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'''[This is a personal document and does not in any way represent an official position of the Mozilla Foundation or other Mozilla organizations. It is intended as a personal guide to thinking about a particular approach to grantmaking in the Mozilla context, for use by anyone interested in this topic, whether within Mozilla or otherwise.]''' | '''[This is a personal document and does not in any way represent an official position of or commitment by the Mozilla Foundation or other Mozilla organizations. It is intended as a personal guide to thinking about a particular approach to grantmaking in the Mozilla context, for use by anyone interested in this topic, whether within Mozilla or otherwise.]''' | ||
Grants can be a useful middle way to help address problems relevant to Mozilla and like-minded projects and organizations, more effective than relying solely on volunteer contributions and more suitable for areas where organizations can't justify making a sustained investment of staff time and other resources. However effective grantmaking requires more than simply defining grant criteria and soliciting grant applications. Prospective funders need to actively reach out to find and fund projects in support of clear and compelling strategies. | Grants can be a useful middle way to help address problems relevant to Mozilla and like-minded projects and organizations, more effective than relying solely on volunteer contributions and more suitable for areas where organizations can't justify making a sustained investment of staff time and other resources. However effective grantmaking requires more than simply defining grant criteria and soliciting grant applications. Prospective funders need to actively reach out to find and fund projects in support of clear and compelling strategies. | ||
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These criteria are based on Mozilla's past grantmaking in the accessibility space (where Mozilla drove a major wave of innovation in making advanced web applications accessible), on the current Mozilla Education program (as a result of which Mozilla is now a leader in introducing open source values and practices into undergraduate computing education), and on personal thinking about possible future areas for Mozilla-related grantmaking such as media and the arts. | These criteria are based on Mozilla's past grantmaking in the accessibility space (where Mozilla drove a major wave of innovation in making advanced web applications accessible), on the current Mozilla Education program (as a result of which Mozilla is now a leader in introducing open source values and practices into undergraduate computing education), and on personal thinking about possible future areas for Mozilla-related grantmaking such as media and the arts. | ||
The goal with this framework is to make things happen by leadership and actions. The grantmaking organization doesn't need to do everything itself, and should not attempt to do so; rather the aim is to connect the Mozilla community to other communities, and to facilitate interactions among these communities so that together | The goal with this framework is to make things happen by leadership and actions. The grantmaking organization doesn't need to do everything itself, and should not attempt to do so; rather the aim is to connect the Mozilla community to other communities, and to facilitate interactions among these communities so that together they can do great things. If this is done right then the result will be that people from the Mozilla community and people from other communities will join to form new self-sustaining communities that can take responsibility for driving further progress. | ||
== Approach == | == Approach == | ||
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** The grantmaking organization should see some measurable progress toward achieving the short-term goal, based on the criteria set in the initial strategy. | ** The grantmaking organization should see some measurable progress toward achieving the short-term goal, based on the criteria set in the initial strategy. | ||
* After 2-3 years: | * After 2-3 years: | ||
** The grantmaking organization should have achieved (or nearly achieved) the short-term goal based on | ** The grantmaking organization should have achieved (or nearly achieved) the short-term goal based on the strategy's criteria. | ||
** The grantmaking organization should see some measurable progress in attaining the longer-term vision, as evidenced by the participation and support of many individuals and multiple organizations in activities (whether Mozilla-related or not) supporting the vision. | ** The grantmaking organization should see some measurable progress in attaining the longer-term vision, as evidenced by the participation and support of many individuals and multiple organizations in activities (whether Mozilla-related or not) supporting the vision. | ||
* After 4-5 years: | * After 4-5 years: | ||
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* [[User:Hecker/GrantStrategy/Art|Art]] | * [[User:Hecker/GrantStrategy/Art|Art]] | ||
The following pages contain notes from early thinking about areas which might be candidates for | The following pages contain notes from early thinking about areas which might be candidates for other programs created according to this frame. (Again, this is totally blue-sky.) | ||
* [[User:Hecker/GrantStrategy/Mathematics|Mathematics]] | * [[User:Hecker/GrantStrategy/Mathematics|Mathematics]] | ||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
The following pages contain additional material relevant to | The following pages contain additional material relevant to this framework: | ||
* [[ | * [[User:Hecker/GrantStrategy/Readings|Readings]] | ||