Wikimedia Foundation/Operating principles

From Strategic Planning

Operating principles for the Wikimedia Foundation

  1. The Foundation's role is to execute on priorities agreed with the Board of Trustees.
  2. The Foundation's role is to support and build on the successes of the community; it should not initiate new content projects or be responsible for turning around unsuccessful projects.
  3. The Foundation's job includes active efforts to mitigate risks to Wikimedia's long term value.
  4. The Foundation will continue to maintain a lean staff focused on the "1%" of effort that the community needs fulfilled by a paid staff.
  5. The Foundation will systematically capture and use data (including surveys/feedback from the community to make decisions and iterate on its approaches to accomplishing priorities.)
  6. Foundation staff will integrate and actively manage effective partnerships with volunteers in getting their work done (a critical skill of staff needs to be volunteer management)
  7. The Foundation should support innovation via structured spaces for innovation outside of the strategic plan.