Centre for Learning and Teaching

Open Educational Resources (OER) Grant

Fall 2023 Recipient
Ethical decision-making toolkit for core second-year Biology courses – an OER for teaching applied ethics.
  • Debra Grantham
  • Jen Frail-Gauthier
  • Kerrianne Ryan
  • Annie Grigg
Fall 2023 Recipient
Developing an open access limited series health equity podcast
  • Dr. Sara Kirk (Project Lead)
  • Dr. Cecilia Carrea
  • Joshua Yusuf
  • Hannah Beveridge (summer student/Research Assistant)
  • Caitlyn Macrae (Master’s student)


This grant is offered in partnership between CLT and Dalhousie Libraries through the support of Dalhousie’s Strategic Initiative Funding

Previous Grant Recipients

See information about previous grant recipients and the projects they funded!

  • Submission Deadline
  • Focus of Grant
  • Eligibility
  • Amount of Award
  • Requirements
  • Submission Checklist
  • Submission Process
  • Selection Criteria
  • Contact

Submission Deadline

Submissions for this grant typically occur in the Fall (September-December).

Focus of Grant

This grant will provide support for Dalhousie educators who are interested in adapting or creating an Open Educational Resource (OER).

The objectives of this grant program include:

  • Enhancing the learning experience of students at Dalhousie University through the adaptation or creation of OER
  • Supporting Dalhousie teaching and learning strategic priorities to transform teaching and learning for the whole student (across all modalities) including, but not limited to:
    • Advances Dalhousie’s Diversity and Inclusiveness Strategy, Indigenous Strategy, and/or African Nova Scotian Strategy
    • Incorporates Indigenous and anti-colonial approaches to learning, and/or develops deep and meaningful relationships with the people of the Mi’kmaw Nation
    • First-year undergraduate education
    • Undergraduate research
    • Experiential and work-integrated learning (including field work and community engaged learning)
    • Active learning
    • Expands global reach
    • Interdisciplinary approach
  • Supporting the Dalhousie eLearning strategy
  • Alleviating student financial burden from the cost of textbooks and other educational resources that can be offered free of charge to students, thereby increasing access

Eligibility

Each project must be led by a full-time faculty member or a limited-term faculty member with at least one year remaining in their contract term at the start of the grant period. This is in order to ensure the feasibility and long-term sustainability of the project.  Non-academic staff and part-time faculty members may be co-applicants. 

Preference will be given to grant applicants who engage students in the planning, development, and/or creation of their OER and to projects that impact a substantive number of students. 

Priority will be given to those who have not previously received a Dalhousie OER grant.

Amount of Award

Grants up to $7,000 may be awarded.  Projects must be completed, and funds expended in their entirety within one year of receiving the grant.

Requirements

  1. Applicants must complete the OER Grant Application Form. Completed forms can be submitted directly to clt@dal.ca.
  2. A detailed budget is required with justification for each item. See below for more information about what kinds of items are eligible for funding through this grant. Please include a list of any additional resources (e.g., funding, release time, equipment etc.) that will be provided to the project from other sources.
  3. If you are planning to seek assistance and/or consultations from educational developers at CLT or digital librarians with the Dalhousie Libraries as part of your project, please seek confirmation in writing that assistance will be available with key staff member(s) during the time frame required, prior to submitting your proposal. (NB: The Dalhousie Libraries currently host and have expertise with an instance of Pressbooks, an Open Book creation platform.)
  4. Statement of support from the head of the relevant teaching unit (department, school, Faculty) that includes a description of any additional resources (e.g., funding, release time, equipment, etc.) to be provided to the project and a description of the value of the project, in particular the pedagogical impact on students. If a department head is an applicant for the grant, please provide a letter of support from your Associate Dean or Dean of your Faculty.
  5. Willingness to share the results of the project with the Dalhousie community at events arranged by the Library and/or CLT (as panel member or presenter).
  6. A brief, written, final report must be submitted to CLT within 18 months of receiving the grant, outlining the outcomes of the project and the approximate savings for the students accessing the OER (1,500-2000 words). Please note that a description of the project and this report may appear on the OER grant website. 
  7. Any OER made possible by this grant must be openly licensed (using a Creative Commons license that is considered OER-compatible) and openly accessible online (e.g., using Dalhousie Libraries Pressbook installation, and any other OER platform) and adhere to the 5 ‘R’s of OER. (Retain, Reuse, Revise, Remix, Redistribute).

