talk to me!} 16:43, 3 April 2023 (UTC)

Me too. Any updates? Sophivorus (talk) 13:54, 18 April 2023 (UTC)

Pinging @I JethroBT (WMF) & @KEchavarriqueen (WMF) who I have seen replying to other threads here. ·addshore· ^{talk to me!} 23:05, 18 April 2023 (UTC)

@Sophivorus and Addshore: Thanks for checking in with us about the Technology Fund. We don't currently have a schedule or timeline for when this funding program is expected to begin, so I will remove the "coming soon" language until we have more certainty about when the program will begin. We had hoped launch this program much sooner, but due to a number of factors mostly internal to the Foundation, have not been able to do so. I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 01:45, 19 April 2023 (UTC)

Many thanks for the update. ·addshore· ^{talk to me!} 15:57, 22 April 2023 (UTC)

Is it appropriate to tell someone that might be suitable for this program to apply for to the Rapid Fund in the interim? The example I have in mind relates to a QuickStatements Lexeme creation feature that's been languishing on Phabricator for four years (task T220985) and that'd be useful both in Wikimedia projects and outside of it - it was brought up on our affiliate's mailing list. GreenReaper (talk) 10:10, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

@I JethroBT (WMF) and KEchavarriqueen (WMF): I have heard that "The Technology Fund was permanently placed on hold. It means that we will not launch it in the near future. This means that we cannot fund long-term software development projects." replied by WMF. Does this mean that the Technology Fund is permanently closed and what is the alternative fund that developers could apply for? Thanks. SCP-2000 11:32, 19 September 2023 (UTC)

I have the same problem and I'm maintaining some longer-term projects. Due to various reasons, such as the number of development members, insufficient funds, etc., it is impossible for me to complete all development goals in the short term at once. I would like some periodic and sustainable funds.

However, I noticed that the only ones I could find suitable for me to apply for so far seemed to be the Rapid Fund. But in the introduction, it mentioned that:

Proposals that depend on multiple or continuous Rapid Funds for long-term maintenance or development goals are generally ineligible.

Does this mean that we don't have any friendly help for long-term development projects? In other words, we can only wait for the long period of full feature development to be completed, and cannot get any financial help for post-maintenance. Rowe Wilson Frederisk Holme (talk) 13:30, 19 September 2023 (UTC)

@SCP-2000 and Rowe Wilson Frederisk Holme: Thanks for your questions. While the Rapid Fund program offers some possible opportunities for funding small-scale software development as Rowe has pointed out, there is no such alternative for specifically funding large-scale or continuous software development at this time. More information on eligibility for this kind of work in the Rapid Fund program is available here: Grants:Project/Rapid#Eligibility_criteria. I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 13:38, 19 September 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for your reply. I understand that there may be some difficulties, but it is bit disappointed that there is no alternative for funding long term development. Whether it is short term or long term development, it is valuable to the Wikimedia project and it would be great to see support for their project. SCP-2000 13:53, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

@I JethroBT (WMF), KEchavarriqueen (WMF), SCP-2000, and Rowe Wilson Frederisk Holme: hello,

You may find the template {{Grants}} useful for guiding grants requests. This template is too little known. Feel free to share and update boldly this template which gather a clear map and properties of available WM grants. Yug (talk) 15:18, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

Wikimedia Grants []

