Governing Open Educational Resources as Sustainable Knowledge Commons: A Policy and Institutional Framework for Higher Education

Open Educational Resources (OER) are widely promoted as mechanisms for expanding access to knowledge and supporting sustainability in higher education. Yet their long-term viability remains constrained by fragmented governance, unstable funding arrangements, weak faculty incentives, policy gaps, and uneven digital infrastructure. This article develops a conceptual and policy-oriented framework that reconceptual-izes OER as sustainable knowledge commons embedded within higher education sys-tems rather than merely repositories of open content. Using an integrative review and thematic synthesis of global scholarship on OER sustainability, commons governance, and higher education policy, the study identifies four interrelated governance dimen-sions: institutional embedding, participatory stewardship, equitable access and inclu-sion, and long-term resource sustainability. The analysis shows that sustainable OER ecosystems depend not only on open licensing and technological platforms but also on coherent policy design, institutional alignment, academic recognition structures, and collaborative governance arrangements. Each dimension is associated with indicative governance mechanisms and policy indicators such as institutional OER strategies, faculty incentive programs, and shared digital infrastructure. The framework also recognizes institutional diversity, emphasizing that governance models must be adapted to different policy environments, academic cultures, and stages of OER adop-tion across higher education systems. By conceptualizing OER as governable knowledge commons, the article clarifies how open knowledge initiatives can con-tribute to social equity, educational resilience, and sustainable transformation in higher education.