OER Knowledge CloudPolicy20172017/07The CommonwealthCreative CommonsThe Commonwealth of Learningsustainable development goalsOER qualitygovernment policycost reductionThe Commonwealth Education HubThe Commonwealth Education Hub1-19Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and repurposing by others. OER include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge. (William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, 2016) Policy Brief on Open Educational Resources (OER) Executive summary: Open Educational Resources (OER) are educational materials that are freely available and can be legally used and modified by anyone. Properly leveraged, OER can help everyone in the world access free, high quality, learning materials. OER can help governments meet the aims set out in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially with regard to SDG4: ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education, and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. This policy brief describes open educational resources, open licenses, open education licensing policies, and actions governments may take to support open education in their countries. Executive summary: Open Educational Resources (OER) are educational materials that are freely available and can be legally used and modified by anyone. Properly leveraged, OER can help everyone in the world access free, high quality, learning materials. OER can help governments meet the aims set out in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially with regard to SDG4: ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education, and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. This policy brief describes open educational resources, open licenses, open education licensing policies, and actions governments may take to support open education in their countries. This policy brief has been written by Creative Commons with input from the Commonwealth of Learning and the Commonwealth Secretariat. Comment may shared using the comment box at the end of this page.https://www.thecommonwealth-educationhub.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Policy_Brief_OER_2017_07.pdfhttps://www.thecommonwealth-educationhub.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Policy_Brief_OER_2017_07.pdfPolicy_Brief_OER_2017_07.pdf