The InnoVal project aimed to address the urgent need to offer valid and reliable assessment methods that allow all learners to have a chance at validation. The 2012 Council Recommendation gave a strong political impulse to the goal of having national validation arrangements in all countries by 2018. Yet, according to the CEDEFOP 2014 Validation Inventory Report, EU countries still greatly diverge in terms of mechanisms in place. In order to ensure the validity and reliability of assessment procedures, and to avoid additional costs, many educational institutions prefer to use standardised tests. The use of alternative methods such as portfolios, declarative methods and simulations, is on the increase but remains limited. The 6 project partners from 5 EU countries and an Associate Partner (Bertelsmann Stiftung) believe that the use of standardised tests hinders learners’ take up in validation and represents one of the strongest obstacles to their development in Europe. Indeed, validation systems are often targeting adults who have had a bad experience with formal education and formal assessment methods. This has led them to not completing their secondary education and to not participating in any further formal education. Yet, they have acquired many skills and competences in non-formal and informal learning environments that they would be willing to have validated if the assessment method did not bring them back to their bad past experience with formal education. InnoVal aimed to foster a change in practices related to the assessment of non-formal and informal learning across Europe and across sectors. For the certificates and qualifications issued by validation systems to be credible, assessment methods must be trustworthy. InnoVal gathered experience on innovative assessment methods from across Europe in order to determine which ones have proven to be successful. To help foster trust in these innovative methods, InnoVal has illustrated successful innovative assessment methods with best practices. Based on their respective experience and expertise, InnoVal partners have developed a Training Programme based on Open Educational Material and a Toolbox of Case Studies that is adaptable to different national contexts and sectors. By using new technologies (Online Learning Platform) the project provides a solution to many practitioners who have to implement validation mechanisms without always being prepared to do so. It will proposes very concrete modules on how to deal with non-traditional publics, to implement alternative assessment methods, analysing barriers and enablers, to work with external experts and to be cost efficient. The project therefore addressed the need for capacity building of assessors to ensure reliability of results and to overcome initial resistance. The outputs are based on the initial Need Assessment Review that looked at national policies and practices related to assessment methods to validate non-formal and informal learning at VET and HE levels and the specific needs of our target groups (low skilled adults, including early school leavers, and migrants/refugees). In addition, the review explored the demand side - that is employers and education providers - and their views on the appropriateness of alternative assessment methods. It also explored transferability of policies and practices across contexts. An online consultation contributed to develop a deeper understanding of the barriers and enablers to implementing alternative assessments. Those results together with the experience gained from the piloting phase (training workshops to test the Training Programme), an Advocacy Pack with policy recommendations targeted at policy makers and practitioners have contributed to ensure systemic support for alternative assessments. InnoVal was highly innovative as it brought together VET and HE providers who are advanced either in the use of innovative assessment methods, in building links with the labour market and/or in dealing with disadvantaged groups; research bodies who can provide the evidence with a EU perspective and European networks which can ensure policy impact and broad dissemination and exploitation of results. InnoVal covered 6 countries (BE-FL, FR, FI, EL, PT, DE) and generated interest well beyond. The potential transferability of the case studies and of the innovative methods has been included in all of the project outputs. The partners engaged various target groups from the start of the project (Ministries in charge of Validation, EU, NQF Agencies, EU networks, etc.) in order to ensure a broad impact. InnoVal has therefore contributed to build a shared understanding of quality principles of assessment and has explored the benefits of non-traditional assessment methods for validation for low skilled adults as well as for migrants/refugees and has contributed to Europe’s most pressing challenges.