The document summarizes a presentation given by Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams to DFID, UK on April 16, 2015 about the ROER4D project. The ROER4D project researched the adoption and impact of open educational resources (OER) in developing countries over three years with funding from IDRC, OSF, and DFID. It included 18 research projects across 7 clusters investigating OER adoption in South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia, as well as impact studies. The presentation outlines the project objectives, research approach, and plans for disseminating findings to inform education policy and practice.

1. Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams
University of Cape Town
Presentation to DFID, UK
16 April 2015
A review of the ROER4D project

2. Rising numbers of students in
the education sector
Education institutions under
political & financial pressure
Expensive, limited in number,
often outdated textbooks are
not entirely relevant to the
context
Employability of graduates
Reduction of educational
funding by governments
Key challenges facing education in developing countries
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APCoE_students_at_AICTE_Regional_Office_in_Mumbai.jpg

3. OER as a response to some educational challenges
facing education in developing countries
http://www.elearning-africa.com/eLA_Newsportal/finding-the-sweet-spot-open-educational-resources-in-the-developing-world/
http://www.unesco.org/iiep/virtualuniversity/forumsfiche.php?queryforumspages_id=23 x

4. OER as a response to some educational challenges
facing education in general – NMC Horizon Report 2015
https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/HR2015.pdf

5.  Open educational resources
(OER) are teaching, learning,
and research resources that
reside in the public domain or
have been released under an
intellectual property license
that permits their free use and
re-purposing by others (e.g.
Creative Commons) (adapted
from Smith & Casserly 2006:
8).
Free videos
Any learner or
teacher
What are OER? Free lecture
notes

6. .
OER vs Materials on the internet
OER
 Intentional contribution of
teaching, learning and research
materials for others to access
freely and reuse legally
Internet
 Visibility of all types of materials
for others to access freely that
are copyrighted by default

7. Hodgkinson-Williams & Gray (2009:110) & Hodgkinson-Williams (2014)
Copy
Customise (e.g. translate, add local content)
Combine (e.g. select and mix content)
Contribute (e.g. share locally & with the world)
OER: Degrees of openness

8. OER: Degrees of openness
Copy
Copy &
Contribute
Copy
Customise
Combine &
Contribute
Increasingopenness
Maximum dissemination
(Adapted from Burgos & Ramírez 2011:6)

9. Examples of OER initiatives from South America
http://www.rea.net.br/site/
https://karisma.org.co/cokrea/

10. http://oer.avu.org/
http://open.uct.ac.za/
http://www.oerafrica.org/
Examples of OER initiatives from Africa (1)

11. http://www.afrivip.org/open-education-resources
http://www.tessafrica.net
Examples of OER initiatives from Africa (2)

12. Examples of OER initiatives from Asia
http://www.tess-india.edu.in/
http://nptel.ac.in/
http://www.oerasia.org/

13. Slow uptake of OER in South America & Africa,
better in South East Asia
http://ocw.mit.edu/about/site-statistics/

14. https://stateof.creativecommons.org/report/

15. http://oermap.org/oer-evidence-map/
Most OER research taking place in Global North

16. ROER4D Research: OER Adoption & Impact

17. ROER4D Funding
International Development Research
Centre (IDRC)
Open Society Foundations (OSF)
UK Department for International
Development (DFID)
3 year project (27 Aug 2013 - 27 Aug
2016 with an extension to Feb 2017)
Grant 1 - IDRC CAD 2 million & OSF
Grant 2 - DFID CAD 500,000
3 Regions
 South America
 Sub-Saharan Africa
 Central, South & South-East Asia
18 research projects in 7 clusters
86 researchers & associates
26 countries
16 time zones
IDRC
OSF DFID

18. 1st Call
• Jul 2012: Proposals solicited by Planning Group who met in Thailand in May 2012
• Oct 2012: Proposals submitted and evaluated by the Planning Group
• Jan 2013: Proposers invited to present at F-2-F meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia
Proposal
process
•Jan 2013: Final proposals put forward to Planning Group
•Feb 2013: A proposal put forward to OSF for one project
•May 2013: Submitted proposal to IDRC
Grant 1
•Aug 2013: IDRC awarded grant with additional funding from OSF
Grant 2
•Jan 2014: Additional proposal submitted to IDRC for OER impact studies
•Apr 2014: IDRC awarded additional funds from DFID for impact studies
2nd Call
•Aug 2014: Open call for proposals for OER impact studies
Proposal
process
•Sep-Oct 2014: Proposals submitted and evaluated by panel of jurors
•Dec 2014: Shortlisted proposers invited to present at F-2-F workshop in Penang, Malaysia
Project proposal timeline

19. In what ways, and under what circumstances, can the adoption of
OER impact upon the increasing demand for accessible, relevant,
high-quality, and affordable education in the Global South?
Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D)

20. In what ways, and under what circumstances, can the adoption of
OER impact upon the increasing demand for accessible, relevant,
high-quality, and affordable education in the Global South?
Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D)
ADOPTION STUDIES
1. In what ways, and under what
circumstances are OER being
adopted in the Global South?

