Digital Creator Award

Process for International Licensees

The BCS Digital Creator Award (also known as DigitalCre8or) is now available to esteemed organizations to run as licensees within their countries or regions.

This document assumes some initial knowledge of the Digital Creator Award and what it involves and if this is not the case you should contact Peter Leavy (peter.leavy@hq.bcs.org.uk) to arrange an initial briefing.

It is vital for BCS that the quality and consistency of the qualification is maintained throughout the world and there are strict guidelines that need to be adhered to in order for any organization to be granted a licence to deliver the product.

Before considering whether to make an application to become a licensee an organization should carefully read Schedule 1 (at the foot of this document) to ensure that they understand and are able to adhere to the initial quality guidelines.

Should an organization wish to investigate the possibility of becoming a licensee, then this document is intended to map out the necessary processes and estimated time frames that will be involved.

Please note that any organization that applies will be carefully vetted by BCS and that in some countries a competitive tender process is expected.

Suitable Organizations

The types of organizations that we expect to be suitable to become a licensee within a specific territory are:

An existing awarding body for qualifications A university or college with significant certification experience A government education department or official organization An organization with significant training expertise and financial backing An organization with a reputation for the delivery of digital media training An international organization with significant channels to market

Roles and Responsibilities

An overview of the responsibilities which a licensee must take on are:

Promote and manage all sales of the product within the territory.

Manage the accreditation process through which organizations can become approved to deliver the product within the territory.

Follow all quality processes as set out by BCS.

Package, where necessary, the product ready for dispatch.

Undertake all marketing activities for the product within the territory, including creation and production of marketing materials, managing sales leads and organising and attending events and exhibitions.

Use all reasonable endeavours to ensure that the qualification becomes recognised by official education standards, including, but not limited to, government recognised qualifications and frameworks.

Provide all technical assistance to customers in their territory in relation to the product.

Use its best endeavours to respond to enquiries from customers in a reasonable time.

Localise and arrange translations, where necessary, for the product. These must be approved in advance by BCS before issuing.

Localise and print all supporting materials as required, including certificates and marketing collateral.

Secure approval in advance from BCS for the provision of any supporting materials that have been localised or amended from the original templates supplied by BCS.

BCS will offer the following to licensees:

Grant exclusive rights to be the licensee for the territory, offering incredible growth potential as the certification is expected to become the world’s fastest certification in digital media.

Provide the full product including courseware, sample files, e-portfolio, marking schemes, syllabus, assessment guidelines and individual student blogs.

Issue licence keys for access to the e-portfolio system to the licensee upon request, in order for the fulfilment of orders.

Supply the product only to the licensee and not to supply the product to competitors of the licensee or any other organizations within the territory.

Grant the right for the licensee to use the product trademark within the territory, as well as the BCS logo where required with expressed prior consent.

Appoint a project manager who shall have all necessary technical and managerial ability and the necessary authority to manage the licensees performance of its obligations.. This project manager shall speak via conference call no less than once every once and meet no less than once every 12 months. Supply the e-portfolio system for the product and assist the licensee with installs and upgrades servers to cope with any uncapped growth in demand for the product. Where these obligations require server installations within the territory there will be a cost to the licensee, to be agreed in advance. Arrange provision for initial train-the-trainer and train-the assessor training days for the licensee, at a cost to be agreed in advance.

Provide any information and support as may reasonably be required by the licensee to enable it properly and efficiently launch the product.

Provide full consultancy on the implementation and ongoing development of the product within the territory, including provision of speakers/presenters for launch events.

Provide design templates for all supporting materials, including certificates and marketing collateral. BCS will also supply a full graphic design consultancy service to ensure the provision of all materials in formats suitable for the licensee’s territory.

Seek support from other organizations within the agreed territory to assist in translation and localisation costs and support the licensee with any applications or proposals that assists in the ongoing development of the product within their territory.

Process

A greatly simplified overview of the process is:

Express initial interest and have initial meeting or conference call, including potential partners.

Make formal application

BCS reviews application and site visit may be necessary

BCS approves (or rejects) application

BCS organises (Train-the-Trainer)T3 session for licensee (in the territory)

BCS assists in market implementation

Process in more detail

In the first instance it is recommended that licensees contact BCS to discuss their suitability to become a licensee.

To be considered a licensee will need to demonstrate their suitability in terms of:

Ability to manage large numbers (potentially millions) of candidate certifications within their territory, or the ability to grow the infrastructure for the qualification as it grows in success.

Commitment and ability to follow all quality requirements.

Relevant experience and expertise in certifications and/or digital media

Financial strength to launch the product within their territory (a minimum initial investment, unless in pilot, of €30,000 will be required)

Commitment to distributing the product in the long-term.

To demonstrate an initial interest in becoming a licensee then an organization should contact Peter Leavy at BCS (peter.leavy@hq.bcs.org.uk or + 44 (0) 7977 573344.

There will then be a conference call or a face-to-face meeting arranged to discuss the interest and whether to proceed directly to a licensee agreement or whether to enter a pilot phase that could suit both organizations. BCS may suggest other organizations join this meeting if it is felt they may be able to assist the licensee in their territory.

It may be deemed necessary for an applicant licensee to submit a business proposal or enter into a competitive tender process depending on the situation within their territory.

Once an initial agreement has been made BCS will then present the licensee with a contract granting them exclusivity within their territory.

