The Southeast Asian Educational Innovation Award seeks to recognize achievements of teachers, achool heads, community education workers and other development workers that made a difference in the lives of the learners and communities through the creative application of an idea into practical solution to address an education concern.

These may involve the novel and creative use of educational tools, concepts, processes or their combinations to produce new and better results. The innovative practices, developed and applied by teachers, principals (or headmasters) and other education workers in their classes and learning sessions or through activities and initiatives in the schools that brought on positive impact on learners and the communities are highlighted and shared among other education workers.

The award aims to

1. Honor and give recognition to teachers and school heads in Southeast Asia who made exemplary achievements in introducing and applying innovative practices;

2. Seek out and document innovative practices and the context in which these innovations led to achievement of learning goals and in overcoming limited resources and constraints;

3. Highlight examples of effective innovative teaching and learning practices as examples for other education workers; and

4. Encourage interaction and cooperation among education workers across the region through the dissemination of the award-winning innovations.

The theme for the FY 2021-2022 Award Cycle is “Educational Innovations in the Time of COVID: Exploring Possibilities and Improving Learning for All.”

The COVID-19 pandemic is perhaps the single greatest disruption in Southeast Asian education over the past half-century. From initial emergency responses through gradual recovery, the education sector has endeavored to work around the constraints to continue education services to meet the basic learning needs of students. Responding to multiple challenges, teachers, school managers and community based education workers harnessed the power of innovation to meet these challenges and work towards better services for the future.

The 2021-2022 SEA Educational Innovation Award cycle celebrates innovations that enabled education services amidst the constraints posed by the pandemic, consistent with the INNOTECH vision of shaping a better future for all Southeast Asian learners. The award recognizes the contributions of effective innovations designed and adopted by teachers and community based education workers as well as the innovative practices of a school head for a school to sustain and improve learning services and how they gained positive results from the innovation.

For the 2021-2022 Award cycle, individuals recognized as leaders and proponents of the innovations adopted in the schools, learning centers or communities may be nominated in either of the following categories:

• Teachers

• School Heads or Education Supervisors

The Nominees should be

· Practicing teachers, school heads and community education workers

· Citizens/subjects of SEAMEO Member Countries

· The nominees may be employed by a government agency, community-based organization, recognized non-government organization or a partner organization in an education development project

· At the final selection stage, the INNOTECH Governing Board may seek endorsement from the Ministry of Education concerned

The award recognizes the value of group effort and collaboration in developing and introducing innovations for improving teaching and learning. A single individual, however, would be eligible for nomination. For projects or initiatives done by a group, a statement of the role of the nominee in the project/activity and acknowledgement of the nomination by other group members should be included in the submission.

Nominations may be submitted by the following entities:

· Ministries of Education of SEAMEO Members

· School districts/clusters, divisions or other field units and agencies under the Ministry of Education

· Public or private schools and learning centers

· International development organizations, community-based organizations

· Institutions of higher learning

Following the format in the nomination form, they should document the innovative practice, the context in which the innovation is developed and applied, the issues that the innovation sought to address and the positive impact on the learners and other members of the community. The nominations, corresponding to each category, may highlight the following:

· Teachers’ Innovations in the Classroom

Changes and improvements made on established processes, procedures or concepts may count as innovations in the classroom. They may be in the form of new ways of delivering and organizing lessons, organizing a class, motivating learners, developing and using teaching and learning materials, as well as ways for assessment and measuring learning. But there are countless other new ways that support and enhance teaching and learning that apply to various situations and needs.

· Innovations on School Services and Community Engagement

Improved and creative ways of managing the school services are some of the innovations that a school head or principal may develop and introduce. The Covid-19 Pandemic brought on constraints and challenges in the school operations. The School Head’s actions amidst the challenges such as upgrading capabilities of teachers, introducing new ways of reviewing performance, engaging parents and stakeholders, as well as ensuring continuity of learning, among others, are the innovations that may be nominated for the award.

Guidelines for Submission

1. Nominations should give information on the initiative related to the theme “Educational Innovations in the Time of Covid 19: Exploring Possibilities to Improve Learning for All”

2. The nominations (paper submissions or electronic files sent by e-mail) should reach SEAMEO INNOTECH no later than 17:00 Hrs on 31 August 2021.

a. E-mail submissions should be addressed to info@seameo-innotech.org

b. Paper submissions should be sent by mail or courier to:

INNOTECH Southeast Asia Educational Innovation Awards (2021-2022)

C/o SEAMEO INNOTECH Award Secretariat

Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman

Quezon City 1011, Metro Manila

3. Nominations submitted should include the following:

a. Completed “Nomination Form for the 2021-2022 INNOTECH Southeast Asian Educational Innovation Award.”

b. Photos showing classroom or school activities; a maximum of five (5) photos with captions written in English can be submitted.

c. Support materials, such as sample teaching/learning materials, video presentations or sample lessons.

d. For videos about the innovation, the video should be in MP 4 format, not more than 5 minutes in length.

e. The sample materials and video should be in English; if they are in the national or local language other than English, a brief explanation in English should be provided to enable reviewers to appreciate the material presented

f. In case of activities/initiatives done by a group, a statement of the role of the nominee in the development and implementation of the innovation, and an acknowledgement signed by the other members of the group

4. Nomination forms can be downloaded below.

5. The Nomination Form specifies the number of pages for the different sections. Submissions should be in A4 size paper, with text in Times New Roman or Calibri font, font size 11.

6. SEAMEO INNOTECH will send an e-mail confirmation/acknowledgement of entries within one week upon receiving your submission; please inform SEAMEO INNOTECH in case you do not receiver an acknowledgement.

Nominations received will undergo three stages of review:

STAGE 1: A Technical Working Group composed of INNOTECH staff will be convened to undertake an initial review and screening of the nominations.

STAGE 2: The eligible entries will be reviewed by an international reference group of educators from outside of Southeast Asia. The panel will submit a short list of five nominees to the Center Governing Board.

STAGE 3: Final deliberation would be made by the  Governing Board. Selection shall be based on relevance of the innovation to the theme, the quality of the report and the innovation’s implications to Southeast Asian educational development. The awardee will be confirmed and announced at the INNOTECH Governing Board Meeting in October 2021.

The SEA Educational Innovation Award seeks out exemplary practices that illustrate creative approaches to meeting the learning needs and achievement of learning goals. For each category, the winners will receive:

· Trophy of Recognition

· Travel grant to participate in the SEAMEO INNOTECH International Conference and present the award-winning innovation

· Study visits in Southeast Asian countries to share ideas and innovative practices with other education workers

· The study visits will be organized by SEAMEO INNOTECH in consultation with the Awardee and his/her organization

· The travel grant(s) awarded should amount up to USD 3,000.00 to cover international travel, per diem and incidental costs

· The report will be published by INNOTECH

Should travel restrictions in the various SEAMEO Countries remain in place, the cash equivalent of the travel grant may be applied, on mutual agreement with the Awardees and their respective institutions.

1. The completed nomination form and supporting documents drawn from project documentation will provide the main information for the review and selection of winning innovations.

2. Paper submissions will not be returned, submission of published research papers as supporting documents is discouraged.

3. Projects managed by SEAMEO INNOTECH, involving Center staff or their relatives are not eligible for nomination.

4. The INNOTECH Governing Board’s selection of the winning innovations for both categories is final; challenges and appeals will not be considered.