21. In what ways, and under what circumstances, can the adoption of
OER impact upon the increasing demand for accessible, relevant,
high-quality, and affordable education in the Global South?
Research on Open Educational Resources for Development (ROER4D)
IMPACT STUDIES
2. In what ways, and under what
circumstances can OER adoption impact
upon the increasing demand for accessible,
relevant, high-quality, and affordable
education in the Global South?
ADOPTION STUDIES
1. In what ways, and under what
circumstances are OER being
adopted in the Global South?

22. ROER4D
Network hub
OER Desktop
overview (1) Survey of OER
adoption by
academics & students
(1)
Academics’
adoption of OER
(2)
Teacher educators’
adoption of OER (3)
OER adoption in
one country (1)
OER impact
studies (7+1)
Baseline educational
expenditure (2)
Overview of ROER4D’s 7 Project Clusters

23. ROER4D’s Project Clusters & Coordination

24. Knowledge
building
Research
capacity
Networking
1. Build an
empirical
knowledge base
on the use and
impact of OER in
education
2. Develop
the research
capacity of
OER
researchers
3. Build a
network of
OER
scholars
5. Communicate
research to inform
education policy and
practice
ROER4D Objectives
4. Curate
research
openly
Curation
Research
capacity
Communication

25. Leadership
Management
Communication
Curation
Networking
Research capacity
Specific objectives
Enabling objectives
ROER4D Evaluation
Knowledge building
E
V
A
L
U
A
T
I
O
N
Visible
Less visible

26. Knowledge
building
Research
capacity
Networking
1. Build an
empirical
knowledge base
on the use and
impact of OER in
education
ROER4D Objective 1
Curation
Research
capacity
Communication

27. Knowledge
building
Research
capacity
Networking
ROER4D Objectives & impact studies in Africa
Curation
Research
capacity
Communication
• Impact of TESSA Project’s OER on education in Tanzania, Rwanda,
Mauritius & Uganda
• Research Leader: Dr Freda Wolfonden, OU, UK
Sub-
Project
10.1
• Impact of OER in maths & science in Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania,
Somalia, Senegal, Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar & Zimbabwe
• Research Leader: Dr Atieno Adala, AVU, Kenya
Sub-
Project
10.2
• Impact of MOOCs as OER on educators’ practice at UCT, South Africa
• Research Leader: Prof Laura Czerniewicz, UCT, South Africa
Sub-
Project
10.3

28. Knowledge
building
Research
capacity
Networking
ROER4D Objectives & impact studies in Asia
Curation
Research
capacity
Communication
• Impact of an OER library in Afghanistan
• Research Leaders: Dr Lauren Oats, Canadian Women for Women in
Afghanistan (CW4WAfghan), Canada
Sub-
Project
10.4
• Impact of OER on teaching and learning in Pakistan
• Research Leader: Dr Yasira Wagar
Sub-
Project
10.5
• Impact of OER on educators’ practice at OUSL
• Research Leaders: Dr Shironica Karunanayaka, Sri Lanka & Dr Som Naidu,
Monash University, Australia
Sub-
Project
10.6
• Impact of OER course development at UPOU, Philippines
• Research Leader: Dr Sheila Bonito, UPOU, Philippines
Sub-
Project
10.7

29. Leadership
Management
Communication
Curation
Networking
Research capacity
Specific objectives
Enabling objectives
1. Simon Fraser
University case
study
ROER4D Objectives & Evaluation (1)
Knowledge building
The IDRC have
commissioned a
separate study on the
concept of “openness”
and the ROER4D
project is one of the
three case studies
E
V
A
L
U
A
T
I
O
N

30. Leadership
Management
Communication
Curation
Networking
Research capacity
Specific objectives
Enabling objectives
Simon Fraser
University case
study
2. DECI-2 case
study which
mentors the
ROER4D
Evaluation &
Communication
consultants
ROER4D Objectives & Evaluation (2)
Knowledge building
E
V
A
L
U
A
T
I
O
N
Another IDRC
project, DECI-2 are
both supporting the
ROER4D project to
develop its
Communication &
Evaluation strategy &
is studying ROER4D
as a case study

