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3.4 Sustainability

Figure 8

One of the issues that is often raised for OER projects is that of sustainability. Many OER projects have received funding from bodies such as the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . Producing OER and maintaining large projects with associated staff is not a zero cost activity, and so questions arise about maintaining such projects when the original funding ends. This is what sustainability refers to in OER terms.

In a report for OECD in 2007, David Wiley defined sustainability as ‘an open educational resource project’s ongoing ability to meet its goals’ (p. 5). Wiley proposed three models of sustainability, which he labelled:

  • the MIT model,
  • the USU model,
  • the Rice model.

Activity 10: Applying sustainability models

Timing: Timing: 3 hours

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