ISKME's initial research focused on the capacity of college faculty and administrators to use educational data to inform decision-making as well as knowledge management in the philanthropic sector.

[2] In 2004, with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, ISKME expanded to include research and training in the development of open educational resources, conducted in partnership with organizations including the Monterey Institute of Technology, Connexions, Teachers Domain, Free High School Science Texts, Siyavula in South Africa and Training Commons in India.

ISKME's partnerships include supporting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Undersecretary of Education Martha Kanter in launching the 2013 Open Book Project in the Middle East.

[18] OET has since sunsetted its federal leadership of the #GoOpen initiative and passed the baton to ISKME to foster ongoing national engagement in K-12 open education.

[20] In December 2010, ISKME was named a finalist in the Qatar Foundation World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) Awards for its OER Commons teacher professional development programs.

In 2011 ISKME announced a matching grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support the Big Ideas in Beta program, focused on incubating innovation in education.

[31] In 2007, with a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation,[32] Petrides and ISKME created OER Commons as a digital library for open content.

[34] In November, 2020, Petrides was elected to the San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees,[35] an independent, policy-making body charged by California Education Code with responsibility for establishing academic standards, approving courses of instruction and educational programs, and determining and controlling the operating and capital budgets of the District.