Wikipedia:GLAM/MGS/12 month summary and reflections

Background
A Wikimedian in Residence is a Wikimedia editor based with an organisation or group of organisations, usually a GLAM (Gallery, Library, Archive or Museum) with the aim of increasing the quality and volume of content on the encyclopedia and associated Wikiprojects concerning the organisation(s) collection.

Wikimedia UK had been working with MGS for several years discussing a potential project, and finally in 2014 set the project up, after MGS had applied to Wikimedia UK to partner on this activity. The process was successful and Wikimedia UK was happy to partner with MGS to deliver a year long residency. The overarching idea for the project was to use the MGS network to reach many institutions and help them engage with open knowledge. It was felt that the project would be more successful it if started with a secondment in a particular institution, so that the resident could first engage with an organisation on the ground level, and apply that learning to other museums in the network. The result of this was the four month secondment to Glasgow Museums. The resident, Sara Thomas was embedded with the Kelvin Hall team at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum for 2.5 days per week during the period 26 January 2015 - 30 May 2015. The Summary & Reflections report for this element of the residency can be found here.

Following the secondment, the resident moved to work from the Edinburgh office of MGS, again for 2.5 days per week, making contact with those organisations who had shown interest in the residency during the secondment, and then using MGS' network to identify other organisations who would be interested in pursuing open knowledge work. Throughout the residency there was a great deal of advocacy work carried out, and attention paid to increasing the sphere of influence and connection.

An attempt to find funding for a 12 month, full-time extension was unsuccessful. The residency has however been extended until 2nd June, and will focus on work with the Recognised Collections of National Significance to Scotland.

Aims and objectives of residency
As a networked residency, working across the Scottish museums sector, this residency was quite different from most others. Primarily, there was a greater focus upon advocacy and attitudinal/culture change than content development. This is reflected in how the impact and success of the residency has been evaluated.

Outcomes
WMUK outcomes relevant to this Residency as set out in the WiR Agreement:


 * G1: Develop Open Knowledge
 * G2a: Develop, involve and engage WMUK volunteers
 * G3: Reduce barriers to accessing open knowledge
 * G5: Develop, support & engage with other Wikimedia & Open Knowledge communities

These outcomes are mapped to more specific outcomes in the below table.

Positive influencing factors for success in the residency

 * Access to established MGS network
 * Line management & other colleagues at MGS supportive of aims of the residency
 * Appetite for digital work within the sector

Negative influencing factors against success in the residency

 * Lack of/need for digital skills in the sector
 * Fear surrounding open licensing: loss of revenue and loss of control
 * Most organisations not open-ready

Outputs
A total of 12 editathons & 16 training sessions were held, and the resident spoke at 23 presentations/conferences, as well as making other informal contacts, reaching at least 79 cultural organisations, 20 universities & 5 other organisations, totalling 698 recorded contact points. These numbers do not include the four meetups of which the resident was part.

'''Training formed a huge part of the first 12 months, with 232 individuals trained, including 184 new users. 67 new articles were created, and 103 improved. 238 images were uploaded over 4 events.''' The most significant delivery was in G3, Reduce barriers to accessing open knowledge, with a number of opportunities being taken to advocate for open knowledge in a museums and cultural context. Success in this area is indicated by the number of engagements and events which came about as follow-up events, following initial contact with the resident.

Developing links with other open knowledge communities has also been important, as well as the development of the Wiki Community in Scotland. It has been particularly gratifying to have been able to support the development of work being done at the University of Edinburgh, which has culminated in their hiring a resident of their own, starting January 2016.

Events & training
12 Editathons

16 Training events

 23 presentations & conferences 

Meetups & social events

Organisations reached


GLAMs & associated organisations - direct contact, training, events, content upload

GLAMs reached but where level of contact is below training - e.g presentation, follow up discussions, but no further action taken.

