Grants:IdeaLab/How it works
IdeaLab is an incubator for people to share ideas to improve Wikimedia projects and to collaboratively develop them into plans and grant proposals. This page is for people to understand how IdeaLab works.
IdeaLab has its own processes and policies
Many people come to IdeaLab from all different parts of the Wikimedia community. It's important to understand that IdeaLab, and Meta-wiki overall, are separate from other wikis, and operate differently.
IdeaLab is a friendly space
Contributors to IdeaLab are expected to help maintain a friendly space environment where all participants can feel comfortable sharing ideas and get constructive feedback. Disagreement should be expressed respectfully and constructive suggestions are welcome - please keep in mind that initiating something new isn't easy, and some good ideas take time and nurturing to mature.
Idea pages
Endorsements and opposition
Each idea page has an "endorsement" section, where people can express their support for this idea.
The endorsement section is not for votes/opposition; if you don't like an idea, and want to express concerns or suggest improvements, you can do so on the Discussion page.
Canvassing
IdeaLab participants are welcome to invite interested parties to comment on, or endorse, their ideas. Please note that English Wikipedia's canvassing guidelines don't apply on Meta wiki.
Funding
Some ideas need funding in order to succeed, and some don't. Not every idea that is created in IdeaLab is asking for a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation. Ideas that are only looking for feedback or participants are very welcome in IdeaLab!
Inspire Campaign
From March 1-30, we're running an Inspire Campaign in IdeaLab, to generate ideas focused specifically on addressing Wikimedia's gender gap.
How Campaigns work
Here are some steps you can take to get involved during an Idea Campaign:
- Create an idea: Anyone can create an idea. Even if you want someone else to make the project happen or don't have the skills needed to turn your idea into action, capturing and sharing your ideas is a useful first step to forward our collective knowledge.
- Grow your idea: You can add extra sections to your idea at any point, to start to turn it into a more actionable project plan. If you need help figuring out what kinds of sections to add, feel free to ask on the discussion page of your idea.
- Give feedback on ideas: If you like an idea, use the "endorse" button. Improvement suggestions, concerns, or other feedback should be posted on the discussion page.
- Share your skills: Create a profile to tell others what sort of skills or experience you can offer as a collaborator on potential projects. Our friendly GrantsBot will make some suggestions for projects looking for collaborators on your profile, and you can also browse all ideas and use the "join" button to offer to collaborate on a project of interest to you.
- Find people to help with your idea: If your idea needs participants, you can browse people's profiles in IdeaLab and invite someone with relevant skills to join your project.
- Ask for funding to support your idea: If funding from the Wikimedia Foundation would help turn your idea into action, use the "propose for a grant" button at the bottom of your idea page to turn your idea into a grant proposal. WMF staff and funding committee members will review your proposal, ask any necessary questions on the discussion page, and let you know when a decision has been made in the month following the campaign.