31. Leadership
Management
Communication
Curation
Networking
Research capacity
Specific objectives
Enabling objectives
Simon Fraser
University case
study
DECI-2 case study
which mentors the
ROER4D
Evaluation &
Communication
consultants
ROER4D Objectives & Evaluation (3)
Knowledge building
3. Funders: IDRC,
DFID, OSF
Through on-going
informal
communication &
formal technical
reporting, funders
directly monitor
project finances and
milestones & indirectly
evaluate the
leadership of
ROER4D
E
V
A
L
U
A
T
I
O
N

32. 1. Build an empirical knowledge base on the use
and impact of OER in education
2. Develop the capacity of OER researchers
3. Build a network of OER scholars
4. Communicate research to inform education
policy and practice
5. Curate output as open content
ROER4D Key Evaluation Areas
EVALUATION

33. ROER4D Evaluation and Communication
supported by DECI-2
DECI-2
An IDRC funded research project to build and mentor Communication and
Evaluation for IDRC flagship projects
http://evaluationandcommunicationinpractice.net/

34. Ricardo Ramirez
Dal Brodhead
Wendy Quarry
(IDRC DECI-2 Project)
Julius Nyangaga
(Kenya)
Charles Dhewa
(Zimbabwe)
Sarah Goodier
(Evaluation)
Sukaina Walji
(Communication)
(South Africa)
ROER4D Evaluation and Communication supported by DECI-2

35. ✓
Different
ROER4D
objectives are
at different
stages in the
UFE process
In progress
Progress
towards
fine-tuning
evaluation
✓ ✓
✓

36. ROER4D Evaluation Key Evaluation Questions:
Example - Communication Strategy

37. ROER4D Evaluation Key Evaluation Questions:
Example - Communication Strategy

38. ROER4D Evaluation Key Evaluation Questions:
Example - Communication Strategy - Twitter

39. ROER4D Evaluation Key Evaluation Questions:
Example - Communication Strategy - Website

40. ROER4D Evaluation Key Evaluation Questions:
Example - Communication Strategy - Blog

41. Conceptual
Framework/s
Methods
Instrument
questions
Data
Analysis
tools
Findings
Proposal
Literature
Review
Open
Research
process
OER
Asia
NEW
Open
project


Open Research – ROER4D intentions to share




42. ROER4D Open Research – plan for interactive
research report
Due to the number of projects and the different ways in which they could be
grouped for different audiences, the ROER4D team are currently exploring
software platforms to enable the dissemination of project outputs in a digital
format that will allow for:
 Different layers of detail of reports:
 Executive summaries
 Policy briefs
 Brief individual project reports
 Detailed individual project reports linked to open data (where available)
 remixing of content (e.g. all the regional South American reports together
and/or all the country specific reports together)
 commenting on the reports (for a period of time)

43. Sub-
Project 1:
Brief
report
Cover
page
Table of
contents
Executive
summary
Policy
briefs
Project
overview:
Brief
report
Project
overview
Detailed
report
Open
Data
ROER4D Interactive research report plan
Sub-
Project 1:
Detailed
report
Sub-
Project 2:
Brief
report
Sub-
Project 2:
Detailed
report
South America
Sub Saharan Africa
Asia
Sub-
Project 3:
Brief
report
Sub-
Project 3:
Detailed
report
Open
Data
Sub-
Project4:
Brief
report
Sub-
Project4:
Detailed
report
Open
Data
Global South
Executive
summary
Executive
summary
Executive
summary
Policy
briefs
Policy
briefs
Policy
briefs
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.
Cover
page
Etc.
Table of
contents

44. http://roer4d.org/
Keep track of our website

45. Project
events
Resources
SlideShare
Blog Twitter
Facebook Page
CMS (Vula)
Website
Email
Virtual meetings
(Skype, Adobe
Connect)
Internal communications External communications
Conferences
ROER4D Communications & Dissemination plan
OpenUCT
repository
Newsletter
Interactive
Report

46. ROER4D Open Magna Carta
Make open …
… if it adds value
… if it is ethical
… if it is legal
… by default
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta#mediaviewer/File:Magna_Carta_(1297_version_with_seal,_owned_by_David_M_Rubenstein).png
On public display in
the West Rotunda
Gallery of the National
Archives Building in
Washington, D.C

47.  (ROER4D end date Feb 2017. ROER4D Impact studies earliest
submission first week Oct 2016)
 Curate data as ‘open data’ wherever possible, and link to dissemination
platform/s (Librarian / Digital resource curator)
 Undertake cross-regional comparison from Impact Studies with
Adoption studies (Senior researcher)
 Undertake translation and re-writing for specific audiences – e.g. inter-
governmental agencies, government policy makers in various countries,
institutional decision-makers (Spanish, Portuguese, Behasa Melayu
and Hindi translator and re-writer)
 Disseminate project outputs in layers – executive summaries, regional
reports, country reports, policy briefs (Digital resource curator and
communicator) and link to other projects (e.g. AEN)
Leveraging ROER4D research

