The International Association for Digital Publications (IADP) is a not-for-profit organisation that was established in the UK on March 29, 2004. It is registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales (No. 1104592). IADP’s objectives are “to advance education and thereby relieve poverty, especially in developing countries, by facilitating the introduction and use of digital publications, and by related means”.

The IADP provides university students and academic staff in developing countries with affordable access to academic eBooks, and support for the identification, development, and effective use of open access e-learning resources.

The IADP commenced operations in March 2006 with a pilot program that provided eBooks to small groups of students at four South African universities. The eBooks were made available off-line as well as on-line on a pro bono basis by a growing number of publishers.  The purpose was to develop and test the necessary systems and processes in a relatively favourable operating environment, and to identify a sustainable business model that in future would bring low cost eBooks to large numbers of students in developing countries. The IADP also developed an open access platform, which it has started to populate with relevant, e-learning resources.

Following a positive external evaluation by the British Council in March 2008, the IADP is now expanding in South Africa and to other countries.  IADP has extended its programmes into Malawi and Botswana, and it is preparing the ground in Tanzania and Egypt. The project in Malawi and Botswana has two main thrusts, firstly to provide discounted digital texts to staff and students accessed from digital reading rooms as well as private laptops. Secondly, it promotes the creation, adaptation and remixing of Open Education Resources (OER) into texts and courses to support the student body by providing affordable quality materials. 

The IADP has recently built a consensus among publishers for the distribution of substantially discounted eBooks in 21 countries in other parts of Africa and South Asia.