About

The Digital Open Textbooks for Development (DOT4D) initiative investigates the ecosystem of open textbook publishing and provides implementation support in open textbook publishing activity at the University of Cape Town (UCT). It also aims to support policy-makers and other stakeholders in the development of institutional and national policy frameworks that govern open textbook publishing activity and address long-term sustainability mechanisms.

Located in the Centre for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CILT) at UCT, the first phase of this initiative (2018–2021) was funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre. It is now an institutionally funded initiative. The project is led by Principal Investigator Dr Glenda Cox, UNESCO Chair in Open Education and Social Justice.

The primary, overarching objective of the initiative is:

To contribute to improving inclusion in South African higher education by addressing equitable access to appropriate and relevant learning resources.

The specific objectives are to:

1.  Articulate and identify open textbook approaches which contribute to a social justice agenda.
2. Support open textbook publishing activity at UCT that prioritises strategies for integrating student perspective, curriculum transformation, and sustainability.
3. Inform current textbook publishing policy-development initiatives at institutional and national levels.