Badging Coalition

The Digital Promise Badging Coalition is in partnership with learners, industry experts, and practitioners to design an open-source badging solution.

Digital Promise is a global non-profit organization committed to shaping the future of learning and advancing equitable education systems by bringing together solutions across research, practice, and technology. In the last 10 years, we have led as a provider of competency-based micro-credentials through the development of a comprehensive equity and research based framework and micro-credential platform. As we look to the future, we strive to enable 30 million historically and systematically excluded learners to achieve postsecondary credentials that offer economic security, well-being, and agency.

Toward that goal, we propose the creation of a badging alternative in the market to expand the opportunity of skills-based recognition more broadly. The proposed badging solution would incorporate the following focus areas:

• Equity: We believe that a technology credentialing solution should consider the needs of diverse learners. This concept is founded on the principle that diverse expertise, experience, and perspectives are critical to designing a robust product. Further, we also believe that development teams should be representative of the intended user base to the largest degree possible.
• Learner Autonomy and Control of Data: Data and privacy continue to be a topic of discussion in education and digital credentials. Badging mechanisms should provide learners with autonomy in how they manage, control, and share their data, and with whom. This control should also include the right to determine how much personal information is shared and how it may subsequently be used by the badging provider.
• Ability to Serve All Ages: Most badging providers only have the capability to serve adults, while a small subset can support credentials for learners aged 13+. Developing a badging solution that can support learners of all ages will support a variety of credentialing efforts that can serve a broader range of learners.
• Open Source and Sustainability: Currently, there is no true open-source badging solution that is freely accessible. Since the inception of digital badges, many advances have been made that can inform the design and development of an open-source solution that is also sustainable. We believe that a collaborative open-source solution is key to sustaining and advancing badging technologies in a way that benefits a variety of credentialing organizations.
• Adherence to Open Badges Standard V3.0: Currently, most badging providers adhere to the OBv2 and OBv2.1 of 1EdTech’s Open Badges standard. A solution that adheres to the latest standard will allow for the greatest flexibility and ability to evolve toward Learner Employment Record and Comprehensive Learner Record compatibility.

Resources

• Micro-credentials at Digital Promise
• Badging Coalition Blog Post
• Badging Coalition Press Release

How to Get Involved

If you or your organization are interested in contributing to this effort, please contact Nichole Aguirre (naguirre@digitalpromise.org), Badging Coalition Project Director, to learn more. Sign up for our Badging Coalition newsletter to stay updated on our progress.