Partnership for 21st century skills

I was a school design meeting earlier in the month and one of the websites mentioned was the Partnership for 21st century skills.  According to the website:


The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a national  organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for every student. As the United States continues to compete in a global  economy that demands innovation, P21 and its members provide tools and resources to help the U.S. education system keep up by fusing the 3Rs and 4Cs (Critical thinking and problem solving, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity and innovation). While leading districts and schools are already doing this, P21 advocates for local, state and federal policies that support this approach for every school.


Now is this an educational organization?  or is it an outside partnership? Because I get tired of outsiders telling those of us in education how things should be run.  But until I know for sure, I'm going to withhold judgement.

I do like this graphic from the site:

That's a nice way to look at  21st century skills students need.  I especially like the fact that information, media and technology skills are given such a high priority!