Practices and Mindsets that Support Successful Micro-credential Ecosystems

While micro-credentials have been a method for validating skills and competencies for more than 10 years, there are numerous pathways to development and implementation throughout the learning ecosystem. By collaborating with organizations that hold special subject matter expertise, Digital Promise has collected and observed practices and mindsets that support successful credentialing ecosystems—communities and systems that work together in interlinked environments.

Early in Digital Promise’s micro-credentialing work, we saw that adult learners need flexible, relevant, and discrete ways to show and have their skills validated, much like many students do when they are in the classroom. Alongside Digital Promise, our first micro-credential issuers in the education field have found opportunities to build professional learning environments where educators have the agency to choose how they engage with credentials.

These issuers, and those that came after them, have crafted and maintained successful credentialing ecosystems as they:

1. Center the needs of their audience
2. Acknowledge, engage, and seek out relevant motivators (stipends, rewards, promotion pathways, and more)
3. Promote the micro-credential earning process as an engaging and enriching experience, focused on the lifelong learning goals of learners
4. Tailor micro-credential pathways to be supportive of both personal and professional goals
5. Address targeted needs for systems change within the organization
6. Encourage authentic implementation and practice of skills
7. Foster communities of practice among participants
8. Keep the research and resources underpinning their credentials up to date, so learners are upskilling (or reskilling) based on up-to-date research

Creating a Successful Ecosystem

These issuers, and those that came after them, have crafted and maintained successful credentialing ecosystems that are replicable and scalable, regardless of context or size. If you think of the last time you needed to update your driver’s license or ID, a required task that impacts our day-to-day lives, did you have to go and wait in a line for four hours? Or were you pleasantly surprised that the processes had changed to a service mindset with the rollout of a new reservation system or the ability to renew online? At Digital Promise, we take a service approach to developing straightforward processes and tools that make credentialing more accessible and enjoyable for both issuers and learners.

Listed are some concrete ways to bring the above concepts into practice to create a successful micro-credential ecosystem in your organization:

• Engage all stakeholders in the process of needs assessment, including learners, leaders, and training units. By getting more perspectives during the planning phase, you will generate an accurate outline of your organization’s needs holistically.
• Be realistic about the budget, time, and talent constraints, and make sure these resources are aligned with organizational goals.
• Don’t be afraid to outsource. Working with a trusted partner with experience in the micro-credential development process, platforms, and program assessment can help you reach your goals.
• Integrate micro-credentials into your overall learning and development program. Far from being a replacement or standalone solution, micro-credentials should intersect with and complement existing learning opportunities and pathways. Make sure your audience can see the relationship between these offerings and what they already do and know.
• Choose an iterative and systematic approach to scaling your program. Lead this work with curiosity and a service mindset.
• Communicate clearly with your audience. Don’t skip on careful and intentional outreach to learners. Paint a clear picture of the opportunities, constraints, and challenges to build trust and motivation.

Common Pitfalls

Considering many learners are faced with an ever-expanding world of options for professional learning, it’s important to avoid pitfalls that can hinder a new micro-credential initiative. Unlike in the classic movie “Field of Dreams,” the famous line “If you build it, they will come.” rarely holds true for micro-credentials. Issuers who have built successful ecosystems often start with a clear idea of how micro-credentials complement their overall professional learning program, rather than launching micro-credentials as a “shiny new thing.” Many issuers have also found that adoption and implementation of micro-credentials are more widespread when learners have agency over how and when to complete micro-credentials, as opposed to restrictive, superficial requirements that can cause disengagement. Questions to consider:

• Does your audience gain stipends or other benefits from earning a micro-credential?
• Are they acknowledged in a tangible or intangible way?
• What systems are currently in place to support learners and micro-credentials?

Supporting Learner Goals

Shifting organizational mindsets to embrace and support learners to pursue micro-credentials rather than conventional programs can ensure your current and future workforce is skilled, agile, and able to meet ever-growing industry demands. This learner-centered approach is a direct response to the needs of a modern workforce. Placing value on skills development and flexible learning opportunities leads to a more competent workforce and increased educational equity for those learners who have been historically and systemically marginalized. The key to success is a systematic approach, designing thoughtful learning pathways, clear communication approaches to recognizing the necessary skills, the appropriate time to upskill, and shifting to address learner needs.

Digital Promise has been a pioneer in competency-based micro-credentials and has more than 10 years of experience in supporting organizations with their micro-credentialing needs. If you are interested in learning more about micro-credential services, visit our website or contact us at microcredentials@digitalpromise.org.