Samenvatting

A survey conducted in 2012 among publicly financed higher education institutions in the Netherlands revealed a growing awareness of the strategic relevance of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Education. However, hardly any policy or strategy related to OER and Open Education had been formulated by any of the higher education institutions involved.

At the same time, most of the institutions expressed a need for a strategic approach of OER and Open Education. To meet this need, SURF, the collaborative organisation for ICT in Dutch higher education and research, and more particularly its Special Interest Group on OER, gave ten Dutch higher education institutions the opportunity to assist in developing a strategic approach of OER and Open Education, organising strategy workshops. Every workshop was tailored to the specific needs and problems of the institution concerned. To be able to do so, an approach had been formulated which started with a semi-structured interview. The objective of this interview was to find out why the institution had decided to
participate in the workshop and what it wanted to achieve, and to identify the driving forces within the institutions for conducting the workshop. The next step was to design the workshop. This was done in close cooperation with the institution concerned. The third part of the process was conducting the actual workshop. In the last phase, findings and conclusions were formulated.

Almost all participating Dutch higher education institutions were inclined to formulate a strategic
view on OER and Open Education. The workshops have provided detailed insights into the perceptions and expectations of Dutch higher education institutions involved with regard to OER, MOOCs and Open Education. One such insight is that although most participants are aware of the existence of OER, MOOCs and other forms of Open Education and feel some sense of urgency, many of them do not have any idea how to apply these concepts in their own institutions, let alone know where to start. Another insight is that many of the people who attended the workshops did so because they felt that their institution should develop MOOCs. In most cases it turned out that by discussing the pros and cons of MOOCs as well as the (in)appropriateness of other forms of Open Education for their institutions, the participants developed a broader view of Open Education.

In this article the process and approach followed will be presented, as well as lessons learned and conclusions drawn. We conclude that the strategic workshops can be considered a success, thanks to the effectiveness of a tailor-made programme embedded within a fixed process framework. The positive attitude and willingness to share knowledge on the part of the participants contributed greatly to the results. One prerequisite for success is that various sections from the institution participate in the workshop, and that a range of perspectives be presented. The importance of a neutral platform as a basis for an open discussion must not be underestimated.