Support Opportunities for Competitors

The Tools Competition has a phased selection process to give competitors the time and support to refine their ideas and build their teams.

Organizers provide support opportunities at all phases of the competition. Teams have many opportunities to hear directly from competition organizers, sponsors, and past winners in order to learn what a strong proposal looks like and ensure they understand where their ideas could best fit into competition objectives.

This post aims to highlight the resources available to competitors to support them in developing the most compelling proposals, as well as several optional external resources for advisory support and programming that can help competitors accelerate their impact.

Competition support opportunities

Competitors represent diverse geographies, focus areas, and types of tools. No one-size-fits-all approach or template will lead to success in the competition. Rather, organizers aim to provide clear guidance that can be applied to all tools and offer case studies that demonstrate the level of rigor and type of detail that can be most competitive.

Keep an eye out for our support round-up posts on the blog that detail support opportunities at each phase. We’re eager to see competitors take advantage of these opportunities and will always highlight them in our competition communications. We will also post recordings of support opportunities when possible. Core support events include:

• Virtual Events. Hosted regularly, virtual events include: the Launch Event, which announces each cycle’s design and highlights priority areas; Info Sessions to provide deeper dives into design, process, and eligibility with live Q&A; Webinars focused on key topics or track requirements with guest speakers and case studies; and Office Hours for drop-in sessions to connect with organizers and learn from fellow competitors.
• Written guidance. The Tools blog hosts tip sheets, case studies on past winners, and other guidance to help competitors navigate competition requirements and core objectives like Learning Engineering.
• Researcher database. The competition requires competitors to develop a Learning Engineering plan, including partnerships with researchers external to their team. We curate a global database of researchers with diverse content and technical expertise that competitors can reference to identify potential partners with aligned interests.
• Learning Engineering Google Group. This Listserv and community has over 3,500 members of the learning engineering community, and is managed by The Learning Agency, but is not specific to the Tools Competition. Competitors can post updates, seek collaborators, and identify new opportunities.
• Inbox. Our team is available to respond to competitor questions at ToolsCompetition@the-learning-agency.com. 

Support for finalists and winners

One of the most valuable aspects of the Tools Competition is its role as a platform for visibility and funding. Beyond the competition itself, many funders and partners look to the Tools network as a pulse on the field and a leading source of innovation. 

Finalists pitch to diverse judging panels with significant representation from the philanthropic community, boosting access to feedback and visibility for their tools. Additionally, we curate reports and content on trends and tools based on unique interests, share new funding opportunities, and make connections to individual competitors at funder requests. This has led to additional funding for competitors, as well as new speaking, programmatic, and visibility opportunities.

Finally, for winners and select finalists, in addition to these supports, we’ll continue to share opportunities as they arise for boosting visibility for your team (check out this winner feature in USA Today and this one on NBC Nightly News), new funding opportunities, and access to our database of in-kind resources like software credits and free course access. We also organize technical assistance opportunities designed to accelerate competitors’ work. Past sessions have focused on go-to-market strategy, storytelling with data, and building school partnerships.

External support resources

The competition is designed to be inclusive of talent at all levels. Competitors do not need experience in fundraising or to hire external consultants to be successful in the competition.

However, many competitors are also interested in advisory support and accelerator-type programming to build capacity on their teams and develop their ideas. Most frequently, we receive requests for detailed feedback on competitor ideas and support related to proposal or budget writing. While this is outside the scope of the competition itself, there are some terrific groups and experts in this space that provide this type of support. 

Note that the Tools Competition is not officially partnered with these groups in terms of competition expectations or organization. They represent a few leading organizations, including those that have worked with Tools Competition competitors in the past.

• International Centre for EdTech Impact. Offers services, free resources, and select pro-bono advisory support from learning scientists focused on evidence-based development of learning technologies.
• EdTech Recharge. Offers services for capacity building, research, and impact, as well as numerous free resources, webinars, and templates to support strong proposal development.
• RYE Consulting. Offers services and workshops, technical assistance, and regular free webinars focused on building and scaling K-12 ed tech businesses, with expertise on US markets.
• Promise Venture Studio. Runs an accelerator program, offering resources, community, and advisory services for teams focused on early childhood education.