Program		Budget	Next deadline	Response	Scope: who & what	Application length	Comments
WMFR Rapid Grant "Microfi"		Indiv: <2,000 EUR Group: <5,000 EUR	Year round	~4 weeks	Hardware ; Books ; Organization ; Travels fees ; Food (?)	1/2 A4 page.	Rather for French-speaking Wikimedians ; 2023-2024 overall budget: 40k€.
Wikimedia Community Fund	Rapid Fund	500 - 5K USD	Year round, every 2 months	8 weeks	- Individuals, groups, organizations - Promoting knowledge equity in line with WM movement - Underrepresented and marginalized communities - Editathon ; Contest ; General promotion ; Video campaign ; Translation ; Others - Transportation ; Food ; Venue, etc.	n.a.
	Conference & Event Fund	10K - 90K USD	Round 1: Sept.-Nov. Round 2: Feb.-Mar.	60 days		n.a. (likely: 2~4 pages A4)
	General Support Fund	10K - 300K+ USD (flexible)	Two round / year, per region. * Group A, Oct. & Feb: Central Europe & Asia ; N. Americas ; Latin Americas ; Middle East & Africa. * Group B, Nov. & Apr. : Western Europe ; South. Asia (SAARC) ; East. Asia (ESEAP).	60 days		n.a. (likely: 2~4 pages A4)
Wikimedia Alliances Fund		<100k USD	September 8 or 9 or 29, 2022	60 days	Activities: edit-a-thons, hack-a-thons, meet-ups, celebrations, campaigns.	n.a. (likely: 2~4 pages A4)
Wikimedia Research Fund		2k-50k USD	16 December 2022	5 months	- Individuals, groups, organizations - Research interests on Wikimedia projects - Define clear road/abstract to further understanding of WM's project or community - Define budget	n.a. (likely: 2~4 pages A4)	Research fund: open.
Wikimedia Technology Fund		2k-50k USD	Permanently on hold	6 months	- Individuals, groups, organizations - Improving technology and tools to nurture a more responsive and accessible environment for contributions	n.a. (likely: 2~4 pages A4)	"...we will not launch it in the near future. This means that we cannot fund long-term software development projects."
mw:Google Summer of Code/2024 (C)		8~12 weeks dev max 350h 10~20k€ worth	ca. 2nd Apr., 2024	3 months	- Technical challenge for open source projects (such Lingualibre). - Must be mentored by recognized organization, and named mentor	n.a.
Grants:MSIG		25,000US$	Year round	2~4 weeks	- Individuals, groups, organisations.	Add 1~2 pages to a 2 pages form.	Can finance human resources (organiser).
Notes: 1) Covid19 pandemic and Wikimedia awareness requires small or carefully assessed IRL events. 2) More spending items are covered but wee need to ask questions and increase our understanding for specific cases relevant to us. 3) n.a. : need to find this information.

@Yug: Thanks for preparing this table, for working to update it, and the invitation to boldly update it! This table is fairly comprehensive and shows some useful points of comparison. I'll share it with the Community Resources team to see if and where it might make sense to integrate it in our documentation pages. A few initial points of feedback just from my personal perspective:

• Rather than provide an estimate of the length of the application in A4 units (applications are rarely printed out these days), I think it would be better to link directly to the application itself.
• It will be very difficult to provide comprehensive information on "What we fund" in a table format, if only because the scope of movement activities and eligible expenses or is excessively large, so I would prefer linking to sections in each funding program where this scope is described. I don't support providing a few examples in these sections without more substantial context, because historically, people unfamiliar with the funding programs have misunderstood this we only support certain expenses.
• If we move ahead with this, I suggest we use this to replace the general information on the Grants Meta-wiki page, which has not been actively maintained. Furthermore, I would want to message affiliates to invite them to add their info to this table as well.

Once I've discussed this with my team, I'll let you know how we plan to move forward. Thanks again for your work! I JethroBT (WMF) (talk) 17:04, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

@Yug: Thanks for your effort. However, Jethro has already stated that "Rapid Fund program offers some possible opportunities for funding small-scale software development" rather than long term development. TBH this comparison table is bit useless for the current problem of lack of support for long-term development. Thanks for your understanding. SCP-2000 17:17, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

Grant Fund disturbing comments

Hello ABruszik-WMF, CAlmog (WMF), I JethroBT (WMF), DSaroyan (WMF), DGuedri (WMF), User:JChen (WMF), JStephenson (WMF), KEchavarriqueen (WMF), MCasoValdes (WMF), VThamaini (WMF), Jtud (WMF), MJue (WMF), RSharma (WMF), AGary (WMF),

Following my request for answers here, I am requesting to know the accounts of "series of banned users that I am associated with". There are allegations laid against me at this Grant talk that my account is "associated with a series of banned users" by YPam (WMF) and I am yet to get answers on the list of the "series of banned users that I am associated with". Further comments there makes me feel that my privacy during the application may be compromised because I was directed to where I did not apply. I want an assurance that my privacy is intact and to know the list of the "series of banned user associated with me". Sagbosam (talk) 20:08, 13 July 2023 (UTC)

2023 proposal cycle?