Universities - conferences & training

Museum Forums

The resident presented at meetings of the following museums forums:


 * Tayside Museums Forum - 10 organisations: Aberfeldy Museum Group, Angus Council Museums, Dunkeld Community Archive, Glenesk Folk Museum, HM Frigate Unicorn, Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre, Museum of Abernethy, Perth and Kinross Council, SSE Corporate Archive - Pitlochry, University of Dundee Museum Services.
 * Fife Museums Forum - 11 organisations: British Golf Museum, Carnegie Birthplace Museum, Crail Museum, Cupar Heritage Trust, Fife Contemporary Art and Craft, Fife Cultural Trust, Fife Folk Museum, Museum Collections Unit - University of St Andrews, Museum of Communication, Scottish Fisheries Museum, St Andrews Preservation Trust Museum.
 * Argyll & Bute Museums & Heritage Forum - 21 organisations: Ardchattan Parish Archive, Argyll Archives, Campbeltown Museum, Castle House Museum - Dunoon, Clan MacAlister Charitable Trust, Dunollie, Helensburgh Heritage Trust, Historic Kilmun, Inveraray Archives, Killean & Kilchenzie Churchyard Preservation Association, Kilmartin Museum / Campbeltown Museum, LAHS, Lismore Heritage Centre, Lochgilphead Phoenix Project, Luing History Group, Mull Museum, Oban War & Peace Museum, Ross of Mull Heritage Centre, Slate Islands Heritage Trust, Strachur Smiddy, Oban War & Peace Museum.

Other
 * The DRB Scottish Women's History Group
 * Glasgow Archaeological Society
 * Jog Scotland
 * Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Edinburgh
 * Edinburgh Codebase



Major achievements

 * 184 new users were trained. 67 new articles were created, 103 improved, & 238 images uploaded.


 * The residency managed to reach a high number of museums, with a good geographical spread, as well as some good advocacy work through conferences & presentations. Although content creation was not a major aim for the project, we still managed to get an impressive number of articles in particular added to the encyclopedia.


 * Setting up the Wiki Working Group at Glasgow Museums - GM are in a key stage of development with the impending opening of Kelvin Hall in 2016, where they will be partnering with other organisations, some of whom (National Library of Scotland) are far more experienced with open knowledge. Although the WWG is unlikely to last long-term, it was a key factor in advocating internally for the benefits of open knowledge in a museums context.


 * Some of the most rewarding parts of the residency have come from working with small museums. Wiki projects offer a way for small museums to punch above their weight in a manner which is otherwise simply unavailable to them - images taken at Braemar Castle are now seen by more people per month on Wikipedia pages than visit the castle during opening months.


 * There is a particular satisfaction in seeing the development of partnership work between cultural organisations and educational institutions. The UWS & Paisley Museum editathon is a good example of this, and it's a model which can be replicated and scaled.


 * Biographies of women missing from Wikipedia, and attacking the gender gap, have been a particular focus of the project. I am delighted that so many new female editors have been introduced to Wikipedia, and that so many women's biographies have been added.


 * Supporting the University of Edinburgh in their work over the past year, which has led to the appointment of a Wikimedian in Residence of their own.


 * Perhaps the most significant achievement of the residency is difficult to quantify: I've been able to change attitudes toward open knowledge and open culture, and have been able to do that whilst working across an entire sector. With any luck, the impact of this will be a gift that keeps on giving...

With MGS projects
The resident provided Wiki training for individuals taking part in the Heritage Horizons traineeship programme, a scheme run by Museums Galleries Scotland to allow non-graduates to attain a qualification in Museums & Galleries Practice.

"Incredibly engaging, really understood her audience. I’ve both taken the training and found it so enjoyable that I then asked Sara to give the training to those taking part in a traineeship programme. Her can-do attitude made it really easy to negotiate with different speakers and plan a day that suited everyone."

- Ailsa Macfarlane - Heritage Horizons Traineeship – Programme Manager

The resident provided Wiki training for MGS staff, in order that they could better advocate for training with their own contacts. She was also involved in the work of the Digital Transformation Network.

