Sustainable Development Open Education Resource (OER) Platform
SDG Academy, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network
(
Non-governmental organization (NGO)
)
#SDGAction53639
Description
Accelerating progress to achieve the SDGs requires the strengthening of local digital ecosystems and collaborating with civil society to mainstream digital public goods – namely open educational resources– to support inclusive knowledge sharing and innovation to accelerate progress across the entirety of the SDGs. The UNESCO Recommendation on OER was adopted by the 40th Session of the UNESCO General Conference in 2019. It represents the first UN Normative Instrument in the area of openly licensed content for learning. During the UN Transforming Education Summit (TES) 2022 a session entitled ‘Transforming Education for Sustainable Development (ESD): Implementing the UNESCO OER Recommendation within Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships’ was organized by the SDG Academy at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN, the Permanent Mission of Ghana to UN, UN Academic Impact, UNESCO, and the UN Library. This session highlighted the importance of OER available through curated platforms to scale learning in support of the 17 SDGs. Building on the outcomes of the TES, and harnessing the UNESCO 2019 Recommendation on OER, this project proposes a large-scale initiative to share quality-assured, peer-reviewed, standardized, OER in support of the UN 2030 Agenda to advance learning for sustainable development that is free, easily accessed and can be repurposed. The OER platform will curate and create content about sustainable development which will be openly accessible, adaptable, and sharable globally.
1. Ensure the development and functioning of a quality-assured bank of OER specifically designed for achieving learning for sustainable development. This system will: a. build on local and national systems and processes, complementing and adding value to these systems b. implement UN Normative Instrument for the sharing of openly licensed digital learning content: the UNESCO 2019 Recommendation on OER c. implement internationally recognized standards, identifiers, metadata, and licenses will ensure its interoperability with global knowledge platforms and support its sustainability. d. develop an impact strategy and implement a robust monitoring system to track its progress. 2. Develop and implement capacity and policy support mechanisms to share best practices with a view to the replication and scaling up of OER platforms globally to support the SDGs by the target beneficiaries in line with the UNESCO 2019 Recommendation on OER. This would include the development of OER Repository Guidelines on key areas of the project: a. OER repository infrastructure b. Capacity Building and Policy Support for OER Repository Development c. Quality Assurance Criteria for OER Repositories d. OER Repositories: Accessibility, Multilingualism and Inclusiveness e. OER Repositories: Sustainability. 3. Foster a global community of practice to support the creation and sharing of OER for sustainable development.
Governance of the project will have a three -tier governance structure as follows: Tier 1. The Strategic Leadership Board: The Strategic Leadership Board, consisting of five high-level experts on key project areas, will provide high level guidance on project outcomes. Tier 2. The Joint Committee: The Joint Committee, consisting of 15 members from governments, the private sector, academia, education technology, IGOs, and NGOs will act as advisors on specific technical aspects of the project within their area(s) of expertise. They will also assist in the dissemination of the project results through their personal and professional networks. Tier 3. The Management Team: The Management Team, consisting of staff from UNESCO and UN SDSN, will have responsibility for the overall implementation of the project.
The monitoring and evaluation framework will aim to assess the progress of the project, outcomes, and impacts while aligning with the project's objectives and key activities. The approach will involve regular data collection, analysis, reporting, and learning and knowledge sharing to inform decision-making. Monitoring and evaluation will be based on a set of predetermined Key Performance Indicators. In addition, evaluation will be linked to a project Impact Strategy with its own set of measurable deliverables.