Last year, Research Grants were due December, 2022. Will there by another cycle this year with proposals due December 2023? Hexatekin (talk) 21:26, 4 September 2023 (UTC)

@KGordon (WMF) just drawing your attention to this question. JStephenson (WMF) (talk) 11:32, 18 September 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for tagging me here, @JStephenson (WMF).

@Hexatekin, there will be another cycle this year though dates for proposal submissions have not been finalized. We expect to confirm these dates by the end of the month and I'll make sure to follow up here when that is done. KGordon (WMF) (talk) 16:28, 19 September 2023 (UTC)

Hello @Hexatekin, I am happy to announce that the Wikimedia Research Fund will be accepting applications until December 15, 2023. Detailed submission instructions will be shared by November 15, 2023 on the Meta page. For a sample of last year's stage I submissions, please check the archive.

You can also review previously funded proposals here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikimedia_Research_Fund/Proposals/Funded.

Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions! KGordon (WMF) (talk) 12:22, 23 October 2023 (UTC)

A specific time due on Dec 15th is not listed. This information would be useful. Hexatekin (talk) 19:14, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Is my Rapid Fund grant request live?

It is at Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Reliable newspaper module for Wikipedia Globalization courses (ID: 22271301). It is tagged as draft and I've no idea why and how to make it not a draft. I submitted it in August, it is now November, and I was wondering if the draft status is delaying its assessment? Piotrus (talk) 10:15, 29 November 2023 (UTC)

@KGordon (WMF) @JStephenson (WMF) - can someone get back to me? TIA. Piotrus (talk) 03:31, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Hi @Piotrus, apologies for missing this. I forwarded this question to our Community Resources team. Someone should get back to you here soon. KGordon (WMF) (talk) 08:14, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

Hello Piotrus, your Rapid Fund is not live because you haven't submitted it. When you open your draft request, there is a "Submit application" button on the bottom right corner. You need to submit it, so that it is considered for review. Before submitting, please take a look at the Rapid Fund round timeline and adjust your application dates accordingly. You can contact us at eseap_rapidwikimedia.org for any questions. --DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 08:40, 12 December 2023 (UTC)

@DSaroyan (WMF) I cannot located such a button, I use CTRL+F as well as my Mark I Eyeball. The only button I see is the blue Endorse buttonin the bottom left. Confusingly, the top says "This is an automatically generated Meta-Wiki page. The page was copied from Fluxx, the grantmaking web service of Wikimedia Foundation where the user has submitted their application.". It was my understsanding that I submitted the application in Fluxx, and the metawiki page created is a record of the submission? I'll update the dates in the meantime. Piotrus (talk) 04:06, 13 December 2023 (UTC)

@Piotrus, you will find the button on Fluxx where you have put the draft and not on the Meta page. Any changes should also be made on Fluxx; please do not update the Meta page manually. Here's a quick screenshot. --DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 09:40, 13 December 2023 (UTC)

@DSaroyan (WMF) Thank you, that's helpful. I think I was able to updaste it now. I'd suggest adding some note to the mediawiki page about how to finalize the draft, maybe linking to the screenshot you linked to above. Piotrus (talk) 02:12, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

@Piotrus, great, I'm glad it was helpful. There is a section in the "Final message" section in the application form with a help video and instructions on how to submit. I think I might have missed it. --DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 10:26, 14 December 2023 (UTC)

Let's Connect September 2023 report?

• Grants:Knowledge_Sharing/Connect#Timetable

Is this report out somewhere? Is this program still active? Bluerasberry (talk) 00:35, 19 December 2023 (UTC)

Problems caused on Wikidata

I wanted to elevate this discussion. If these contributions are indeed related to this grant, then the fact that we have already deleted many of them and are poised to delete the remainder should be a matter of some concern. Should we be making grants if they're just going to waste time and resources and give people a bad impression of our projects? Bovlb (talk) 22:02, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

See also continuation in Grants_talk:Project/Rapid#Assessing_grant_proposers_as_Wikidata_trainers. Bovlb (talk) 17:10, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

Suggest new categories for research proposals beginning March 2024

At Grants:Programs/Wikimedia_Research_&_Technology_Fund/Wikimedia_Research_Fund#Review_submissions the grant designers set up a category for "Submissions by Regional Focus", but the majority of submissions are classified as Category:Wikimedia_Research_Fund_applications_in_FY_2023-24_-_Regional_Focus_-_No_identified_focus.

