The Open Education Conference Launches Strategic Planning Process to Shape its Future Governance
The Open Education Conference is excited to announce the start of a strategic planning process designed to shape the future of its governance. For nearly eighteen years, the conference has served as an annual convening for those interested in learning and sharing about open educational resources, open pedagogy, and open education initiatives. Currently supported by a two-year interim structure formed in 2020, the conference is now preparing for the next steps in its transition to full community ownership.
The goal of the project will be to develop a strategic plan and governance model that ensures the sustainability, impact, and reach of the conference while centering diversity, equity and inclusion. This process will lay the foundation for the conference’s transition to a self-sustaining and community-led structure by the end of 2021. To assist with this transition, conference organizers brought on Franklin Street Studio, a consultancy based in Denver, Colorado, specializing in learning design, strategic planning, and leadership and team development.
“We are thrilled to work with Franklin Street to reimagine the possibilities in store for the OpenEd community,” says Regina Gong, a member of both the conference’s Steering Committee and Strategic Planning Committee. “We have this unique opportunity to engage and collaborate with a company that can steer us towards our goal of centering diversity, equity, and inclusion in all that we do. We are looking forward to the conversations and ideas that will emerge as we do this critical work of ensuring OpenEd’s impact, reach, and sustainability.”
The strategic planning process will include four phases of work spanning from February to September 2021. The project will be extremely collaborative, beginning with an insight synthesis conducted by Franklin Street Studio that will examine headlines and themes emerging from community engagement and dialogue gathered during the 2020 conference and community meetings. The process will then conduct outreach for additional feedback and input from the broader open education field, spanning the months of April and May. The final outputs will be a strategic plan for the Open Education Conference (including a mission statement, vision statement, and guiding principles), an organizational design that embodies principles of openness and diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as a set of articulated and measurable goals for the OpenEd of the future. Drafts of these documents will be circulated with the broader community for consultation during the process.
Supporting the project are Dr. Brittany Erickson, founder and principal of Franklin Street Studio, who brings expertise in designing provocative learning experiences, helping teams work collaboratively and nimbly, and supporting organizations to realize authenticity and impact in all they do. Joining her to co-lead the project is Franklin Street Studio consultant Dr. Jenn Charlot, who brings extensive experience as a researcher, entrepreneur and organizational leader. "We're inspired by OpenEd's eighteen-year history and its fierce commitment to ensuring an educational ecosystem that is accessible and equitable,” says Erickson. “We're honored to work alongside the team in clarifying a vision and charge for the next chapter."
The strategic planning project is funded by a grant from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation through SPARC. The scope of work for Franklin Street Studio is publicly available to read in its entirety. This process will be guided by the OpenEd Strategic Planning Committee, which consists of a subset of the OpenEd Steering Committee, community members from the 2020 planning process, and new community members who will be selected through the call for participation (apply by March 19th to be considered for committee roles).
The dates for #OpenEd21 have been announced, and the conference will take place virtually during the week of October 18-22, 2021. OpenEd is also currently recruiting for additional volunteers and committee members. Please fill out this form by March 15th if you’d like to contribute to the 2021 organizing team. Additionally, the next community input meeting will take place on Friday, March 12 at 1pm ET. Please register in advance if you’d like to join us!
To stay informed about #OpenEd21, as well as for updates on the Open Education Conference’s strategic plan development, you can subscribe to our mailing list. You can also follow the conference on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube at @HeyOpenEd.