UNESCO Section for Universal Access to Information of the Communication of the Communications and Information Sector, SDG Academy, UN SDSN, Governmental, institutional, academic, and civil society entities working towards the achievement of the SDGs
SDGS & Targets
Goal 4
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
4.1
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes
4.1.1
Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex
4.1.2
Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education, upper secondary education)
4.2
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education
4.2.1
Proportion of children aged 24–59 months who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sex
4.2.2
Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), by sex
4.3
By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university
4.3.1
Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex
4.4
By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
4.4.1
Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill
4.5
4.5.1
Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict-affected, as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be disaggregated
4.6
By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy
4.6.1
Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex
4.7
By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development
4.7.1
Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education and (d) student assessment
4.a
Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all
4.a.1
Proportion of schools offering basic services, by type of service
4.b
4.b.1
Volume of official development assistance flows for scholarships by sector and type of study
4.c
By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing States
4.c.1
Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications, by education level
Goal 17
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
17.1
Strengthen domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection
17.1.1
17.1.2
17.2
Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries
17.2.1
17.3
Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources
17.3.1
Additional financial resources mobilized for developing countries from multiple sources
17.3.2
17.4
Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress
17.4.1
17.5
Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for least developed countries
17.5.1
Number of countries that adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for developing countries, including the least developed countries
17.6
Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism
17.6.1
Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed
17.7
Promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries on favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms, as mutually agreed
17.7.1
Total amount of funding for developing countries to promote the development, transfer, dissemination and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies
17.8
Fully operationalize the technology bank and science, technology and innovation capacity-building mechanism for least developed countries by 2017 and enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology
17.8.1
17.9
Enhance international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Sustainable Development Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation
17.9.1
Dollar value of financial and technical assistance (including through North-South, South‑South and triangular cooperation) committed to developing countries
17.10
Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda
17.10.1
17.11
Significantly increase the exports of developing countries, in particular with a view to doubling the least developed countries’ share of global exports by 2020
17.11.1
Developing countries’ and least developed countries’ share of global exports
17.12
Realize timely implementation of duty-free and quota-free market access on a lasting basis for all least developed countries, consistent with World Trade Organization decisions, including by ensuring that preferential rules of origin applicable to imports from least developed countries are transparent and simple, and contribute to facilitating market access
17.12.1
Weighted average tariffs faced by developing countries, least developed countries and small island developing States
17.13
Enhance global macroeconomic stability, including through policy coordination and policy coherence
17.13.1
17.14
Enhance policy coherence for sustainable development
17.14.1
17.15
Respect each country’s policy space and leadership to establish and implement policies for poverty eradication and sustainable development
17.15.1
17.16
Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources, to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in all countries, in particular developing countries
17.16.1
Number of countries reporting progress in multi-stakeholder development effectiveness monitoring frameworks that support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
17.17
Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships
17.17.1
Amount in United States dollars committed to public-private partnerships for infrastructure
17.18
By 2020, enhance capacity-building support to developing countries, including for least developed countries and small island developing States, to increase significantly the availability of high-quality, timely and reliable data disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability, geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts
17.18.1
Statistical capacity indicators
17.18.2
17.18.3
Number of countries with a national statistical plan that is fully funded and under implementation, by source of funding
17.19
By 2030, build on existing initiatives to develop measurements of progress on sustainable development that complement gross domestic product, and support statistical capacity-building in developing countries
17.19.1
17.19.2
Proportion of countries that (a) have conducted at least one population and housing census in the last 10 years; and (b) have achieved 100 per cent birth registration and 80 per cent death registration
SDG 14 targets covered
| Name | Description |
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Deliverables & Timeline
An OER platform infrastructure that will provide easily-identified, refereed, openly licensed educational resources to support learning for sustainable development. It will identify open licensed relevant content that will be peer reviewed.
Established mechanisms (processes and protocols for content) to underpin the development of the OER platform, focusing on the creation and dissemination of its content.
OER Repository capacity and policy guidelines to share best practices from the Sustainable Development (SD) OER platform development and use. The objective of these Guidelines will be to support stakeholders in replicating and scaling up the project.
Capacity building and policy support initiatives for a community of practice to support use through the SD OER Platform Guidelines will be developed.
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
Feedback
Action Network
Type of initiative
Share
Timeline
Entity
Geographical coverage
Other beneficiaries
Senior and mid-level civil servants in the executive branch of government (policymakers, i.e. directors, managers) that drive the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement; National training institutions for civil servants; Education professionals, researchers, and educators; Libraries (including public libraries as well as UN, academic, and government libraries); Private Sector and civil society stakeholders that drive the upscaling of the achievement of the SDGs.
More information
Countries
Contact Information
Jessica Crist, Education Manager