SmartReport Ecosystem Map

Last Updated: Spring 2023

Relational Map coming soon. Learn more about the work we’re doing with AI and view our example prototypes here.

Overview

The Smart Report Ecosystem Map was created by iDatafy in 2022 – launched in January 2023 and updated in 2024. iDatafy originally worked with a team of digital credentialing experts to create two infographics that show the way data flows through the ecosystem. The infographics demonstrate how digital credentials are issued, shared, consumed, and who the companies and organizations are that make that happen. The goal of the initiative is to map the U.S. digital credential and learning and employment record ecosystem to help stakeholders better understand digital credentialing, learning and employment records, and the companies and institutions driving these innovations forward.

The ecosystem in the graphic maps is defined as the organizations enabling the issuance, sharing, and consumption of digital credentials, with a particular focus on the following digital credential standards:

  • Verifiable Credentials from W3C
  • Open Badges 2.0 & 3.0 from 1EdTech
  • Comprehensive Learner Records 1.0 & 2.0 from 1EdTech
  • Learning and Employment Record - Resume Standard from HR Open Standards

Updates in 2024 (Version 2)

The SmartReport was updated in January 2024 with a number of improvements:

  • 140+ updates based on the evolving nature of the ecosystem
  • 3 new micro-categories of organizational issuers
  • 4 new micro-categories of organizations supporting LER ecosystem enablement
  • Significant growth in CLR Issuing Platforms & LER Regional Talent Marketplaces
  • Over 150 logos representing organizations that contribute to the ecosystem, including 60 new additions
  • Revisions in the report structure to make it easier to navigate
  • Inclusion of QR code on the infographics to link back to the report
  • Creation of an explainer video
  • Article on top ten trends comparing the 2023 to the 2024 report

The report continues to feature two infographics that show the way data flows through the learning and employment record ecosystem. It outlines the organizations and companies involved in the issuance, sharing, and consumption of specific verifiable credential data standards in the U.S. in 2024.  It also explains the methodology used to create the infographics, ecosystem trends, definitions; and it lists the 38 contributors whose expertise was leveraged to assemble this information.

This report is organized from left to right to represent how individuals (a.k.a. learners and earners) have their achievements, skills, and qualifications recognized by organizational issuers, assume agency (control) over these official records, move those records between systems, and ultimately receive value from those records as they are consumed by different types of organizations such as employers, educational institutions, and government agencies.

The infographics include five macro-categories and 29 micro-categories to organize the types of organizations involved in the ecosystem into common groups based on their contributions to the issuance, sharing, and consumption of the four data standards. The macro-categories are:

  1. Organizational Issuers - A wide variety of organizations who can credential learning achievements, qualifications, and skills and who actively wish to stand behind individuals to verify their accomplishments.
  2. LER Issuing Technology - These companies help organizations issuers verify accomplishments as Verifiable Credentials, Open Badges, or Comprehensive Learner Records, enabling individuals to take control over their credentials while preserving them in verifiable form.
  3. Ecosystem Enablement - This category supports the overall growth and adoption of this LER ecosystem while striving to ensure it promotes equitable skills-based hiring practices, and levels the playing field for all learners and earners when it comes to educational and career opportunities.
  4. Credential Portability - This category contains the data standards for both the verifiable credentials themselves and the data they contain to maximize the interoperability of this data across a wide range of technologies so that it can be consumed at scale. This category also contains the technologies that help individuals move this data across the ecosystem without sacrificing utility.
  5. Verifiable Credential Consumption Enablement - This category includes the types of technologies and platforms that enable these data standards to provide value to the learner and earner credential holders and the organizations who wish to consume this data in their day-to-day operations.

Top 10 LER Trends of 2024

Interviews conducted to develop the 2024 report identified 10 top ten LER trends:

  1. Higher education LER sophistication is growing
  2. Youth and secondary educators are entering the fray
  3. The government is coming, in a good way
  4. Employers are embracing LERs, just not like you might think
  5. The rise of the Comprehesove Learner Record (CLR)
  6. The impact of SkillsFWD
  7. LER trust and quality solutions are in development
  8. LER data standards are maturing, colliding, and evolving
  9. 2024 will be the year of the LER Regional Talent Marketplace
  10. LER Momentum is everywhere

A description of each trend including examples of work is available here.

Use of the Map

The ecosystem map is used as a tool to understand who key partners are in the LER ecosystem and the roles they play. 

Partners

iDatafy and nearly 40 digital credential experts

Link to Resources

https://www.smartresume.com/resources/smartreport-ecosystem-map

LER-Resume Standard is being released by HR Open Standards in 2024

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Organizations (274)

Initiatives (264)

Topics (91)