Open Educational Resources

UNESCO first defined Open Educational Resources (OER) in 2002 as digitized materials offered freely and openly for educators, students and self-learners to use and re-use for teaching, learning and research. Since then, there have been a number of institutional OER projects developed largely through the pioneering work of the Hewlett Foundation.

In 2007, the Information Program began to apply its experience working with the Open Access movement to the growing field of OER. Working with the Shuttleworth Foundation, we launched the Cape Town Open Education Declaration in 2008, which first called for public access to publicly funded educational materials. The Declaration offers a strategy for the development of OER through the use of open content licenses, the collaborative development of educational materials and the adoption of open education policies.

Currently, OSI works with a small number of pilot countries where there is grassroots investment in OER, and supports efforts to advocate for good policy. The Information Program is funding advocacy work in Poland, Brazil, and the United States and collaborating with projects in The Netherlands and South Africa.

Priorities for 2010-2011 include expanding the number of pilot countries we are supporting, addressing the need for online search and discovery of OER, movement-building activities, and research on business models and standards for OER which are needed to support further policy initiatives.

If you are considering applying for funding under this initiative, please email the relevant program manager (see link, below) with a brief description of your project. They will be able to advise you if your proposal is suitable for funding from OSI, and guide you through the application process from there.

View contact information for this initiative.