Following the adoption of the UNESCO Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER), UNESCO initiated a programme to support governments and educational institutions in implementing the Recommendation.

One such action is the development of a series of five briefing notes or guidelines for governments, one for each Action Area in the OER Recommendation. These briefing notes have been developed through a lengthy consultative process and in cooperation with OER experts worldwide. OER Africa has provided logistical and editorial assistance to UNESCO on this work as part of a formal cooperation agreement with UNESCO to provide support in implementation of the OER Recommendation.

Each briefing note/guideline has the following structure:

• General explanation of what the action area covers.
• The main issues surrounding the action area.
• A Checklist/Matrix of possible actions.
• In-depth discussion of the main issues surrounding the action line.
• Examples of good practice.
• The target audience is governments and educational institutions.