Institute for Study of Knowledge Management in Education

What Institute for Study of Knowledge Management in Education does

ISKME (Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2002 and headquartered in Half Moon Bay, California. Its mission is to improve the practice of continuous learning, collaboration, and change in the education sector through open knowledge sharing. The organization's flagship product is OER Commons, a comprehensive, openly accessible public digital library for K-12 and higher education educators, librarians, and homeschooling parents to find, create, evaluate, and share Open Educational Resources; the platform reports more than 350,000 users and incorporates an Open Author authoring tool with accessibility checks and auto-captioning, customizable Microsites for partner-branded libraries, and organizational Hubs for content curation. In March 2026, ISKME launched the Open Metadata Exchange (OME), a decentralized network that connects institutional repositories (DSpace, ContentDM, Hyku) to share curriculum-aligned OER metadata at scale.

ISKME monetizes through a hybrid nonprofit revenue model. The core platform is free; revenue derives from foundation grants (William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Michelson 20MM, IMLS), paid professional learning (OER Skill Academies, Fellowships, Subject-Specific Intensives, Train-the-Trainer programs, and a $200-per-participant accessibility professional learning series), custom digital solutions and Microsites sold to institutional partners (e.g., Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, UNESCO), and Action Collab facilitation engagements delivered to schools, colleges, and government agencies. Supporting offerings include the RISE Research Framework for partner research engagements, Big Ideas Fest convenings, and the 'Educating to Be Human' podcast launched in 2024.

ISKME serves three primary customer segments: educational institutions and systems (school districts, colleges, universities, and government education agencies); individual educators (K-12 teachers, librarians, faculty, and administrators); and policymakers and foundations that fund education improvement. The organization maintains a globally distributed footprint spanning documented activity in at least 18 countries, with major institutional and federal partnerships including the U.S. Department of Education's #GoOpen initiative (later transitioned to community-led governance), UNESCO ICT in Education Unit, library consortia (LOUIS, VIVA, OhioLINK, PALNI, PALCI, DigiTex), and the Saudi National Center for eLearning. The team comprises roughly 15 staff supporting all of the above.

Name

Institute for Study of Knowledge Management in Education

Legal name

Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education

Website

https://iskme.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ISKME is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates OER Commons, a free public digital library of 350,000+ users, and delivers paid professional learning, custom digital library solutions, and the Open Metadata Exchange for K-12 and higher education institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Technology / Open Educational Resources Platform

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Curriculum Repositories (EDAFACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

OER Repositories, Discovery & Metadata Services (EDAGAJAL), OER Authoring, Remixing & Publishing Tools/Platforms (EDAGAJAM), Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing (MPAJABAG)

Keywords

• Open educational resources
• OER digital library
• Education research services
• Professional learning programs
• OER metadata exchange

Headquarters

HQ city

Half Moon Bay

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants and Donations: ISKME operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that relies on grants from foundations (Hewlett Foundation, Gates Foundation, Lumina Foundation, etc.) and grassroots donations to fund operations and maintain OER Commons as a free platform.
2. Professional Development and Training Services: Custom training programs including OER Skill Academies, subject-specific intensives, and train-the-trainer programs offered to educational institutions. Also includes OER Fellowship Program for year-long professional development.
3. Paid Professional Learning Series: Advanced professional learning series on accessibility topics offered at $200 per participant, including two 90-minute Zoom sessions with coaching and practice.
4. Custom Digital Solutions and Microsites: Custom digital library and software solutions sold to partner organizations, including microsites with independent domains and tailored features for specific educator communities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

ISKME operates OER Commons, a comprehensive, openly accessible digital public library serving 350,000+ educators globally to find, create, adapt, and share Open Educational Resources. The organization supplements this free platform with fee-based professional development services (OER Skill Academies, Fellowships, Subject-Specific Intensives, Train-the-Trainer programs), custom digital library microsites for partner institutions, the Open Metadata Exchange for cross-repository OER discovery, and education research and evaluation services funded primarily through foundation grants.

