Open Education National Summit

• Finalize a shared set of national priorities for open education based on input collected from across the field

• Begin building concrete plans and commitments to advance those priorities over the next three years

• Strengthen connections across the field and build shared direction for the work ahead

Participants in the summit are called “delegates” rather than attendees because they are charged with bringing perspectives from their network, community, or state, not only their own. Qualifications for delegates include:

• Able to travel in-person to Chicago and participate for the entirety of the program 

• Engaged in work that connects to open education, either directly (practitioners, advocates) or indirectly (leadership/oversight roles within institutions doing open education work)

• Conversant in basic open education and OER concepts and terminology (the meeting assumes delegates arrive already familiar with the topic)

• Able to complete up to 5 hours of work pre- and post-summit (10 hours total), which may include readings, document review, and prep calls

• Willing to be listed publicly as a delegate (exceptions allowed)

Note that the summit is not a traditional conference and carries an expectation of active engagement.

The summit aims to bring together a group of 150 delegates that can broadly represent the open education field. The number is capped both by the venue and the logistics of a working meeting.

Delegates are selected through three primary channels:

• Delegates representing national and regional organizations that work on open education or related issues

• Delegates representing state and system-level open education initiatives, determined by membership in DOERS

• At-large delegates selected through an open application process, with travel scholarships available to expand representation

A small number of invitations is reserved for select leaders, experts, and VIPs, as well as Open Education Association committee members.

You can submit an application to attend the summit by completing this form. Applications are encouraged by August 31 or as early as possible for the best chance of an invitation.

You will receive an update on your application by September 10, and after that, within 2 weeks of submission. Our response may fall into three categories:

• Invitation: The invitation will specify logistical details and a deadline by which to confirm your participation.

• Waitlist: If we are unable to confirm an invitation or travel funding, we may ask you to stay on the waitlist. As more delegates confirm, we will revisit the waitlist and offer an invitation if possible.

• Decline: We may decline your application if we are unable to offer an invitation. Keep in mind that invitation decisions are made with respect to the confirmed delegate list and where greater balance is needed across dimensions such as states, sectors, and professional roles.

To attend the summit, you must first receive an invitation. If invited, there is no cost to attend the summit other than your own travel.

• A room block is available at the conference hotel at the rate of $150/night + tax. A booking link will be provided to invited delegates.

• Chicago is served by two airports, O’Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW) and is a national hub for many airlines.

• The hotel is centrally located in downtown Chicago and is easily reachable by public transit from both airports. Parking is $72/night but less expensive options may be available nearby.

• Most meals during the summit program will be provided by the Open Education Association.

Participants who are not already individual members of the Open Education Association are encouraged to join in lieu of a registration fee.

The Open Education Association has budgeted funding to support travel scholarships to increase representation at the summit. You may apply for travel funding as part of the application process.

The summit is designed as a working meeting that will produce decisions and plans related to national priorities. Given that purpose, there are strict limitations on the size and design of the meeting, and an invitation process is the best way to ensure a nationally representative and committed audience. While we considered how we might design a meeting that includes virtual participation, we concluded that a meaningful virtual experience was not feasible.

No matter how the event were to be designed, the reality is that most of the open education field wouldn’t be able to be in the room. Our goal was to design a process that is as open as possible: inviting input before the summit, engaging delegates to represent the field during the summit, and reporting the results out after the summit with an open call for action.