The Matrix outlines pragmatic activities that governments and educational institutions can consider operationalising under the five UNESCO OER Recommendation areas to support its implementation. This process was led by OER Africa.
Governments and educational institutions can use the Matrix according to their contextual needs or priorities. For example, if an institution is taking its first steps to get involved in Open Education, the Matrix can support them in identifying actions and prioritising their efforts according to the most urgent issues they need to address at the local level. Furthermore, if an Open Education policy is already adopted in a country, the Matrix can support further steps with implementing, monitoring and evaluating policies at the national level.
The Matrix contributes to the efforts of mainstreaming OER and related practices worldwide. The Matrix was incorporated in a series of UNESCO guidelines on the implementation of the OER Recommendation areas one to five published in 2014:
Action Area 1: Building the capacity of stakeholders
Action Area 2: Developing supportive policy
Action Area 3: Effective, inclusive and equitable access to quality OER
Action Area 4: Nurturing the creation of sustainability models for OER and monitoring progress
Action Area 5: Promoting and reinforcing international cooperation
This collection of case studies, coordinated by the OER Africa team, demonstrates how OER have been used to increase access, improve learner outcomes, and/or reduce costs or facilitate professional development opportunities. Although there are numerous stated benefits of Open Education, the community of practitioners, advocates, and policymakers needs evidence to showcase what these benefits are, what is achievable in other contexts, and how to adapt practices done elsewhere in one’s own National and institutional context.
OER Africa coordinated this collaborative effort among several Network of Open Organisations members to develop a summary of seven key case studies. These case studies showcase the success of OER and related practices and demonstrate how to implement or replicate such practices through, for example, professional development activities to enlarge and enhance the number and the quality of OER and Open Education practices.
These outputs are publicly available to anyone who is interested in reusing and adapting them to contribute locally, regionally and globally in enhancing open practices and open approaches to sharing knowledge.