48. Funding Partners
Dr Matthew Smith
IDRC
Ed Barney /Harriet
Macdonald-Walker
UK Aid – DFID
Melissa Hagemann
OSF
Network Project Team
Prof Cheryl Hodgkinson-
Williams
Principal Investigator
Prof Patricia Arinto
Deputy Principal Investigator
Tess Cartmill
Full-time Project Manager
Henry Trotter
Part-time Researcher
Thomas King
Part-time Research Administrator
Rondine Carstens
Contract Graphic Artist
Tinashe Makwande
Contract Videographer
UCT Support
Prof Danie Visser
Deputy Vice- Chancellor
Project signatory for UCT
Keval Harie
Contracts Lawyer
Prof Laura Czerniewicz
CILT Director
Shirley Rix & David Worth
Finance administrators
Advisory Group
Prof Raj Dhanarajan
Former VC & Emeritus Professor
Prof Fred Mulder
Former VC & Emeritus Professor
Carolina Rossini
IP Contracts lawyer
Dr Savithri Singh
College Principal
Prof Stavros Xanthopoylos
Director FGV
Mentors
Ineke Buskens
Qualitative Research Consultant
Dr David Porter
Researcher
Dr George Sciadas
Statistician
Communication &
Evaluation
Sukaina Walji
Sarah Goodier
OER Impact Project Team
Prof Raj Dhanarajan & Maria Ng
Principal Investigators – OER Impact
Suan Choo Khoo & Vivien Chiam
Administrative Officers
ROER4D Network Team

49. ROER4D Network (86 researchers & associates)
Sub-Project 2 (41)
Prof Jose Dutra
University of Sao Paulo
2 part-time research assistants & 36
local coordinators
Judith Pete College, Kenya
Prof Daryono Universitas Terbuka,
Indonesia
Sub-Project 1 (7)
Mariana Eguren, Peru
Maryla Bialobrzeska, Jenny Louw,
Ephraim Mlanga, Catherine Ngugi &
Rosemary Juma, SAIDE, South Africa
Prof Raj Dhanarajan
Wawasan Open University
Sub-Project 3 (3)
Prof Sanjaya Mishra
Dr Ramesh Sharma CEMCA, India
Sub-Project 4 (2)
Glenda Cox
Henry Trotter, UCT, South Africa
Sub-Project 6 (3)
Pilar Saenz
Dr Ulises Hernandez
Marcela Hernandez, Karisma
Foundation, Colombia
Sub-Project 5 (2)
Guru Kasinathan
Ranjani Ranganathan
IT for Change, Bangalore, India
Sub-Project 7 (3)
Prof Mohan Menon, B. Phalachandra
& Jasmine Emmanuel
Wawasan Open University
Sub-Project 8 (1)
Batbold Zagdragchaa
New Policy Unit, Ulanbataar, Mongolia
Sub-Project 9 (3)
Werner Westermann, Juan Muggli,
Victor Barragan
Chile
Sub-Project 11 (1)
Sarah Goodier
UCT, South Africa
Sub-Project 12 (2)
Carolina Botero & Amalia Toledo
Karisma Foundation, Colombia
Sub-Project 10.1 (3)
Freda Wolfenden
Alison Buckler & Pritee Auckloo
Open University, UK
Sub-Project 10.2 (5)
Atieno Adala, Therrezinha Fernandes,
Marilena Cabral, Tom Ojwang, Sophia
Alexandre
AVU, Kenya
Sub-Project 10.3 (7)
Laura Czerniewicz, Sukaina Walji,
Michael Glover, Cheryl Brown, Janet
Small, Andrew Deacon, Mary-Ann Fife,
University of Cape Town
Sub-Project 10.4 (2)
Lauryn Oates, Rahim Parwani
CW4AW, Afghanistan
Sub-Project 10.5 (3)
Yasira Waqar, Saba Khalil, Sana
Shams
Sub-Project 10.6 (2)
Shironica Karunanayaka, Som Naidu,
Open University of Sri Lanka
Sub-Project 10.7 (4)
Sheila Bonito, Charisse Reyes, Rita
Ramos, Joane Serrano
Open University of the Philippines

50. Links
Website: www.roer4d.org
Contact Principal Invesigator:
cheryl.hodgkinson-williams@uct.ac.za
Follow us: http://twitter.com/roer4D
Presentations: www.slideshare.com/roer4D

51. Acknowledgments & Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License.
Written by Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams,
with contributions from Sarah Goodier
Henry Trotter, Tess Cartmill, Sukaina Walji,
& Thomas King
Contact:
cheryl.hodgkinson-williams@uct.ac.za
Graphics by Rondine Carstens
rondine.carstens@uct.ac.za, Cheryl
Hodgkinson-Williams & Sarah Goodier