National Resource Hub: Ireland’s model for supporting open education with the use of open educational resources (OER) and open educational practices (OEP) for teaching and learning

The National Resource Hub is an initiative developed by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in Ireland. It has been developed as part of the National Forum's strategy, to foster a culture of open and evidence-based practice among Irish higher education institutions by providing a platform for the submitting, sharing and discovery of high-quality open education resources (OER) related to teaching and learning enhancement within and across disciplines also supporting the implementation of open education principles, practices, and policies in Irish higher education. The main actions of the National Resource Hub include providing access to a wide range of OERs for teaching and learning, as well as offering professional development open courses for teaching and learning development. By promoting the use of OER and open licensing, the National Resource Hub supports universal connectivity in education. These resources are available to anyone with an internet connection, and can be used to support teaching and learning in a variety of contexts, including formal and informal education settings. The resources include open-licensed text, images, videos, and audio and they can be easily searched, browsed, and submitted by users. Openly licensed resources can be freely shared and adapted, and are not subject to the same limitations as proprietary resources. This allows for greater flexibility in how resources are used, and supports the development of a more inclusive, connected educational ecosystem. The main results of the National Resource Hub include an increase in the use of OERs among teachers and learners in Irish higher education, ultimately supporting the goal of enhancing teaching and learning in the sector. The programme has also had an impact by making education more accessible, reducing costs for stakeholders, and universally promoting the use of OER and evidence-based practice in education. In addition, the National Forum requires that all resources arising from National Forum-funded projects (total allocation approximately €21.9 million to date) be published openly; we actively support project teams in accomplishing this goal. The impact of the National Resource Hub can be seen in the number of resources available on the platform, which currently has 780 resources from 165 organizations and 433 authors, and is growing monthly. Additionally, the resources developed have a global reach, with over 650,000 visitors from 173 countries. Open Courses for the professional development of staff have been completed by 5,000 staff with a network of 628 trained facilitators. Highlights of achievement for the National Resource Hub include its user-centred design approach, which means that the needs and feedback from potential stakeholders were taken into consideration throughout the development process. The project is committed to being as inclusive and accessible as possible, built to be fully WCAG 2.0 AA compliant where possible and designed to be accessible to all users, regardless of device or ability. Additionally, the programme is built using open-source technology, allowing for affordability as well as the opportunity to be freely replicated by others, adaptable to different contexts, cultures and priorities.