I am looking at these entries in this category, and think they would better be described as "policy", "design", "global infrastructure development", or "community insights". "Region" is not a fit.

Perhaps in the next round have another category for submissions which are neither specific to a Wikimedia project nor a region. Bluerasberry (talk) 15:48, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

Hi Bluerasberry.

I'm Kinneret, Lead Research Community Officer on the WMF Research Team and the workflow chair for the fund.

Thank you for this feedback! This is the first year we created categorizations for the submissions in hope that they are helpful for people exploring the different submissions. I agree that the categories were far from perfect. We will improve this for the next round and I'll make sure we keep in mind the descriptions you suggested. KGordon (WMF) (talk) 15:02, 20 March 2024 (UTC)

Use of open review website

I was just curious about what some of these grants were, and wanted to read the proposals (I was wondering what Grants:Programs/Wikimedia_Research_Fund/Edit_History_Growth_Rate_Analysis was about). However it seems like you need an OpenReview account to do so, and the site will only let you register if you are currently at an institution. (This does not feel very "open" for a site called "OpenReview"). Could the PDFs of grant proposal be uploaded to commons and linked so that the rest of us could read them? Bawolff (talk) 18:43, 30 March 2024 (UTC)

Hello Bawolff,

We are currently in the Stage II review period and we needed to restrict the viewing of the proposals for this time. All proposals will be reopened for viewing via the OpenReview link in a few days. KGordon (WMF) (talk) 08:33, 3 April 2024 (UTC)

Why is Israel included in Western and Northern Europe

Geographically Israel is neither in Western or Northern Europe. --Minilammas (talk) 10:49, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

Given the complex geo-political dynamics between Israel and other countries in the MENA region and closer economic and political ties with the European Union, we included Israel in the North Western Europe region. ABruszik-WMF (talk) 13:25, 14 June 2024 (UTC)

FTEs (full-time equivalents)

In my understanding, FTE is a unit of workload, and if an organization has staff members, their FTEs would be more than 0 (although it could be less than 1, if they have only one part-time worker). Why do some grant applications claim 0 FTEs? Does it matter if people work without pay? whym (talk) 08:37, 12 June 2024 (UTC)

To be honest, I think they might just be doing it wrong. I don't think you can just say "we only have consultants" - you're meant to estimate the hours and figure out how many full time (40-35hr/week depending on the employer?) employees it's equivalent to. I mean, if they're not getting paid, that's fair enough, but is that actually the case, or is their rate just not specified? If they're working for free they should probably be called "volunteer staff" or the like. GreenReaper (talk) 05:26, 13 June 2024 (UTC)

Also, in the first link they received 1/6 of the requested funding, and when they revised the grant application to match that, the FTE number was changed from 1 FTE and 2 consultants to 0. --Zache (talk) 07:41, 13 June 2024 (UTC)

Good point that the funding was reduced, but I'd expect something like 0.1 or 0.2 FTEs instead of 0 in that case.

Some activities, especially volunteer driven ones, might be done on-demand and spontaneously and you might not even know if you are going to spend all of the fund eventually. However, it seems like the general support fund is more for regular, well-planned and predictable things. whym (talk) 08:49, 14 June 2024 (UTC)

Time to archive?

This page has 26 sections now. Is it time to archive some of the older sections? I might suggest setting up automatic archiving with a 1 year threshold. whym (talk) 08:52, 14 June 2024 (UTC)

Hi @Whym, thanks for suggestion. I tried to set it up. Would you please take a quick look? I was also not sure if it archives sections from past years as well; if not, I will move them manually. Thanks again! -- DSaroyan (WMF) (talk) 12:32, 14 June 2024 (UTC)

I changed it a bit, and this should work. [1] This is going to archive inactive sections retroactively, not just for sections created from now on, if that is what you asked. whym (talk) 23:31, 14 June 2024 (UTC)