"Sara's contribution to my work has been tremendous in terms of my own learning and in my areas of work and responsibility. As a colleague, Sara contributed and supported me in my area of work. She gave a presentation on the work she has been doing with the museums at the Digital Transformation Network event that I organised jointly with the Scottish Network on Digital Cultural Resources Evaluation Conference in 2015 in Glasgow. Feedback from participants has been positive. Personally, the whole learning experience around Wikimedian has been wonderful. I attended the Wikimedian training session that Sara organised at MGS and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It was interactive, creative and very inspiring. I learnt how to create my own Wikimedia site, writing and editing content, sourcing and adding images. I am not very quick with technology tools but Sara made it so easy and it was fun.  It is great working with Sara. She is pleasant and knows her stuff!"

- Loretta Mordi - Collections and Engagement Manager

The resident presented to a number of museum forums: groups of museums who meet on a regular basis for peer support & learning.

"Sara’s visits have inspired a number of museums forums to engage with Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects, both to embrace open knowledge as a means of promoting their collections, and among many voluntary-run organisations, to more generally give digital another chance. Sara has run approachable, fun, and informative workshops that have helped museums staff and volunteers to build their confidence and to develop skills that they are using to help visitors worldwide to explore Scotland’s amazing collections."

- Devon McHugh - Relationships & Partnerships Development Manager

With open knowledge community
The resident engaged with the open knowledge community in Scotland through attendance (& presentation at) various events, including #OpenDataEDB, #OpenDataGLA, & #OEPSforum.

"As an open educational advocate and practitioner with a strong interest in the cultural heritage sector I was very encouraged to learn that Museums Galleries Scotland intended to appoint a Wikimedian in Residence, particularly as one of my current areas of interest is exploring how we can support the innovative use of digital cultural heritage collections in open education.

Throughout the project I have been hugely impressed by Sara’s willingness to engage with colleagues from across the education sector and I believe that the project has had a significant impact on raising awareness of the benefits of using both Wikimedia and MGS collections within education. In my role as EDINA Digital Education Manager and OER Liaison at the University of Edinburgh I have personally benefitted from numerous meetings with Sara at both formal and informal events, including the hugely successful Ada Lovelace Day Editathon which she facilitated, the Open Educational Practices in Scotland Forum, and the Crowd-sourcing, Co-creation and Co-curation in the Cultural Sector Workshop.

Sara has been supportive of the international OER16 Conference, which I am co-chairing at the University of Edinburgh in April, and I am delighted that she will be presenting a paper on her reflections and experiences as MGS Wikimedian in Residence. The theme of OER16 is Open Culture and one strand of the conference focuses on innovative approaches to opening up cultural heritage collections for education, so Sara’s paper will be of considerable interest and relevance to our delegates. To conclude, I believe the MGS Wikimedian in Residence project has had a significant impact on the sector and has done much to bring open advocates together from both education and cultural heritage institutions."

- Lorna M. Campbell, EDINA Digital Education Manager, University of Edinburgh.

With museum sector in Scotland
A questionnaire to assess the impact of contact with the resident was sent to 26 individuals, representing 14 organisations with whom the resident had had significant contact. 7 responses were received, including 3 Recognised Collections of National Significance to Scotland and 1 university.

Key findings include:


 * That contact with the residency improved confidence and understanding around open knowledge.
 * Contact provided inspiration to continue work in open knowledge.
 * Barriers to continuing work centre around funding and resources, as well as organisational buy in. This correlates with the resident's reflections on the sector as a whole that making museums open-ready requires skills, infrastructure, and positive attitudes.

The findings of the questionnaire show that generally the project was received well, having a positive effect on the organisation, and increasing both confidence and understanding of open knowledge and its context, as well as the benefits for both the organisation and the wider sector.

Almost all organisations were keen to recommend the project, and would be interested in doing similar work in the future.

