I'm involved with a scoping group tasked by the Higher Education Authority through the Department for Education and Skills here in Ireland to create a 9 month project on the topic of ‘Enhancing Research-Led Teaching and Learning in an Open Access Environment’.

The aspect of the project which relates to Open Access was included to allow the project to take account of recent changes in Open Access to research and how that might impact teaching and learning. I'm hoping to get the group to focus on assessing the readiness of academics here in Ireland, and how to improve literacy among students and more academics widely.

It's quite a big step in pushing the Open agenda here so I want to get it right so any help whatsoever is good for me!

What kinds of help are we looking for? 

Knowledge or keen interest in Open policy on a high-governmental level. For starters, I'm looking for information on:

• Whether this kind of assessment on a governmental and/or national level has happened elsewhere?
• Whether any other projects or campaigns exist in your own countries or institutions to improve and increase use of Open in teaching and learning among staff and students?

We are looking for people with skills in: 

• Advocacy and Policy
• Research about Open Access, Open Data, or Open Education

Can you be based remotely to help? Yes! Can collaborate from anywhere in the world.

Who do I get in touch with if I want to help out?  If you have questions or are interested in helping out, you can contact Daniel Waugh at dan.m.waugh(at)gmail.com