Wikipedia:Ambassadors/Steering Committee/Elections

The Wikipedia Ambassadors Steering Committee has discussed how elections for future committees should be held, and recommends the following to the community for adoption:

Committee structure

The committee needs to take into account the perspectives and needs of all stakeholders in the ambassador program – students, professors, Campus Ambassadors, Online Ambassadors, the broader Wikipedia and Wikimedia communities – but the two key groups primarily represented by the committee are:

Campus Ambassadors
Online Ambassadors

The committee will consist of at least three campus ambassadors, at least three online ambassadors, and one at-large member (who may be a campus or online ambassador, or someone else).

Ambassadors serving as both online and campus ambassadors will be counted as whichever type would minimize instances of a candidates with more votes losing to a candidate with fewer votes because no appropriate slot for the higher-ranking candidate remains.

One concern the committee discussed is that there is likely to be a systemic bias against Campus Ambassadors who were not already well-known Wikipedians.

The at-large member can be:
- Another ambassador
- Wikimedia Foundation staff
- Any other Wikimedian

The committee members will serve for approximately 6 months or 1 year, at which point new elections will be held. Future elections should be staggered so that the whole committee isn't replaced at once. The two highest-ranking candidates filling Campus Ambassador slots, and the two highest-ranking candidates filling Online Ambassador slots, will take 1-year terms; the other three members will take half-year terms.

Voting system

Elections will be held annually, beginning in April 2011.
We will use on-wiki approval voting.
Voters may support or oppose as many candidates as they wish, within a set voting time period.
Candidates will be ranked according to the number of net votes (support votes minus oppose votes).
The highest ranking candidates will be join the committee, unless there are no remaining slots they are eligible for.
- In the event of a tie, a run-off will be held.

Voting requirements

Any user who has been an ambassador (either online or campus) for at least one semester (including the current semester) may vote.
However, a user who has not actively served as an ambassador within the most recent three semesters should be considered ineligible.

Questions about voting and eligibility should be directed to Sage.

How to run

Candidates should prepare a brief statement including:

Who are you? (Name; user name; if you are a Campus Ambassador, at which university/universities do you serve?)
In what role(s) have you served as part of the Wikipedia Ambassador Program?
In which role do you run for the Steering Committee? (Campus Ambassador / Online Ambassador / Wikimedia Foundation staff / other)
Describe how you embody the qualities of an ambassador and why you wish to participate in the Ambassador Steering Committee. (See below for qualities.)
Anything else that's relevant?

Qualities and qualifications of the committee

Each member of the committee should

Be a hard worker and be willing to spend time/effort to maintain and improve the Ambassador Program
Be proactive in improving the Ambassador Program
Committed to the project (Wikipedia in education) and the Wikimedia movement
Have reliable Internet access (meetings have usually been held via Skype so far, with speakers a necessity and microphone and webcam access highly desirable)
Be comfortable working as part of a team

The committee as a whole needs the following qualities

Excellence in the roles of Campus and Online Ambassadors
Can contribute innovative ideas towards sustainability of program
Able to see large picture and plan on a high-level strategic level
Deep knowledge of Wikipedia and its community
Represents the various stakeholders in the Wikipedia Ambassador Program
Commitment to engage Wikimedia community & larger Ambassador community in decision-making
Ability to handle money issues (in the event that the ambassador program is given a budget)
- Grant-reviewing knowledge/experience

Time commitment

Being part of the steering committee is time commitment of approximately 3 hours per week, including 1–2 hour meetings several times per month, drafting and discussing proposals outside of meetings, and administrative and logistical duties to help keep the ambassador program running smoothly. But it's a pretty fun 3 hours.

Timeline

3 April 2011 – Nominations and questions for candidates open.
10 April 2011 – Deadline for nominations.
17 April 2011 – Voting begins.
27 April 2011 – Voting ends.
October 2011 - Elections to replace 6 month term members from first election