Research Questions

What are the 5 to 10 biggest non-profit companies in this field?
How is the market distributed?
Where are they located? Are there any incentives for specific locations?
Correlate them with their main outputs (Data, Narratives, Tools)
Understand and identify cases where these companies are “experimenting” or “adopting” commons-based approaches
Identify these cases and treat them as entities that will also be placed in our mapping device (the quadrants)
Identify what non-profits are the “Microsofts” of the field and what companies are the “IBMs” of the field. (Use the questionnaire to guide your research when appropriate - Carol will select specific relevant and helpful questions)

Non-profits

ccLearn
"ccLearn is a division of Creative Commons dedicated to support open learning and open educational resources" (http://learn.creativecommons.org/about/). "Creative Commons is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright" (http://creativecommons.org/about/).

Copyright Clearance Center (CCC)
"CCC was created in 1978 by a group of authors and publishers. Today, we represent tens of thousands of authors, publishers and creators from nearly every country in the world, and we license the rights to millions of books, journals, newspapers, websites, ebooks, images, blogs and more" (CCC).
Article on fair use and the CCC by law professor James Boyle: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/25cf260c-265c-11dc-8e18-000b5df10621.html

Etudes Consortium at Foothill College
"Etudes is a non-profit 501(c)(3), public charity organization that offers centralized hosting, support, site and account management, training and professional development opportunities to institutions and organizations that need a turn-key, fully-managed course management solution."

MERLOT
"MERLOT is a leading edge, user-centered, searchable collection of peer reviewed and selected higher education, online learning materials, catalogued by registered members and a set of faculty development support services. MERLOT's vision is to be a premiere online community where faculty, staff, and students from around the world share their learning materials and pedagogy."

National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT)
"NCAT is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to the effective use of information technology to improve student learning outcomes and reduce the cost of higher education. NCAT provides expertise and support to institutions and organizations seeking proven methods for providing more students with the education they need to prosper in today’s economy."

Textbook Revolution
"Textbook Revolution is a student-run site dedicated to increasing the use of free educational materials by teachers and professors. We want to get these materials into classrooms. Our approach is to bring all of the free textbooks we can find together in one place, review them, and let the best rise to the top and find their way into the hands of students in classrooms around the world."