Examples of items that are commonly funded through this grant:

  • Student support (e.g., research assistant, programming, development)
    • This should be inclusive of an hourly wage (e.g., $24.00 or $30.50 for undergraduate and graduate students respectively) + 13.662% (6% vacation pay + 7% benefits, i.e., EI/CPP).
  • Honoraria for speakers, contributors, community engagement-related expenses, etc.
  • Technology not already available elsewhere, or where alternatives are not available
    • Projects that submit budgets that are largely requesting funds to purchase technology will only be considered in special circumstances where research has been conducted to ensure that:
      • The tool is the only possible solution
      • The tool can be demonstrated to contribute substantially to the project
      • There are no institutional plans to consider a Dalhousie-wide site licence for such a tool
      • The department or faculty is able to commit to maintaining the tool to ensure continued use and impact

Funding will NOT be provided for the following items

  • Conferences: registration travel, accommodations, etc.
  • Technology already available elsewhere, or where alternatives are available
  • Office supplies
  • Phone charges
  • Publishing fees
  • Faculty and staff salaries

Submission Check-List

Applicants are encouraged to submit well-defined proposals that will demonstrably enhance teaching and learning. 

To be submitted as part of the grant application, using the OER Grant Application Form:

Names of project lead and co-applicant(s), employment status of project lead, Faculty/Department, contact information, and brief bio (as it relates to the nature of the project).

  1. Project Title
  2. Brief Abstract (150 words) to be used for promotion purposes if the applicant is successful
  3. Project Plan (Not to Exceed 2000 words) including:
    • Brief description of the proposed project
    • Rationale and goals for the project: Within the context of the program/course, outline the pedagogical impact on students and the contribution the project will make to the course or program.
    • Outline how the project will enhance student learning.
    • Outline any recommended technical or hosting requirements, or pedagogical assistance required (if seeking assistance from CLT and/or Dalhousie Libraries) and provide a brief email confirmation that the support can be provided as needed.
    • A detailed description of the OER.
    • Student population impacted and estimated cost savings for students
    • Sustainability of project

The following must be appended to your OER Grant Application Form:

  • Detailed project timeline
  • List of additional resources
  • Teaching Unit Support - Letter from Head of Department
  • Detailed Budget

Submission Process

Grant applications must be submitted as one full package, using the OER Grant Application Form.

Electronic submission applications can be emailed to: clt@dal.ca. Unless given permission, applications must be in a single .pdf formatted document. Specifics for electronic submissions include:

  • Email’s subject should be: “OER Grant Submission [YEAR]”.
  • File name must follow the format [LAST NAME OF PROJECT LEAD, OER GRANT, YEAR].
  • Co-applicants: Indicate if you are submitting on behalf of the project lead in the email body.

If you encounter technical issues or have any questions, please contact the Centre for Learning & Teaching at clt@dal.ca or by phone at (902) 494-1622.

Selection Criteria

  • The project will significantly contribute to the enhancement of teaching and learning in the stated context.
  • The project notes and outlines adherence to the 5Rs of OER (Retain, Reuse, Revise, Remix and Redistribute), including describing how the OER will be openly licensed and made openly accessible.
  • The project has clear and achievable aims (i.e., the proposal identifies an important teaching/learning challenge or issue that the project will address, clearly states the purpose of the project, and defines realistic and achievable outcomes.)
  • The project engages students in the planning, development and/or creation of their OER.
  • The project will result in feasible, impactful and sustainable benefits to students resulting in deep learning.
  • The project supports Dalhousie’s teaching and learning strategic priorities to transform teaching and learning for the whole student (across all modalities) including, but not limited to:
    • Advances Dalhousie’s Diversity and Inclusiveness Strategy, Indigenous Strategy, and/or African Nova Scotian Strategy
    • Incorporates Indigenous and anti-colonial approaches to learning, and/or develops deep and meaningful relationships with the people of the Mi’kmaw Nation
    • First-year undergraduate education
    • Undergraduate research
    • Experiential and work-integrated learning (including field work and community engaged learning)
    • Active learning
    • Expands global reach
    • Interdisciplinary approach
  • The proposed budget is fully justified and in line with the aims and timeline of the project.
  • The project has the support of the applicant's Dean or Department Head.

Contact

Any questions or requests for feedback on proposals in development may be directed to Kate Thompson (thompskm@dal.ca).