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CARLI Member OER Initiative

Purpose

The CARLI Member OER Initiative will provide financial support to CARLI member libraries to increase the awareness and use of Open Educational Resources (OER) at their institutions. By enhancing student and faculty success through open educational practices, members will make access to course materials more equitable and affordable, while impacting the CARLI community and the State of Illinois through the sharing of institutional resources. The funds set aside by the CARLI Governance Board will be awarded in this OER Initiative for the purpose of helping CARLI member institutions either develop new or maintain existing OER programs.

Proposals are due by midnight on March 31, 2026, with funded proposals announced no later than May 11, 2026.

An Information Session will be held on February 24, 2026, 9:00-10:00 a.m. A UI System Purchasing Representative will be at the information session. This session will be recorded.Registration is required.

Eligible Activities 

The CARLI Member OER Initiative will support member libraries as they work toward equitable access to course materials, lower materials costs for students, and help contribute to their retention, progression, and graduation. Proposals can include one or more awareness and engagement activities, based on campus priorities and needs:

  • Raise awareness of Open Education Resources among faculty, staff, and students through activities including campaigns, teaching faculty or student workshops, and library personnel training
  • Increase engagement at CARLI member libraries through activities that result in the expansion of OER usage in the classroom through adoption, adaptation, and/or creation
  • Save students at Illinois institutions of higher education the cost of textbook costs beginning in the 2027-2028 academic year
  • Advance student learning through improved collaboration, engagement, responsiveness, and curricular relevancy

Examples of Eligible Awareness and Engagement Activities

CARLI Member OER Initiative projects may provide libraries with the resources to conduct a variety of activities that can include, but are not limited to:

  • Spotlighting faculty using OER through profiles or an OER champions campaign
  • Highlight student stories of textbook cost impacts or conduct your own surveys to learn more about faculty OER perceptions or student textbook impacts on your campus; work to publish findings
  • Pursue librarian-specific training or lead/ bring to campus training for relevant stakeholders outside the library
  • Build campus-specific collections of OER in the Open Illinois - CARLI’s OER Commons Hub, LibGuides, or on another platform
  • Develop a campus OER Working Group/Committee
  • Plan a schedule of events for Open Education Week
  • Launch a campus-wide Faculty OER grant program to offer incentives and/or support for any of the following activities
    • Review an open resource in the Open Textbook Library, LibreTexts, or OER Commons
    • Adopt an OER textbook in place of a commercial textbook for and create new ancillary materials to support the adoption
    • Adapt existing OER to fit the learning outcomes of a particular course and adopt these new materials in place of commercial materials
    • Create new OER to adopt in place of a commercial textbook
    • Engage in continuous improvement, revising or enhancing OER materials currently in use but in need of improvement or additional supports for students, including to improve accessibility
    • Design open pedagogy projects to engage students in OER 
  • Provide corresponding support structures as teaching faculty engage in these OER adaption/creation activities, such as the Rebus Textbook Success Program

Funding

Each CARLI member library may submit one proposal. You may choose one of three categories:

  • Level 1 up to $7,000
  • Level 2 up to $15,000
  • Level 3 up to $30,000

CARLI will fund approximately $300,000 in total for the CARLI Member OER Initiative. 

Proposals may NOT include indirect costs.

Program Requirements

All materials and resources created with funding from the CARLI Member OER Initiative must:

All materials created as a result of CARLI Member OER Initiative should be updated and used for at least three years after the program ends.

Timeline

  • February 2026: Call for Proposals
  • February 24, 2026, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.: Information Session; This session will be recorded.
  • March 31, 2026: Proposals due by Midnight
  • April 2026: Proposals under review
  • May 11, 2026: Funded proposals announced
  • June 30, 2026: Purchase Orders complete by this date 
    Projects may begin after project purchase order issued
  • October 15, 2026: Quarterly Report due 
  • January 15, 2027: Quarterly Report due 
  • April 15, 2027: Quarterly Report due 
  • July 15, 2027: Quarterly Report due
  • October 15, 2027: Quarterly Report due
  • January 15 2028: Quarterly Report due 
  • April 15, 2028: Quarterly Report due
  • June 30, 2028: Initiative Ends; All funds expended 
  • July 15, 2028: Final Report due

Instructions for Proposal Submission

CARLI has created on online form to submit your proposal. All proposals must be submitted using the online form. 

All sections of the form are required. You can review the form as a Word document.

You can cut and paste information into the form. You can complete the form in multiple sessions; however, your browser cookies must be enabled so that you can continue with the same submission.

Each CARLI Member may submit ONE proposal. Proposals are due by midnight on March 31, 2026.

Proposals include:

  • Project Details
  • Budget and Budget Narrative [Please see Budget Exclusions on this webpage.]
  • Application Narrative: Describe the project as a whole, with goals and metrics for assessing success. Include outputs, outcomes, and impact. Provide a detailed timeline for activities.

START YOUR SUBMISSION

Evaluation Criteria

All proposals will be evaluated by CARLI staff and may include reviewers comprised of past and current CARLI OER Committee members.

Institutions without an existing OER Program will receive special consideration.

The rubric includes the following criteria on which all applications will be evaluated:

  • Budget and Budget Narrative: Project provides justification of all expenses. As succinctly as possible, the budget should reflect the outcomes of the project. No vague expenses listed.
  • Project / Action Plan: The project is thoroughly described and a detailed plan for the project is included.
  • Clarity and Alignment: The project's essential elements including the proposal, budget, and timeline are included and clearly indicate how the project will be accomplished.
  • Potential for Impact: Clear outputs, outcomes, and impacts (defined below). Clear plans for how the results will be achieved. 
    • Outputs are direct products of program activities, usually measured in terms of work accomplished
    • Outcomes are benefits or changes for individuals or populations during or after participating in program activities, including new knowledge, increased skills, changed attitudes or values, modified behavior, improved condition or altered status 
    • Impact is the degree to which outcomes are attributable to program activities. This should be reflected in how the target audience benefits from the project.

Budget Exclusions

Funds received from the CARLI Member OER Initiative may not be used for the following items.

Do not include them in your budget.

  • Indirect Costs
  • Alcohol
  • Conference registrations & travel
  • Donations
  • Entertainers
  • Equipment
  • Gift cards
  • Memberships
  • Software (including other publishing platforms)

Disbursement of Funds for Selected Projects

  1. The process for the disbursement of funds begins with the issuance of a purchase order by the University of Illinois on behalf of CARLI.
  2. Libraries will submit an invoice for 70% of the funds upon issuance of the purchase order.
  3. To receive the remaining 30% of funds, libraries must submit a project review statement that includes accomplishments to date and indicates that they have completed 70% of their project. 
  4. After CARLI reviews the statement and confirms the project status, libraries must submit a second invoice for the remaining funds.

Questions and Answers

CARLI staff along with a UI System Purchasing Representative will hold an Information Session on February 24, 2026, 9:00-10:00 a.m. There will be time for questions. This session will be recorded.Registration is required.

If you have questions, please send them to .