Product overview

ISKME is a nonprofit education organization that operates primarily through its flagship digital platform, OER Commons, supplemented by professional learning services and research frameworks. The core offering is OER Commons—a public digital library with over 350,000 users—featuring the Open Author tool for creating OER, Microsites for customized content libraries, and Hubs for organizational collections. Supporting infrastructure includes the Open Metadata Exchange (OME) for cross-repository metadata sharing and the #GoOpen National Network for community collaboration. Professional services encompass OER Skill Academies, Fellowship Programs, Subject-Specific Intensives, and Train-the-Trainer programs. ISKME also offers research methodologies (RISE Framework) and event convenings (Big Ideas Fest, Action Collabs workshops) for knowledge sharing and innovation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OER Commons: A comprehensive, openly accessible digital library for educators at all levels to identify high-quality Open Educational Resources (OER) and collaborate around their use, evaluation, and improvement.
• Action Collabs
• Big Ideas Fest
• #GoOpen National Network

Products and services

• OER Commons Digital Library A comprehensive, openly accessible digital public library with 350,000+ users where K-12 and higher education educators, librarians, and homeschooling parents can find, adopt, create, and share Open Educational Resources. Includes search, discovery, curation, and collaboration tools.
• Open Metadata Exchange (OME) A decentralized network service enabling open education libraries to exchange peer-reviewed and curriculum-aligned OER metadata across multiple institutional repositories at scale, integrating with DSpace, ContentDM, and Hyku repository software.
• OER Commons Microsites Customizable content libraries with independent domains, tailored metadata and content creation approaches, and analytics dashboards. Sold to institutional partners to support specific educator communities across subject areas, schools, or regions.
• OER Skill Academies Cohort-based professional learning programs featuring customized workshops on OER fundamentals, advanced skills, and authoring. Academies include three 90-minute workshops, self-paced activities, and platform support for ongoing collaboration.
• OER Fellowship Program Year-long professional development program facilitating mentorship, communities of practice, and inter-departmental collaboration in open education. Year 1 focuses on leadership development and program management; Year 2 focuses on mentoring others and developing a core project.
• Subject-Specific Intensives Professional learning sessions focused on Culturally Responsive Teaching, Accessibility, Curriculum Evaluation, and Teaching Practices. Includes workshops, asynchronous activities, and ongoing support for participants.
• OER Train-the-Trainer Intensive Custom training for educators, librarians, and administrators responsible for guiding other practitioners in OER work. Includes eight 90-minute live webinars and self-paced activities for up to 15 participants.
• Advanced Professional Learning Series on Accessibility Paid professional learning series on OER accessibility topics offered at $200 per participant, including two 90-minute Zoom sessions with coaching, breakout discussions, and practice activities.
• #GoOpen National Network A national community of K-12 educators and leaders committed to advancing OER adoption and use, co-facilitated by ISKME since 2018. The network focuses on policy actions, educator awareness, professional learning, and equitable access to high-quality educational materials.
• Action Collabs ISKME's collaborative problem-solving methodology and workshop engagement combining human-centered design thinking with improvisation techniques across four stages: Identify Opportunity, Design, Prototype, and Impact. Used for curriculum redesign, professional development transformation, and strategic planning with organizations.
• Big Ideas Fest An annual convening and design event created by ISKME that brings together leaders, practitioners, and experts to collaborate and share knowledge for transformational change in education.
• Educating to Be Human Podcast A bi-weekly podcast hosted by ISKME CEO Lisa Petrides exploring what it means to be human at the intersection of education, technology and culture. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.8 million students participating in dual enrollment nationwide - ISKME provides policy recommendations to reduce instructional materials costs through OER
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CAST (National Center on Accessible Educational Materials)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026ISKME partners with CAST's Director of Disability and Accessibility, Luis Perez, to provide targeted professional learning on OER accessibility best practices for images and styles in resource design.
• Saudi National Center for eLearningcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2018ISKME partnered with Saudi National Center for eLearning to expand access to open resources and launched a network for open educational resources, connecting educators and learners in Saudi Arabia with OER initiatives.
• LOUIS (Louisiana Library Network)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to co-design and pilot test the OER alignment network service within OER Commons infrastructure for cross-repository sharing at scale.
• VIVAcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to co-design and pilot test the OER alignment network service within OER Commons infrastructure for cross-repository sharing at scale.
• OhioLINKcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to co-design and pilot test the OER alignment network service within OER Commons infrastructure for cross-repository sharing at scale.
• Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI)coreTechnology or IntegrationExternal partner for OER repository integration and LMS access to course-aligned OER being exchanged within OER Commons.
• Pennsylvania Academic Library Consortium (PALCI)coreTechnology or IntegrationExternal partner for OER repository integration and LMS access to course-aligned OER being exchanged within OER Commons.
• Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex)coreTechnology or IntegrationExternal partner for OER repository integration and LMS access to course-aligned OER being exchanged within OER Commons.
• U.S. Department of Education, Office of Education TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal partner for #GoOpen initiative (2018-2021) and ongoing collaboration on education technology policy and OER adoption.
• UNESCO ICT in Education UnitcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partner for OER measurement indicators and global education initiatives.
• Internet ArchiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partner for research and development in open education.
• National Geographic SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner at 2026 OER Summit presenting on open education initiatives and resource sharing through OER Commons hub.
• Foresight Law + PolicycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in transition of #GoOpen initiative to community-led model and ongoing policy advocacy work.
• Carnegie Hall Weill Music InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partner for research and development in open education.
• KQED EducationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit partner for research and development in open education.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Creative Commons: Creative Commons is the nonprofit organization that develops the licensing framework underpinning most OER content, including resources in ISKME's OER Commons. While not a direct competitor, Creative Commons is an essential enabling organization in ISKME's ecosystem and shares overlapping mission and foundation support.

