1. Neil Butcher ACDE Technical Committee on Collaboration Deploying OER to meet Higher Education needs in Africa

2. Problem / Theory of Action  African higher education institutions seriously structurally under-funded for the core function they are expected to discharge.  Therefore, corresponding paucity of institutional and individual capacity to teach in many domains of higher education.  Too few learning resources for learners and lecturers in African universities, and many of those available are too expensive to be purchased by universities or students. eLearning Africa, 2009 2 May, 2009

3. Rationale for the Committee  Avoid unnecessary duplication, while improving cost-effectiveness of ODL through collaboration  Provide an African focal point for synchronizing ODL initiatives and activities on the continent.  Develop institutional capacity to produce high- quality and innovative DE courses and programmes.  Build confidence amongst African academics in their ability to produce contextualized world-class resources.  Ensure that ODL institutions in Africa engage in acceptable quality assurance practices through consultation, partnership, and collaboration in distance education. 3 May, 2009eLearning Africa, 2009

4. Key Activities (1)  Facilitate development and/or sharing of educational resources, underpinned by effective research, by ACDE member institutions  Facilitate collaborative development of academic programmes by ACDE member institutions  Coordinate creation and implementation of joint qualifications involving ACDE member institutions, and promote joint offering of programmes, student mobility and portability of credits between and among institutions and programmes eLearning Africa, 2009 4 May, 2009

5. Key Activities (2)  Determine, and institutionalize within ACDE members, appropriate policies and parameters by which resources, programmes, and qualifications can be collaboratively developed and shared without compromising the interests of participating institutions  Develop institutional capacity to deliver high quality ODL programmes  Explore ways to ensure that collaborative activities contribute directly to enhancing the marketability, financial viability, and sustainability of ODL in Africa  Conduct and/or commission research which informs the practice and activities of the Working Group and ACDE members. eLearning Africa, 2009 5 May, 2009

6.  Undertake ongoing audits of ACDE Member needs and existing capacities (including available content)  Develop and share content  Establish and launch joint qualifications  Enhance institutional capacity  Develop a Model for sustainability of the collaboration eLearning Africa, 2009 6 May, 2009 Immediate Priorities

7. Dispelling Some Myths  Content = education  Good content will overcome institutional capacity constraints  OER should be a process of voluntarism  OER will make education cheaper in the short- term  Openness automatically equates with quality  OER is about e-learning eLearning Africa, 2009 7 May, 2009