Igor Lesko PhD Research Presentation

1. Impact of International Organizations on
Governmental OER Policies
PhD Research Presentation, Open Education Global Conference,
22-24 April 2015, Banff, Alberta, Canada
igorlesko@oeconsortium.org
Twitter: @igor_lesko
Unless otherwise noted, Impact of International Organizations on Governmental OER Policies by Igor
Lesko is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

2. Acknowledgement
PhD research made possible with support of the Global
OER Graduate Network (GO-GN)
http://oer-unescochair-ounl.ning.com/
&
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

3. - Registered PhD researcher at Open Universiteit (OU NL)
- 2014-2018
- Member of GO-GN
- Working for the Open Education Consortium (former OCW
Consortium) – www.oeconsortium.org since 2010
- Supervisory Team:
- Prof. Dr. Fred Mulder
- Dr. Cable Green
- Dr. Dominic Orr

4. Aim of the PhD Research
Explore how International Organizations (IOs) are
influencing Governmental OER Policies around the world.

5. IOs & Governmental OER Policy examples
http://conference.ocwconsortium.org/
2014/ai1ec_event/openingupslovenia/
?instance_id=446
& http://www.ouslovenia.net/
www.openscot.net
http://www.che.ac.za/media_and_publications/legislati
on/white-paper-post-school-education-and-training (p.
54).
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?qid=1389115469384&uri=CELEX:52
013DC0654
http://goo.gl/OVHiF
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-
information/access-to-knowledge/open-educational-
resources/implementing-the-paris-oer-declaration/

6. PhD Research Questions
• What OER policy instruments can be identified as being used by
different IOs?
• What impact do IO OER policy instruments have on provincial, state
and national Governmental OER policies?
• What recommendations, if implemented, would lead to IO OER
policy instruments more effectively supporting governmental OER
policies?
Note: Impact of IOs will be examined during different stages of the
governmental OER policy process and will include policy
development, adoption and implementation stages.

7. Courses of Action by Governments = Public Policy
Instruments
Regulations
• Legislation (Sticks)
Economic
Means
• Provisioning of or taking away of resources (Carrots)
Information
• Transfer of knowledge: (Sermons)
(Bemelmans-Videc et al.; 1998)

8. Context: Why Focusing on Governmental
OER Policies?
• In the context of widespread budget cuts, growing demand for
education, and rising cost of education, governments are searching
for new and innovative ways to address the growing demand for
post-secondary education while making education more affordable,
accessible, more responsive to the demands of the knowledge
economy, and effective.
• Governments around the world have been proposing strategies or
approving policies related to OER (Brazil, Canada, India, Indonesia,
Netherlands, Scotland, Slovenia, South Africa, USA, etc.).

9. Context: Why Focusing on Governmental
OER Policies ?
OER policies (at provincial, state and/or national levels) are needed in
order to advance mainstreaming and uptake of OER practices
(openness in education agenda)
(Mulder, 2013; Bossu et al., 2012)

10. Why Focusing on Impact of International Organizations
(IOs) on Governmental
OER Policies ?
• IOs increasingly seen as policy actors as opposed to just policy
advisors or mediators (Henry et al., 2001).
• National policymaking is still largely mediated by national politics
and traditions
However
• It is increasingly linked to globalized policy discourses, pressures
from Inter-governmental Organizations (IGOs), International
nongovernmental Organizations (INGOs) and/or global policy
networks (Rizvi and Lingard, 2010).

11. Why Focusing on Impact of International Organizations
(IOs) on Governmental OER Policies ?
While there appears to be consensus about the influence of IOs on
national policy making little is known about whether and how these IO’s
influences translate into concrete national policies or how they
influence national policy making in general (Shahjahan, 2012;
Christensen, 2006).
PhD Research investigates IOs’ influences on governmental policies in
the context of OER.

12. OER Policy Instruments – International Organizations
(Working Definition)
Such OER policy instruments might include the following:
• Producing policy reports
• Providing policy advice/support or analytical assistance
• Sponsoring or organizing local, regional and international meetings/conferences
• Organizing policy forums
• Capacity building/training programs
• Organizing specialized initiatives/programs
• (Implementing Paris OER Dec)
• Advocacy or awareness raising activities
• Carrying out research activities
• Publishing thematic reviews, working papers, case studies
• Issuing guidelines or codes of practice
• Issuing declarations and recommendations, (e g. Paris OER Declaration)
• Enacting policies at IOs
• Funding initiatives
Note: Policy instruments applicable to IGOs and INGOs were informed by a review of numerous resources (Balzer and
Martenas 2004; Shuller and Vincent-Lancrin, 2009; Christensen, 2006). The wording of some policy instruments was modified
in an attempt to create a more generic set of policy instruments that would be relevant to both IGOs and INGOs.

