June 25, 2025 – The Groningen Declaration Network (the GDN Network) and Credential Engine are aligning on a pilot initiative to publish Qualifications Frameworks (QFs) from countries around the world. This pilot is aimed at transforming how regional, national, and global QFs are published, aligned, and linked through structured, open, linked, and interoperable data formats. This initiative is designed to advance the transparency, comparability, and global mobility of qualifications and credentials, supporting cross-border recognition and fostering greater trust in education and workforce data systems.
The Global Qualifications Frameworks Publishing Pilot is being launched in collaboration with a range of key partners, including the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). By working together, Credential Engine and the GDN Network are engaging regional and national organizations worldwide to promote and implement this work within the broader credentialing ecosystem. Credential Engine, a signatory of the Groningen Declaration Network, is building on its relationship with the GDN Network to extend its shared commitment to open standards, digital trust, and global learner mobility.
“Enhancing the transparency and clarity surrounding qualifications frameworks represents an important mobility enabler and aligns fully with the aspirational goals of UNESCO’s Global Convention,” says Joanne Duklas, Executive Director, the GDN Network. “Credential Engine’s efforts to take this a step further and ensure the data underlying these frameworks are accessible in a machine readable format is groundbreaking. If we are to achieve full and seamless transfer, recognition and interoperability, it is critical to also ensure recognition data is part of the mix. The GDN Network is proud to help advance this initiative as part of our MOU partnership with Credential Engine.”
As part of the pilot, participating organizations will receive technical assistance to publish their QFs using Credential Engine’s open data schema, the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL). This structured approach enables consistent, comparable, and interoperable data that supports credential recognition across borders, empowering data-driven decisions by learners, institutions, employers, and policymakers. Together, Credential Engine and the GDN Network are unlocking the value of credential data and building a more transparent, interoperable, and equitable global credential landscape.
“The importance of transparent and interoperable data about the education and training systems around the world cannot be overstated. This pilot with the GDN Network and other partners demonstrates how qualifications, credentials, and skills can be understood, shared, and trusted globally,” says Credential Engine CEO, Scott Cheney. “By publishing national qualification frameworks (NQFs) using open and common data standards, and using machine-actionable and interoperable data formats, we will enable seamless recognition and greater learner mobility, key drivers of economic growth and lifelong learning.”
This pilot represents the evolution of open credentialing ecosystems and reflects a growing international momentum to align data strategies with the needs of today’s learners and dynamic labor markets.
About The Groningen Declaration Network: The Groningen Declaration Network (The GDN Network) is an international, non-profit federated trust located in the Netherlands. It represents a voluntary network of like-minded organizations and individuals that seek to make digital student data portability happen. Its network of thought leaders from around the globe are collaborators who seek to support, advise, and offer innovative changes in the ways we share artifacts of academic learning. The GDN Network seeks common ground while creating a Network of Networks model for collaboration as it seeks to best support the academic and professional mobility needs of citizens worldwide by bringing together stakeholders in the digital student data ecosystem. Learn more: groningendeclaration.org.
About Credential Engine: Credential Engine is a non-profit whose mission is to map the credentials, qualifications, and skills landscape with clear information, fueling the creation of resources that empower people to discover and pursue the learning and career pathways that are best for them. Credential Engine provides a suite of web-based services that creates for the first time a centralized Credential Registry to house up-to-date information about all credentials, the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) a common description language to enable credential comparability, and a platform to support customized applications to search and retrieve information about credentials. Learn more: credentialengine.org.
Media Contacts
The GDN Network – Maya Hardy, Outreach Lead, outreach@groningendeclaration.org
Credential Engine – Devin Peelman, Communications & Digital Content Manager, dpeelman@credentialengine.org
