Focusing on the role of the educational developer, the 19 essays in this collection provide a forum for educational developer practitioners: (1) to share their practices and insights; (2) to explore what it means to be an educational developer and instructional designer, and to give some philosophical reflection of the role; and (3) to clarify the professional role and explore the distinction between the educational developer and instructional designer. Individual papers discuss what it means in practice to be an instructional developer or designer, highlight the literature and theories underpinning their development activities, and give examples of research already undertaken and appropriate for the future. The intended audience is threefold: professional developers; those new to the field; and academic colleagues of instructional developers. (SD)