Timeframes

It is possible for a licensee to enter the application process and then to be launching the product to be as little as three months, but this depends on translation requirements, length of negotiations, need for audit visits, etc.

Once a potential licensee has expressed their initial interest they will hear back from BCS within 5 working days to arrange an initial discussion. This usually takes place within 3 weeks of the initial expression of interest but will depend on location and diary commitments on both sides.

Once a licensee has become approved BCS will arrange to run the initial Train-the-Trainer (T3) sessions within the licensees territory within one calendar month.

The licensee will then be responsible for rolling-out the training across their territory.

There will also be full consultancy for the implementation, but the speed of the launch and roll-out of the product in a territory will depend largely on the resources and abilities of the licensee.

Where translations and other localisation of materials are required, then due to the large amount in the courseware a period of 6-12 months development should be expected. This will depend on the licensee and could be done sooner through BCS contacts.

Once a licensee has the infrastructure in place to deliver the product then it can be immediately released for implementation.

Resources

Useful information regarding the product can be found at: www.bcs.org/cre8or

Syllabus and a full demonstration of the e-portfolio tool are available via BCS

Individuals can register for a demonstration of one unit of the courseware by following the following process:

SCHEDULE 1

LICENSEE QUALITY AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS

Training

The licensee must take responsibility for the delivery of all Train-the-Trainer and Train-the-Assessor courses within the territory.

BCS will arrange for an initial ‘train-the-trainer’ and ‘train-the assessor’ session to be delivered to the licensee in order for them to then deliver their own sessions. This will be at a cost agreed in advance between the parties. Only after this initial session can any training sessions be run by the licensee.

The licensee may only use materials for the Train-the-Trainer and Train-the-Assessor courses that has been issued by, or approved in advance by BCS.

The licensee must keep accurate records of individuals that have attended the training.

The licensee must issue a certificate of attendance to each attendee at each course and only use the certificate templates issued by, or agreed in advance by BCS.

No train-the-trainer training whatsoever can be delivered by any individual (within the licensee or their Approved Centres) that has not attended the train-the-trainer sessions themselves in advance.

No train-the-assessor training whatsoever can be delivered by any individual (within the licensee or their Approved Centres) that has not successfully passed the train-the-assessor sessions themselves in advance.

Courseware/Online Portfolio Tool

Training for The product may only be done, under any circumstances, using the official online portfolio tool and approved courseware materials.

Additional supporting materials or courseware may only be used when approved in advance, in writing by BCS.

Approved Centre Accreditation Process

For quality purposes the training for the product may only be delivered by organizations that are able to meet the meet certain quality procedures and demonstrate a high competency in training provision. These will be known as Approved Centres.

Each licensee must ensure that any organization involved in the training for the product have met all the necessary requirements.

It is possible to deliver the training entirely online and this may be managed centrally by the licensee, but they must be able to demonstrate adequate support with at least one allocated tutor to each candidate and all work must be assessed.

The Licensee must only allow Approved Centres to become accredited for the purchase and delivery of The product if they meet ALL of the following requirements:

Centre has sufficient hardware for the delivery of the qualification, including working PC or Macs that operate quickly and efficiently Centre has adequate provisions for training delivery, including suitable chairs, desks and due adherence to health and safety considerations. Centre is able to provide an environment suitable for training delivery. Centre has the ability to provide a secure, locked facility for the storage of assessment materials. Centre has an assessment environment that complies with relevant Health and Safety regulations in the territory. Centre complies with all data protection legislation within the territory Centre is able, at all times, to name at least two people that have attended the train-the-trainer course and one person that has passed the train-the-assessor course. Centre ensures that all training is only done by trainers that have completed the train-the-trainer course. Centre ensures that all assessment is only done by individuals that have completed the train-the-assessor course. Centre has full and reliable access to the internet in order to use the online portfolio tool.

When a centre becomes approved the licensee is responsible for issuing an approved centre certificate.

It is the licensees responsibility to ensure that these standards are met by Approved Centres at all times.

Auditing and Verification

The licensee must take responsibility for managing the quality and consistency of the assessment for The product within the territory. As part of this responsibility a percentage of not less than 5% of all submitted work from candidates within the territory must be externally verified. Evidence of this will be required in the licensees annual audit from BCS.

Where inconsistencies on marking are indentified through this audit process the licensee must address the issues with the relevant Approved Centres and suspend their approved status if necessary.

The licensee must take responsibility for the quality auditing of all their Approved Centres. This should be reviewed annually, for each Approved Centre, either by an audit visit to the Approved Centre or an external review, where the Approved Centre is separately audited on their training delivery by an official government organization.

The licensee must allow BCS access at 5 working days notice to their offices for audit by BCS. This will require access to all records, data and materials relating to The product. This audit will incur a once a year fee of €650.

Certification

The licensee is entirely responsible for certification for The product within the territory and must ensure that only candidates that have successfully achieved the qualification receive the certification. Any instances where this is proven to not be the case may require in immediate termination of the licence agreement.

The licensee must ensure that all certificates are stored in a secure and locked facility.

The licensee must issue each approved centre with an Approved Centre certificate.

The licensee must only use certificate templates issued by, or approved in advance by BCS.

The licensee must keep thorough records of all individuals that have been certified.

The licensee will be responsible for dealing with all enquiries relating to an individuals certification within the territory.