13. Inter-governmental Organizations
(IGOs) included in the Research
Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
European Commission (EC)
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD)
Organization Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)
Organization of the American States (OAS)
United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO)
World Bank (WB)

14. International nongovernmental Organizations
(INGOs) included in the Research
Creative Commons
OER Africa
OER Asia
Open Education Consortium
Open Policy Network

15. Foundations Included in the Research
Gates Foundation
Hewlett Foundation
International Development Research Centre
Open Society Foundation
Qatar Foundation
Saylor Foundation
Shuttleworth Foundation

16. Governments Included in the Research
1st Phase
Brazil Canada (Alberta and BC)
France India
Indonesia Mongolia
Netherlands Oman
Poland Scotland
Slovenia South Africa
USA (Washington + California)
2nd Phase (TBD)
Colombia China
Kenya New Zealand
Turkey

17. Governmental OER Policies & the Influence of IOs
(CERI/OECD Survey of Governments) I
• Since 2014, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) at
the OECD has been investigating the potential and impact of OER to
improve teaching and learning.
• A comprehensive report entitled, ‘Open Educational Resources – a
catalyst for innovation’ will be published in 2015.
• As part of this process, CERI/OECD carried out a survey, in 2014, with
governments around the world about their policy support for OER. This
was followed by a policy seminar in January 2015 to discuss policy
support options for OER.
• Two questions about the influence of IOs and in what ways were
included in the survey
– Survey distributed to OECD member countries (34) and Key Partner countries (5)

18. Governmental OER Policies & the Influence of IOs
(CERI/OECD Survey of Governments) II
Governmental Policy? Countries
YES Austria, Belgium (Flemish community), Brazil, Canada,
China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany,
Finland, France, Indonesia, Israel, Island, Italy,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, South
Korea, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of
America
NO Australia, Japan, Luxembourg, Latvia, New Zealand,
Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland
Source: CERI/OECD government survey – in forthcoming report
• Number of responses: 33
• 25 indicate that they have governmental policy to support OER production and
use.

19. Governmental OER Policies & the Influence of IOs
(CERI/OECD Survey of Governments) III
Source: CERI/OECD government survey – in forthcoming report
11 out of 25 countries report a combination of indirect funding, codes of practice and
information campaigns.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Indirect funding programmes
Codes of practice/guidelines on
production and/or use of OER
Direct funding programmes for
the production of OER
Information campaigns directed at
promoting the production
and use of OER
Regulations or legislation
supporting the use of OER
Number of countries stating that they use policy instrument

20. Governmental OER Policies & the Influence of IOs
(CERI/OECD Survey of Governments) IV
Influence of Organizations on the design and/or implementation of governmental
OER interventions
Organizations National
(4)
International
(4)
National &
International
(2)
Type or
organizations
Ministries
Local
experts/universities
EC, OECD,
UNESCO + Chairs,
CC, OEC
Type of influence/
Policy instruments
used
Funding, information campaigns, declarations,
recommendations, guidelines, policy advice, policy reports, etc.
Source: CERI/OECD government survey – in forthcoming report
10 countries responded to the questions: Czech Republic, the Netherlands,
Slovenia, Denmark, Spain, Belgium, Finland, Israel, Portugal, Canada
What can we learn from this?
(methodological considerations…)

21. Research Methodology I
With respect to International Organizations and Foundations:
• Initial work: desktop research, identifying an initial set of OER policy
instruments, developing interview protocols.
• Interviewing representatives from the IGOs, INGOs, and
Foundations on their OER policy instruments and associated impact.
• Interview analysis, validation, and dissemination of outcomes
(including reports and journal articles).