Emerging players

• Pressbooks: Pressbooks is an open-source book publishing platform widely used to create and adapt OER textbooks, including many works redistributed through OER Commons. It is a complementary tool in the OER ecosystem rather than a direct competitor, but addresses adjacent workflows in OER authoring and remixing.
• Skills Commons: Skills Commons is a free OER repository focused on workforce development and technical education, originally funded by the U.S. Department of Education's TAACCCT program. It overlaps with ISKME in serving community college and workforce education audiences with openly licensed materials.

Direct peers

• OERu: OERu is an international consortium of institutions providing free open courses and credential pathways. It overlaps with ISKME in promoting OER adoption globally and serving institutions seeking to reduce textbook costs, though OERu is more focused on formal course credit pathways.
• MERLOT: MERLOT is a long-standing OER network and repository serving higher education faculty with curated, peer-reviewed open learning materials. Like ISKME's OER Commons, MERLOT provides discovery, curation, and community features for educators seeking freely usable teaching resources.
• OpenStax: OpenStax is Rice University's OER textbook publishing program and the most direct competitor to ISKME in the U.S. OER ecosystem. Both organizations focus on creating and distributing freely accessible educational resources, with overlapping audiences in higher education and K-12 and similar foundation funding sources.
• Curriki: Curriki is a nonprofit OER platform offering free K-12 teaching and learning resources. It directly competes with OER Commons in the U.S. K-12 market, serving similar educator audiences with open-licensed curricular materials and community features.
• LibreTexts: LibreTexts is a major OER textbook platform focused on higher education STEM and other disciplines, with remixing, adaptation, and curation features similar to OER Commons. Both organizations operate open digital libraries that emphasize accessibility, instructor customization, and free access to learning materials.

Broad incumbents

• Khan Academy: Khan Academy is a major free educational content platform serving millions of learners globally with videos, exercises, and assessments. While broader in scope than ISKME's library-plus-services model, both organizations pursue the mission of democratizing access to high-quality educational content and compete for educator attention and OER adoption.
• MIT OpenCourseWare: MIT OpenCourseWare is the pioneering open courseware repository from MIT, providing free access to course materials from a single elite institution. It pioneered the open courseware concept that ISKME's OER Commons builds on, though OCW focuses on publishing existing MIT courses rather than enabling broader educator participation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/iskme
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ISKME
• Facebookfacebook.com/ISKME
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-for-the-study-of-knowledge-management

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institute for Study of Knowledge Management in Education