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Open Working Badges

At WAO we’re keen to encourage working openly everywhere we go. These badges, based on criteria outlined in the Open Organization Definition, are our way of encouraging people and organisation on their journey towards ever-greater openness and transparency.

Open the drop-downs to find a list of the Badges and their meta data. If you want to claim one of these Badges go fill out this Google Form


First Steps in Open Working

First Steps: Transparency

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated one of the principles of transparency in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge can evidence one of the following:

  • I give everyone working on my project or initiative access to all relevant materials by default.
  • I willingly share my work before it is complete/final and respond positively to requests for additional details
  • I ensure that people affected by decisions can access and review the processes and arguments that led to those decisions, and they can comment on / respond to them.
  • I tell stories about the value of both my failures and successes and encourage others to tell their own stories without fear of repercussion.
  • I make goals public and explicit, and people working on projects have clear roles and responsibilities to enhance accountability.

First Steps: Inclusivity

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated one of the principles of inclusivity in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge can evidence one of the following:

    • I ensure protocols and procedures for participation are clear, widely available, and acknowledged, allowing for constructive inclusion of diverse perspectives.
    • I collate feedback from multiple channels and/or methods in order to accommodate people’s preferences.
    • I regularly assess and respond to feedback I receive, and contribute to a culture that encourages frequent discussion regarding this feedback.
    • I am conscious of voices not present in discussions and actively seek to include or incorporate them.
    • I voice opinions on issues relevant to my work or about which I am passionate, and encourage others to do so

First Steps: Adaptability

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated one of the principles of adaptability in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge can evidence one of the following:

    • I ensure feedback mechanisms are accessible both to members of my organisation and to outside members, who can offer suggestions.
    • “I work with my peers to ensure that feedback loops genuinely and materially impact the ways people in my organisation operate.
    • I have put in place processes for collective problem solving, collaborative decision making, and continuous learning to reinforce a growth mindset.
    • I help others to understand the context for the changes they’re making or experiencing.
    • I am not afraid to make mistakes, and am comfortable adapting my pre-existing work to project-specific contexts in order to avoid repeated failures.

First Steps: Collaboration

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated one of the principles of collaboration in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge can evidence one of the following:

    • I believe that working together produces better results.
    • I tend to begin work collaboratively, rather than ‘add collaboration’ after I’ve completed individual components of work.
    • I engage partners outside my immediate teams when undertaking new projects.
    • I ensure that work produced collaboratively is available externally for creators outside the organization to use in potentially unforeseen ways.
    • I ensure that work produced collaboratively is easily available internally for others to build upon so that people can discover, provide feedback on, and join work in progress easily.

First Steps: Community

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated one of the principles of community in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge can evidence one of of the following:

    • I ensure that shared values and principles that inform decision-making and assessment processes are clear and obvious to members.
    • I help others feel equipped and empowered to make meaningful contributions to collaborative work.
    • I mentor others and demonstrate strong accountability to the group by modelling shared values and principles.
    • I use a common language and work together to ensure that ideas do not get ‘lost in translation’.
    • I am comfortable sharing my knowledge and stories to further the group’s work, even if this means critique.

First Steps: META

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated one of each of the principles of openness in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge has earned all of the “First Steps in Open Working”-Badges

    • First Steps in Open Working: Transparency
    • First Steps in Open Working: Inclusivity
    • First Steps in Open Working: Adaptability
    • First Steps in Open Working: Collaboration
    • First Steps in Open Working: Community
Next Steps in Open Working

Next Steps: Transparency

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated more than one of the principles of transparency in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge can evidence more than one of the following:

  • I give everyone working on my project or initiative access to all relevant materials by default.
  • I willingly share my work before it is complete/final and respond positively to requests for additional details
  • I ensure that people affected by decisions can access and review the processes and arguments that led to those decisions, and they can comment on / respond to them.
  • I tell stories about the value of both my failures and successes and encourage others to tell their own stories without fear of repercussion.
  • I make goals public and explicit, and people working on projects have clear roles and responsibilities to enhance accountability.

Next Steps: Inclusivity

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated more than one of the principles of inclusivity in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge can evidence more than one of the following:

    • I ensure protocols and procedures for participation are clear, widely available, and acknowledged, allowing for constructive inclusion of diverse perspectives.
    • I collate feedback from multiple channels and/or methods in order to accommodate people’s preferences.
    • I regularly assess and respond to feedback I receive, and contribute to a culture that encourages frequent discussion regarding this feedback.
    • I am conscious of voices not present in discussions and actively seek to include or incorporate them.
    • I voice opinions on issues relevant to my work or about which I am passionate, and encourage others to do so

Next Steps: Adaptability

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated more than one of the principles of adaptability in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge can evidence more than one of the following:

    • I ensure feedback mechanisms are accessible both to members of my organisation and to outside members, who can offer suggestions.
    • “I work with my peers to ensure that feedback loops genuinely and materially impact the ways people in my organisation operate.
    • I have put in place processes for collective problem solving, collaborative decision making, and continuous learning to reinforce a growth mindset.
    • I help others to understand the context for the changes they’re making or experiencing.
    • I am not afraid to make mistakes, and am comfortable adapting my pre-existing work to project-specific contexts in order to avoid repeated failures.

Next Steps: Collaboration

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated more than one of the principles of collaboration in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge can evidence more than one of the following:

    • I believe that working together produces better results.
    • I tend to begin work collaboratively, rather than ‘add collaboration’ after I’ve completed individual components of work.
    • I engage partners outside my immediate teams when undertaking new projects.
    • I ensure that work produced collaboratively is available externally for creators outside the organization to use in potentially unforeseen ways.
    • I ensure that work produced collaboratively is easily available internally for others to build upon so that people can discover, provide feedback on, and join work in progress easily.

Next Steps: Community

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated more than one of the principles of community in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge can evidence more than one of of the following:

    • I ensure that shared values and principles that inform decision-making and assessment processes are clear and obvious to members.
    • I help others feel equipped and empowered to make meaningful contributions to collaborative work.
    • I mentor others and demonstrate strong accountability to the group by modelling shared values and principles.
    • I use a common language and work together to ensure that ideas do not get ‘lost in translation’.
    • I am comfortable sharing my knowledge and stories to further the group’s work, even if this means critique.

Next Steps: META

Description: The earner of this badge has demonstrated more than one of each of the principles of openness in accordance with the Open Organization Definition

Criteria: The earner of this badge has earned all of the “Next Steps in Open Working”-Badges

    • Next Steps in Open Working: Transparency
    • Next Steps in Open Working: Inclusivity
    • Next Steps in Open Working: Adaptability
    • Next Steps in Open Working: Collaboration
    • Next Steps in Open Working: Community
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