22. Research Methodology II
With respect to Governments:
• Intermediate work: desktop research, collecting documented
information on OER policy developments in the selected
countries/states/provinces (through the key contacts), identifying the
groups of government interviewees (through the key contacts),
developing interview protocols, interview training (of the key
contacts).
• Interviewing government representatives.
• Interview analysis, validation and dissemination of outcomes
(including reports and journal articles).
Key contacts will:
– Help identify relevant governmental OER policy developments
– Provide support in approaching a group of appropriate and representative
government interviewees
– Conduct the interviews with the chosen government representatives in several
countries

23. Research Methodology III
• Developing recommendations based on lessons learnt in the study.
• Final work: compiling the journal articles that have been published
or will be published, composing dissertation, dissertation submission
and defense.

24. Research Methodology – Overall Summary
• Protocolled interviews with representatives from IOs will serve to identify
OER policy instruments at IOs level and to explore the intended and observed
impact of such instruments on national OER policy making (answering
research question 1) – slide 24.
• Protocolled interviews with government representatives will serve to analyze
the (perceived) impact of the IO OER policy instruments on governmental OER
policies (answering research question 2) – slide 25.
• Based on the findings from research questions 1 and 2 the study will provide
recommendations that would lead to IO OER policy instruments more
effectively supporting governmental OER policies (answering research
question 3) – slide 26.

25. Thank you for your attention!
igorlesko@oeconsortium.org
Twitter: @igor_lesko

26. References
• Balzer, C., and Martens, K. (2004). International higher education and the Bologna
process: What part does the European Commission play. epsNet 2004 Plenary
conference on political science after the EU enlargement, Prague, June.
http://www.epsnet.org/2004/pps/Balzer.pdf.
• Bemelmans-Videc, M.-L., Rist, R. C., & Vedung, E. (Eds.). (1998). Carrots, Sticks, and
Sermons: Policy Instruments and Their Evaluation. Transaction Publishers.
• Bossu, C., Bull, D. & Brown, M. (2012): The Open Education Movement in Australia:
The Need for Political Leadership. Retrieved from
https://oerknowledgecloud.org/?q=node/537/visitors
• Christensen, K. R. (2006). International Nongovernmental Organization:
Globalization, Policy Learning and Nation-State. Intl Journal of Public
Administration (29): 281-303.
• Dhanarajan, G. & Abeywardena, I.S. (2013). Higher Education and Open
Educational Resources in Asia: An Overview: In G. Dhanarajan & D. Porter (Eds.),
Open Education Resources: An Asian Perspective (pp. 3-18). Vancouver: COL and
OER Asia.
• Henry, M., Lingard, B., Rizvi, F. and Taylor, S. (2001.) The OECD, Globalization and
Education Policy, Oxford: Pergamon Press.

27. References
• Hewlett Foundation (2013), White Paper: Open Educational Resources:
Breaking the Lockbox on Education. http://www.hewlett.org/blog/posts/open-
educational-resources-breaking-lockbox-education
• Hylén, J., Damme D. Van, Mulder, F. and D’Antoni, S. (2012), “Open Educational
Resources: Analysis of Responses to the OECD Country Questionnaire”, OECD
Education Working Papers, No. 76, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k990rjhvtlv-en
• Mulder, F. (2012). The LOGIC of national strategies for Open Educational
Resources. In: Trend Report OER 2012. SURF SIG OER, Utrecht, 72-75.
Retrieved from http://www.surf.nl/en/knowledge-and-innovation/knowledge-
base/2012/trend-report-on-open-educational-resources-2012.html
• Mulder, F. (2013). The Logic of National Policies and Strategies for Open
Educational Resources. IRRODL, 14(2) 96-105. Retrieved from
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1536/2505

28. References
• Ngugi, C. N. & Butcher, N. (2011). Promoting Open and Distance Learning: A
Focus on Open Educational Resources. Retrieved from
http://events.aau.org/userfiles/file/corevip11/papers/neil_butcher_n_catheri
ne_ngugi_Promoting_ODL.pdf
• OECD (2007), Giving Knowledge for Free: The Emergence of Open Educational
Resources, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264032125-en
• Rizvi, F. and Bob, L. (2010). Globalizing Education Policy, New York: Routlege
• Shahjahan, R. (2012). The Roles of International Organizations (IOs) in
Globalizing Higher Education Policy. In Smart, J.C. and Paulsen, M.B. (Eds.),
Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. DOI 10.1007/978-94-
007-2950-6_8. Springer
• Schuller, T. and Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2009). OECD Work in the
Internationalization of Higher Education: An Insider Perspective. In Bassett,
R.M. and Maldonado, A. (Eds.), International Organizations and higher
education policy: Thinking globally, acting locally? (pp. 65-81). New York:
Routlege.