Project PHORUS has come to fruition with substantial outputs. Funded by The Higher Education Academy and JISC, this public health initiative was designed to make the sharing of learning and teaching resources a reality. Public Health Open Educational Resources (OER) for learning are now available for anyone to use under Creative Commons Licence. These resources are focused on teaching and learning in public health in Higher Education and have been mapped against the Public Health Skills and Career Framework (http://www.phorcast.org.uk).

The provider of the material takes responsibility for keeping the resources up to date. Resource use is being tracked and both staff and students are encouraged to reuse and repurpose the material to suit their needs.

Many factors help and hinder the release and use of the resources, such as the culture of sharing, IPR and confidence in the materials. These were identified as a result of the project’s comprehensive literature review and Delphi Study as well as other consultations with educators across the UK.

The PHORUS Conceptual Framework provides a step by step process through the practical applications of OER and has offered an explanatory and integrated mechanism to guide future release and use of OER.

There is also a set of PHORUS case studies to provide a snapshot of how three UK Higher Education Institutions worked to release OERs and maximise opportunities as well as minimise obstacles.

The project concluded with a very successful conference. The results and outputs of the project are now available at http://phorus.health.heacademy.ac.uk.

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Notes to editors

• Project PHORUS is part of an initiative to release open educational resources focused on public health in the Higher Education sector. Funded by HEFCE and supported by JISC and the Higher Education Academy, PHORUS is led by the Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre working with the Royal Society for Public Health, Bournemouth University and other organisations.
• The Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre is one of 24 discipline focused centres of the Higher Education Academy. The Academy is funded by the 4 UK Higher Education Funding Councils to support and develop learning and teaching and thus ultimately enhance the student learning experience.
• The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is an independent, multi-disciplinary organisation, dedicated to the promotion and protection of collective human health and wellbeing. Through advocacy, mediation, empowerment, knowledge and practice we advise on policy development, provide education and training services, encourage scientific research, disseminate information and certify products, training centres and processes.
   

Useful Links:
1. PHORUS Project: http://phorus.health.heacademy.ac.uk
2. PHORUS Online Mapping and Scoping Review: http://phorus.health.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/phorus/files/documents/555/PHORUS_wp2_Final.doc
3. Report on Researching Enablers and Barriers to Public Health Open Educational Resources, Delphi Study: http://phorus.health.heacademy.ac.uk/sites/phorus/files/documents/1085/PHORUS_WP3_FINAL.doc  
4. PHORUS Conceptual Framework:
a) http://phorus.health.heacademy.ac.uk/document/phorus-conceptual-framework-linking-theories-and-findings  
b) http://phorus.health.heacademy.ac.uk/document/cf
5. Public Health Skills and Career Framework: http://www.phorcast.org.uk/page.php?page_id=44
6. PHORUS Institutional Case Studies:
http://phorus.health.heacademy.ac.uk/document/institutionalcasestudies