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''Partnerships'' include any relationship with non-Wikimedia organizations and individuals that are used to further the Wikimedia mission. This can include partnerships with:
* Government
* Cultural or academic institutions, e.g. [[GLAM]], [[:outreach:Education|Education programs]], or in conjunction with [[CIS-A2K]] in India
* Individuals who donate their copyrighted content (e.g. authors, photographers), or otherwise contribute to the mission (e.g. providing space for Wikimedian activities; offering professional training to Wikimedia volunteers).
=== Summary of Research ===
For communities that pursued external partnerships, there were four key points reported:
*# Overcoming the general lack of awareness or negative perception of the Wikimedia projects was key in successfully establishing initial contact. As this initial contact could be made either through “warm introduction” (i.e. being introduced by a mutual contact) or through “cold contact” (i.e. reaching out to the partner formally, usually via their Outreach or Public Relations departments), assessing and addressing the existing level of awareness was a key first step.
*# Understanding the priorities and focus areas ''of the potential partner'' was critical in creating specific projects that would become the basis for partnership.
*# Setting expectations appropriately can be difficult, both from a cultural perspective and from a logistical perspective. Partners need to ultimately be comfortable with the way Wikimedia projects work and are governed (e.g. someone from another country could delete the photo you donated due to insufficient copyright information). Moreover, partners might expect more conventional project management terminology (e.g. budgets, “Memoranda of Understanding”) and disciplines (e.g. set timelines, deadlines, and “deliverables”), as distinct from the more natural “eventualism” of the work on the wiki.
*# Overall, these partnerships are a long-term investment on the part of the community. Building the relationship to a point that is mutually beneficial to both parties can take months, if not years.
For communities that have worked with government agencies (at either the local, regional, or national levels), there were a range of different engagements and benefits reported:
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