OER Sponsorship-Based Funding Model

Description

"This model underlies a form of open access that is available in most homes: free radio and television. The sponsorship model can range from intrusive commercial messages, such as are found on commercial television networks, to more subtle `sponsorship' message, as are found in public broadcasting. In online educational initiatives, various companies have supported OER projects on a more or less explicit sponsorship basis, often in partnership with educational institutions. Examples include the MIT iCampus Outreach Initiative (Microsoft) (CORE, 2005) and the recently announced Stanford on iTunes project (Apple) (Stanford, 2005) It is worth noting that GNU EPrints adopted this model as a direct result of a move by Research Councils UK to mandate open access for all funded research. (Yeates, 2005)" (http://www.downes.ca/files/FreeLearning.pdf)