OER Advocacy Toolkit
Faculty, librarians, instructional designers, and campus partners working with open educational resources (OER) often find themselves doing two kinds of work at once: explaining what OER is and demonstrating why it matters. Perhaps you introduced the concept of OER in a department meeting, helped a colleague find an open textbook, or celebrated a faculty member who eliminated textbook costs for their students. In these moments, you are helping OER take root; but like any growing initiative, OER requires both visibility and care to thrive. This section pairs two complementary approaches (i.e., growing awareness and expressing gratitude) to help you build a sustainable culture on your campus.
- Grow OER Awareness focuses on the foundational work of making OER notable and relevant within your institutional context. This chapter offers advice on ways to:
- Establish a shared understanding of what OER are
- Engage key audiences, such as students, faculty, and administrators, through targeted messaging
- Build campus-wide awareness campaigns
Awareness work is often incremental and relational, unfolding through conversations and repeated exposure over long periods of time. The goal is not immediate adoption, but rather creating the conditions where meaningful engagement becomes possible (becoming “rooted in open!”).
- Gratitude for OER builds on that foundation by recognizing the labor that makes OER possible. This chapter offers advice on ways to:
- Publicly acknowledge and celebrate OER contributors across roles.
- Integrate recognition into existing institutional structures, such as awards and newsletters.
- Reinforce that OER work is valued, visible, and aligned with institutional priorities.
Gratitude transforms awareness into action by signaling that this work matters. When we can consistently recognize OER contributions, we can reduce perceived risk, make hidden labor visible, and help embed open practices into the culture of the institution.
Together, these chapters invite you to think of OER as both a project and a movement. Start where you are (e.g., your classroom, your department, or your existing networks) and build understanding over time. Take every opportunity to recognize the people doing this work. By pairing awareness with gratitude, you expand the reach of OER and help to sustain it over time. We hope this section serves as both a starting point and a source of momentum. Adapt these strategies to your local context, share them with collaborators, and contribute your own examples to strengthen future iterations of this toolkit.
