Research:A Longitudinal Analysis of Engagement and Strategy Work at Wikimedia

Created
13:51, 15 July 2024 (UTC)
Duration:  2024-August – 2026-December

This page documents a research project in progress.
Information may be incomplete and change as the project progresses.
Please contact the project lead before formally citing or reusing results from this page.


Since its foundation in 2001, Wikimedia has engaged community members and organizations globally to join two large participatory strategy processes. One started in 2009 (public archive) and one in 2017 (Wikimedia 2030), where a response to the strategic direction of “becoming the essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge by 2030” was developed. Three rounds of movement strategizing have occurred in the past 7 years, bringing together hundreds of participants and stakeholders to discuss the future of the Wikimedia movement through online and in-person events. While Wikimedia is a pioneer in open strategy work, it is essential to develop a further understanding of the dynamics of these processes. This study aims to delve into the operations and practices of the strategic processes, particularly, to understand how Wikimedia deals with bias and diversity. It is proposed to enhance understanding in two areas of research:

A. Participation and open strategy work: How has Wikimedia carried out its open strategy work? How has it engaged different stakeholders in strategy-making, creating multi-stakeholder, collaborative, and crowd-based solutions to challenges and issues? How have diverse roles and subject positions of different stakeholders changed in this process?

B. Knowledge production and epistemic communities: How does Wikimedia, one of the most important ecosystems in contemporary knowledge production, deal with diversity and bias? How does it work to reduce or prevent the reproduction of bias?


Methods

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The researchers intend to conduct a longitudinal analysis to trace the evolution of strategy work in Wikimedia. This project is an inductive, process-based study based on documentaries, interviews, and other materials. To complement existing data, the team has conducted over 50 interviews with both active participants and non-participants (including drop-outs) from the Movement Strategy 2030 process. Interviewees were selected to capture a broad and diverse range of perspectives, including Wikimedians from different geographical regions, levels of expertise, seniority, and cultural backgrounds. Additionally, a public call for participation has previously posted on this wiki page, providing an open channel for any interested contributors to engage with the study.

Pilot in-person interviews were conducted during the Wikimania conference in Katowice in August 2024, beginning with staff from the core strategy team, members of the working groups, and community participants actively involved in strategic conversations. The sample was later expanded to include individuals at the margins of these conversations, and online interviews were set up to include people from different parts of the world.

In addition to interviews and observation, the research team analyzed a range of archival materials, including publications, reports, wiki entries, and other documents, to support triangulation and enrich the overall analysis.

Expected Outcomes

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A comprehensive analysis with feedback and recommendations to Wikimedia and academics, researchers and organizations interested in open strategy work.

Results

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The analysis reveals significant variations in how different groups within the open strategizing process perceive inclusion, resulting in diverse constructions of reality across the Wikimedia movement. These differences highlight how the open nature of the strategy process both facilitates and complicates the development of shared understandings and collective vision.

The first set of findings was presented at the EGOS Conference in Athens in July 2025 to the management research community. Following constructive feedback, the research team is conducting further analysis and refinement. The team plans to share these findings with the Wikimedia community (potentially through engagement at the Wikimania 2026 conference) to gather additional perspectives and foster dialogue around the ongoing strategy process.

References

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