Encouragingly, the project has inspired one organisation to think about a Residency of their own, and assisted in the establishment of another, as well as influencing most organisations to continue with this work. Barriers to pursuing further work focus on time constraints, funding and income generation, and organisational buy in.

The full report is available

Training feedback
Feedback gathered by the resident at training sessions showed that they were well received and improved both understanding of Wikipedia and confidence to edit in the future. A small number of concerns were raised with regard to conflict of interest policies (where museums would like to edit their own institution's page), and occasionally of the training sessions not being long enough. This feedback was taken on board and later sessions amended to address these concerns.

Responses and recommendations
"The last twelve months have proven to be a challenging and unique residency for Sara, in that she has not been based in a single museum or gallery like most other Wikimedians in Residence partnerships. Despite the broad remit of the project Sara has accomplished all the objectives with the exception of objectives that have included a dependency on an external partner. Sara has achieved a significant amount in her time with Glasgow Museums and Museums Galleries Scotland. She has helped influence attitudes and policies towards open knowledge in the many different museums she has worked with and has provided advice to organisations seeking guidance on licensing. Licensing issues has been a frequent area of difficulty to the project as museums have needed a great deal of education about the Creative Commons licenses and intellectual property relating to digital reproductions of public domain art. Whilst Sara hasn’t had the ability to change an entire organisation’s attitude towards licensing she has often changed the attitude of her contact, creating an advocate for open knowledge who can continue to push for change. The edit-a-thons and behind the scenes photography events have proven particularly successful in helping to add to and improve Scottish museum content on Wikipedia."

- Kelly Forbes, Digital Engagement and Communications Manager

Reflections & Recommendations for WMUK
Unlike a single-organisation residency, many of the organisations with which I worked over the last 12 months were far from open-ready. Much of the work I've done has centred on advocacy and changing attitudes; however culture change is a long process. Where content creation is seen as a key KPI of this change, it is unsuitable for this kind of residency and I would urge that any plans for further residencies of this kind take this into account. It is my hope that the evaluation questionnaire designed by myself and MGS staff, with particular mention of the in-house statistician, will provide a model for future projects. It has been used in the evaluation of the last 12 months, and is also being used for the project extension.

Whilst most residencies are for short periods, I would suggest that any future residency of this kind be planned at the start to be much longer, two or three years would be ideal in order to push this kind of culture change forward.

As a non-Wikimedian before this project, the learning curve was steep and I would have benefited from additional technical training early in the residency. The current induction process would benefit from a more formal buddying or mentor system.

Reflections & Recommendations for MGS
There is clearly a huge appetite for the development of digital skills in the sector, and open knowledge offers a clear way for organisations to achieve outreach goals, especially in a contemporary context of reduced and threatened funding. Analysis of the work done over the past year and of the state of the sector clearly indicates that there are three key factors which influence an organisation's ability to embrace a culture of open: attitudes, infrastructure and skills. Of these, attitude is key. If attitudes can be changed to be open to open, the other two will follow.

We did experience throughout the course of the last 12 months repeated resistance to the idea of image donation in particular, which revealed a general lack of development in the sector in the realm of digital licensing policy. Since the introduction of the amendments to the PSI Directive in 2015 we are starting to see these attitudes change, but there is still a generalised concern over both loss of control and loss of revenue, even when items have passed into the public domain. Further work will need to be done in the sector for museums to embrace diversification of income generation - and to take advantage of income generation enabled by digital culture - if the fears surrounding loss of income are to be assuaged.

The support I have received from MGS has been outstanding, and I am greatly saddened that our application for external funding to continue the residency past 2 June 2016 was unsuccessful. I am delighted that we are able to continue the project for a few months, not least because it allows me to work with just some of the organisations who have shown interest as momentum around the residency has gathered. The plans we have for the project extension, however, represent only a very small portion of what could be achieved with further funding.

It is my hope that the work that I have done will have a long tail of impact, and that some of those whom I have trained will go on to be open ambassadors in their current and future roles.