DisasterReady's Award-Winning Project Management Essentials Certificate

DisasterReady.org, in collaboration with EI Powered by MPS, is proud to announce we have won four prestigious Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards® in learning and development for our Project Management Essentials Certificate provided at no cost to humanitarians.

The 2023 Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards® shine a spotlight on initiatives that redefine excellence in various domains, such as Learning and Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, and the Future of Work. DisasterReady's Project Management Essentials Certificate Program was recognized for excellence in multiple categories with two gold and two bronze awards:

The Project Management Essentials Certificate Program emerged as a response to the unique needs of humanitarian and development workers. Intended as a career-enhancing tool, refresher, or initial step toward becoming a certified Project Manager, the 5-hour online curriculum equips participants with the basics of project management principles, practices, and tools. What sets this program apart is its tailored focus on the context of humanitarian and development work.

The program's foundation was built on strong partnerships, a testament to DisasterReady's commitment to ensuring its success. The collaboration with EI Powered by MPS as the course developer ensured an engaging and compelling learning experience. PM4NGOs contributed their Project DPro Guide as the core knowledge source, while Pyramid Learning served as the Subject Matter Expert, selecting critical components from the guide that would best serve learners in various capacities.

Delivering the program entirely through self-paced online learning demanded a highly engaging approach, especially considering the diverse and often remote locations of the learners. The challenge was met with an innovative solution: a scenario-based series of courses that not only captured the essence of project management but also facilitated accessibility for individuals in even the most hard-to-reach places on the planet.

The success of DisasterReady's Project Management Essentials Certificate Program is best measured by our community of learners. Over 12,000 have already earned their Certificate in Project Management Essentials, with their testimonials underscoring the impact of this original content on their professional development:

“Few courses have captivated me as this one did. It was interactive, practical, and thorough. I particularly enjoyed the specially designed case studies that led to various outcomes. I learned a lot just by trying out the various decision pathways.”

“How is this free???!! This is BY FAR the best introduction to PM that I’ve seen and I’ve been involved with project management learning a bit here and a bit there in various fields for at least 20 years-but for me, this brought everything together.”

“I must say it was an excellent experience. The modules were well-organized and presented in an easy-to-follow format that kept me engaged from start to finish. The training was highly informative, and I gained a great deal of knowledge in the subject matter covered. The quality of the content, the engaging format, and the flexibility of the course make it a fantastic learning experience.”

Project Management Essentials is available in English, French, and Spanish, with Arabic coming soon. The courses, exam, and certificate are all 100% free.

This certificate program is the first step to learn core essentials of project management. As a next step, learners can advance their skills to become an internationally certified Project Manager through PM4NGO’s Project DPro Certification (Foundation and Practitioner).

This isn't the first time DisasterReady has been honored for its contributions. The organization secured a Brandon Hall Group Gold award in 2021 for the Best Advance in Creating an Extended Enterprise Learning Program. We want to thank the Brandon Hall Group for this recognition along with all our partners and volunteers that helped bring this incredible free certificate program to life.