Widening participation activity at The Open University is well established and well known to higher education institutions and national policy makers.

The Open University champions, develops and coordinates research and scholarship in widening participation and social inclusion in higher education through the Centre for Inclusion and Collaborative Partnerships whose role it is to be the catalyst which links research, policy and practice across The Open University.

The objectives of the OU's widening participation research and scholarship programme are:

• to ensure that students get the support they need to complete, achieve and progress and that achievement and progression is available for all who have the potential to benefit, regardless of background
• to develop new theoretical understanding about widening participation in higher education
• to inform debate on widening participation and influence policy-making processes
• to ensure that widening participation outreach activity is purposeful, effective and efficient.

The OU hosts a series of widening participation research seminars and conferences, which address the key themes and discourses of widening participation across the higher education sector.

The widening participation research programme is supported in its aims by the Open University's biennial Widening Participation Research conference and the journal Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, both coordinated by the Centre for Inclusion and Collaborative Partnerships.