We live in a society with ever changing needs and expectations. Education practitioners and policymakers need therefore to face the challenges of new economic, social and technological conditions in their work. There is a global concern to develop forms of education and training which are open to the demands and needs of learners, and which are accessible at times and places suitable to those learners. Governments, institutions and practitioners are developing and implementing policies which reflect these trends. The overall theme of this text is the relationship between government and organizational policies and the work of practitioners in open and distance learning. It does this by exploring a selection of international examples. The authors write from a wide range of international and organizational perspectives. Each one draws on significant experience within his or her field.