This session examines the trajectory of Canadian federal OER advocacy over the past several years. Since 2001, Canadian OER advocates have developed a more systematic approach to national OER advocacy. This presentation reviews the developments with an aim to inform other attendees of approaches to advocacy and to share insights on how the Canadian situation has developed. Despite a history of work in open education, Canada’s lack of a national department of education creates a major barrier to federal involvement in OER.
Recognizing these challenges, successive steps have been taken to develop a coordinated approach to advocacy among national stakeholders in the Canadian context. The session begins with an examination of who these stakeholders are. The session then covers the work of the Canadian Association of Research Libraries to develop the Open Educational Resources (OER) National Strategy – Stratégie nationale en matière de ressources éducatives libres (REL) group. The presentation explores how advocacy priorities were identified by the National Advocacy Framework for Open Educational Resources in Canada (McNally & Ludbrook, 2023).
The Framework identified 27 advocacy proposals on six themes that were narrowed down to focus on three key areas - Indigenous OER, Francophone OER and OER infrastructure and policy. Building on the work of the Framework strategy document, the session then explores the three focused summits that were held on each key priority area - the OER Infrastructure and Policy Summit in Toronto 2022, the Francophone OER Summit in Ottawa 2023, and the Indigenous Knowledges and OER Summit: Exploring Indigenous Knowledges and Open Educational Resources in Vancouver 2024. Each of these summits, attended by different delegates, produced a series of different outcomes - from formal advocacy positions to problematizing entire areas of future OER advocacy in Canada.
The presentation concludes by examining how national advocacy has evolved since being informed by the summits. We will also report on each stage of the priorities, in terms of advocacy, outline some plans for future work and the focus on how we are strengthening the work needed. The presentation provides an important viewpoint into the interplay between stakeholders, a coordinating strategy document, and focused advocacy summits to develop and refine advocacy strategies. It also provides an update on this work to date in Canada.
Included in
[Session 3B]: First NationsReferencesMcNally, M., Ludbrook, A., et al. (2023) A National Advocacy Framework for Open Educational Resources in Canada.
https://www.carl-abrc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/A-National-Advocacy-Framework-for-Open-Educational-Resources-in-Canada.pdfAuthor KeywordsOpen education policies and strategies, Sustainability, Inclusion, diversity, equity, access, First Nations perspectives, Local Indigenous cultures and ways of knowing, Canada, open education
