Crystal: So Mariah, this is your second year managing the Academy review process for the HundrED Global Collection. What do you think is the value of participating in the HundrED Academy, based on the feedback we get from the Academy members?
Mariah: There are several key things that come up repeatedly in emails from Academy Members. One is the honour of being part of this prestigious community, whether it's the Global Collection Academy or a Spotlight Advisory Board. Members feel special to have been selected to participate. In addition, many of our community members are innovators themselves. They get to see what other innovators are doing and how their work fits into the global education ecosystem.
Crystal: Have you noticed specific trends that Academy members find interesting?
Mariah: Yes, for example, one member was very interested in sustainability and education. She wanted to see how many innovations were focused on environmental issues. Another member was keen on innovations from Latin America and asked to review those specifically.
Crystal: How do you see that the Academy members contribute to the selection process?
Mariah: Members are really excited to give feedback. Their feedback helps ensure that the selected innovations are well-rounded and impactful, and members’ insightful opinions on innovations influence the composition of the final selection.
The Academy provide the Research Team with so much insight, enthusiasm and words of inspiration about how they have viewed the shortlist. This helps us refine our process and ensures we select the best innovations.
But Crystal, you've been with HundrED for a while. How do you see the value of the Academy?
Crystal: I agree with all of the points you raised. The recognition of expertise from teachers and students is crucial. What I’ve seen is that our crowdsourcing method elevates their lived experiences and knowledge, offering a more organic and direct recognition of innovators from the reviewers.
Mariah: How does this crowdsourcing method differ from other organisations?
Crystal: I would say HundrED’s method allows for a broader range of perspectives. This approach helps innovators get recognition directly from various stakeholders. One of the things I most appreciate is how the feedback, both positive and critical, that we get from the Academy members. When they take the time to interrogate our processes and selections, their insights are invaluable in ensuring we are making the best choices and staying true to our mission. This has helped us to iterate the review processes and improve the information that reviewers get.
What is your sense of the impact of the changes we have made in the review process?
Mariah: We're always trying to improve. Each year, we reevaluate our process and the review tool to make the experience better for both reviewers and our team. This includes refining our standards of evidence and accountability. For example, last year, a few of the reviews were very critical of particular innovations, which was helpful. It prompted us to reassess our scoring criteria and selection process, ensuring we send only the highest-quality innovations to the Academy for review.
Crystal: What about this year’s Academy?
Mariah: This year's Academy was really great. And the feedback we've already received gives us the sense that overall, our processes are working well for them. So far we’ve had over a hundred responses about their reviewers experience; it will be interesting to analyse them fully to see what our community has to say and how we can enhance our processes further.
Any final thoughts on the value of participating in the HundrED Academy?
Crystal: I’d say the Academy provides a platform for diverse voices to influence global education. It’s a powerful example of how collective input can drive meaningful change and recognition for education innovators around the world.
HundrED Conversations is an article series by the HundrED team, providing insights about education innovation and implementation at scale.
