The WISE Awards are designed to identify, showcase and promote innovative educational projects from around the world. Every year, since 2009, six winners are selected by a prestigious Jury for their concrete and positive impact on education. In addition to this recognition given by eminent experts from the education world, they receive $20,000 and are given access to international exposure.
Under the theme Transforming Education the 2012 WISE Awards will recognize six projects for their concrete, positive impact upon society. One of the 2012 WISE Awards will be for a project that has best delivered innovative financing of primary education. This reflects the support of Qatar Foundation Chairperson Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser for the United Nations Millennium Development Goal 2 on achieving universal primary education and it is designed to stimulate innovative projects targeted at achieving MDG 2.
Eligibility of WISE Awards
WISE Awards for educational Transformation: the overall extent to which the educational activity has transformed an aspect of education that has also had societal impact. Applicants must show what aspect of education they have sought to transform, and the impact that the project has achieved, not only in educational terms but also through the effect that this has had on society more generally.
WISE Awards for sustainable Financing: the extent to which the educational activity is funded in a sustainable way and achieves value for money to ensure its continuing viability. Applicants need to show how their projects have sought to ensure continuing financial viability.
WISE Awards for innovation: the extent to which the educational activity is innovative in design and/or practice, thereby transforming traditional means of educational delivery. Innovation can be of many different kinds, but it is important for applicants to emphasize what is particularly novel about their project.
WISE Awards for inclusion and Diversity: the extent to which the activity includes a diversity of beneficiaries and has enhanced equality of access to education. Successful applicants will have paid special attention to ways through which their project has ensured greater equality of access to education, particularly through an increase in the diversity of those participating in learning opportunities provided through the initiative.
WISE Awards for quality of Learning: the extent to which the transformation has contributed to the improvement of the quality of learning. Applicants need to indicate what they understand by quality of learning, and show explicitly how the intervention has indeed enhanced this.
WISE Awards for scalability: the extent to which there is evidence that the educational activity has the potential to be scaled up effectively, or has already been replicated at a larger scale than originally piloted. For more recent projects, it is essential that applicants show explicitly how they will ensure that the initiative can be scaled up effectively.
WISE Awards for partnership and Participation: the extent to which the educational activity has established effective partnerships and includes participation from beneficiaries and stakeholders. Applicants need to indicate the character of the partnerships involved, and be explicit about the ways through which beneficiaries and stakeholders participate in the design and implementation of the initiative.
WISE Awards for monitoring and Evaluation: the extent to which there is evidence of effective ongoing enhancement of the program through regular monitoring and also evidence of formal internal or external evaluation procedures. It is important that applicants show how ongoing monitoring procedures have enhanced the project, and also how formal evaluations after completion of specific stages have contributed to the initiative's subsequent development.
WISE Awards for dissemination: the extent to which the organization has already effectively disseminated and shared educational practices with other practitioners in a diversity of ways. Applicants should provide evidence of how they have already shared their educational experiences with other practitioners.
Deadline of WISE Awards
Thursday 31 May 2012, 23.59 GMT
