Principals Speak Platform

Education, Social Impact

Communications, Knowledge Management

Principals Speak Platform

Education, Social Impact

Communications, Knowledge Management

Principals Speak Platform

Education, Social Impact

Communications, Knowledge Management

500+

School Leaders

5 countries

Multiple Geographies covered

5 countries

Multiple Geographies covered

5 countries

Multiple Geographies covered

5 languages

Multi-lingual Input and Access

5 languages

Multi-lingual Input and Access

5 languages

Multi-lingual Input and Access

Global School Leaders (GSL) is an international nonprofit dedicated to strengthening school leadership ecosystems to improve student learning outcomes across the Global South.

GSL works with local partners to enhance school leadership development programs, build a robust evidence base, and drive systemic change. Since its inception, GSL has supported over 13,000 school leaders across 14 countries.

To enable School Leaders to share their experiences, challenges, and successes, GSL partnered with the Open Knowledge Framework (OKF) team to create "Principals Speak."

This digital storytelling solution allows school leaders to share stories about on-ground challenges and realities, fostering a regular learning cycle and building a repository of best practices for GSL and its partners. The platform is a mobile-responsive web application, enhanced with a WhatsApp chatbot integration, enabling school leaders, program staff, and stakeholders to publish and read stories seamlessly in their preferred language.

Through this initiative, GSL aims to create a strong repository of real-world narratives that can help build strong education systems.

To enable School Leaders to share their experiences, challenges, and successes, GSL partnered with the Open Knowledge Framework (OKF) team to create "Principals Speak."

Through this initiative, GSL aims to create a strong repository of real-world narratives that can help build strong education systems.

To enable School Leaders to share their experiences, challenges, and successes, GSL partnered with the Open Knowledge Framework (OKF) team to create "Principals Speak."

Through this initiative, GSL aims to create a strong repository of real-world narratives that can help build strong education systems.

Features and integrations

Customizable story templates

Configurable templates enable structured qualitative data collection across diverse content themes and languages

Role-based Access

Allows School Leaders, Program Staff, and GSL teams to interact on the platform with permissions tailored to their role

WhatsApp Chatbot Integration

Streamlined mobile publishing makes it easy for SLs to contribute stories and manage qualitative data seamlessly via mobile

Platform Specific Collection Pages

Organizes content by country, region, and thematic focus, supporting efficient qualitative data management and easy retrieval

Qualitative Insight Generation

Provides real-time insights on emerging challenges and successes via key themes

Engagement Tools

Features badges, reactions and themed monthly campaigns to encourage ongoing story-sharing, fostering an active storytelling community

Platform Intervention

Digital Storytelling for Qualitative Data Collection

Established a dedicated repository where school leaders can share nuanced stories and experiences, categorized by themes, regions, and topics for structured qualitative data collection

Enhanced Data Management and Engagement

Provided features like reactions, badges, and monthly campaigns to facilitate continuous engagement and enable better qualitative data management, encouraging SLs to share stories on specific themes

Mobile Accessibility for Data Collection

Integrated WhatsApp chatbot for simple story submission on mobile, making qualitative data collection accessible and boosting participation

Insight-Driven Narrative Building

Shared stories generate insights on key problems, creating impactful narratives for external communications, policy advocacy, and targeted program improvements

Builds a comprehensive, accessible repository that allows stakeholders to access valuable, real-world insights from school leaders, helping bridge knowledge silos and drive improvements based on qualitative insights

Current Status

The platform is live, with over 500 school leaders actively sharing stories. The growing story repository has become an essential resource for GSL and its partners to get an insight into the reality of school leaders, their daily challenges, the support they require, and emerging trends in school leadership across the Global South.