A curated list of projects, publications, organizations, and tools on digital badges, micro-credentials, and verifiable credentials. Know a resource we should add? Write to jmuehlig@icobc.net.
A knowledge repository for the Open Badges community: what Open Badges are, how they work, and how to use them for learning and recognition — badge pathways, design, platforms, and more. Stewarded by the Keep Badges Weird community and supported by We Are Open Co-op.
A project of the National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL) at Dublin City University, collecting resources, research, and policy analysis on micro-credentials in higher education and lifelong learning.
Newest first. Also see our own reports.
European Commission
The EU initiative to invest in education, training, and lifelong learning, strengthen basic and advanced skills, and improve the portability of skills across EU countries.
Education Design Lab
Maps current and emerging practices for validating skills — seven methods and 15 practices — and stresses trust, common standards, and early uses of AI.
Aspen Institute, commissioned by Western Governors University
Interviews with 12 employers on the promise of digital credentials for talent management and the obstacles: standardization, system integration, and adoption.
YERUN
Key considerations for integrating micro-credentials into higher education: industry alignment, quality assurance, accessibility, and inclusion.
IMINQA Working Group / ENQA
Guiding questions for higher education institutions, quality assurance agencies, and alternative providers reviewing their policies for micro-credentials in the EHEA.
GIZ / Skills Group
The value of micro and digital credentials for platform-based gig workers, particularly in the Global South, and the policies needed for recognition and portability.
OpenWallet Foundation / Linux Foundation Research
A survey-based study of open digital wallets and the challenges of security, usability, and interoperability.
Digital Credentials Consortium (MIT)
Why digital credentials are not yet widely used in hiring, with use cases, challenges, and recommendations for employers and learners.
FE News
A short overview of the “size” of credentials and the challenges it raises, with examples from New Zealand.
Rebecca Ferguson, The Open University
A reflective framework of seven guidelines for identity verification, assessment, recognition, and quality assurance of online micro-credentials.
Beverley Oliver, UNESCO
Proposes a common international definition of micro-credentials based on a global expert consensus.
W3C
The W3C Director’s decision to advance DID Core 1.0 to a W3C Recommendation, responding to formal objections.
Aaron M. Brower & Ryan J. Specht-Boardman (eds.)
How learners combine courses, credentials, and platforms across their careers, and how institutions and employers can support this.
BadgEurope (Erasmus+)
An Erasmus+ project on using digital badges to recognize informal and non-formal learning, especially for people distant from the labour market.
Digital Credentials Consortium (MIT)
Development and pilot testing of an open-source mobile wallet that gives learners control of their verifiable academic credentials.
Rory McGreal & Don Olcott Jr.
An introduction to micro-credentials for higher education leaders, including affordances, barriers, and implementation.
OECD
How higher education institutions see the future of micro-credentials and the implications for quality assurance and recognition.
OECD
An OECD education policy perspective on who offers micro-credentials, what they are, and why they are growing.
Government of the Netherlands
The Dutch position in the European Commission’s public consultation on micro-credentials.
EURASHE
Drivers, benefits, and challenges of micro-credentials in professional higher education, with policy recommendations.
eucen
The position of the European university lifelong learning network on micro-credentials.
Groningen Declaration Network
Five essential dimensions of micro-credentials: learner autonomy, trust, interoperability, recognition, and inclusion.
Brown et al., Journal of Learning for Development
A global overview of micro-credentials with a European perspective and a case study from Ireland.
Dominic Orr et al., NESET
A study of practices and commonalities in offering micro-credentials in European higher education.
OpenLearning
Links micro-credentials to Malaysia’s national qualifications framework.
MICROBOL (EU project)
How micro-credentials relate to the Bologna key commitments: quality assurance, recognition, qualification frameworks, and ECTS.
International Labour Organization
Finds that digitization is becoming a driving force behind lifelong learning and flexible learning pathways.
Digital Credentials Consortium (MIT)
A vision and design principles for an open, interoperable, learner-owned credential infrastructure.
Clements, West & Hunsaker, IRRODL
A practical guide with key terms, design precedents, and a step-by-step framework for an open badging system.
ICDE
Definitions, criteria, implementation, and challenges of alternative digital credentials for higher education.
Gary W. Matkin, UC Berkeley CSHE
Argues for institutional adoption of fully digital, workplace-relevant, information-rich credentials.
David Anderson & Selva Staub
On transforming advanced programs with authentic online instruction and assessment, recognized through digital badges.
Madhu Singh, UNESCO
One of the most comprehensive books on recognizing non-formal and informal learning.
Patrick Werquin, OECD
An overview of how countries recognize non-formal and informal learning.
Patrick Werquin, OECD
Outcomes, policies, and practices of recognition, including benefits and cost analysis.
BMBF / OECD
An example of how recognition practices are adapted at national level.
OECD
How qualification systems affect lifelong learning; see especially Thematic Group 2 on standards, quality assurance, and recognition of non-formal and informal learning.