Shaping the Future: Research at the OU

Following success in last year’s Research Excellence Framework, the OU has unveiled its new research plan, Research Shaping the Future. Under the plan four Strategic Research Areas (SRAs), which demonstrate world-leading excellence, impact, scale and alignment with the OU’s mission, will benefit from at least £7.5m of funding over the next five years.

As Vice-Chancellor Peter Horrocks explains, ‘By prioritising our research investment in these areas, we can not only strive to transform lives and promote social justice around the world, but our students will benefit from the knowledge and expertise developed by our academics.’

The new SRAs, which support the OU’s tradition of research that crosses academic boundaries, will address some of the world’s major challenges such as global inequality, poverty and migration. The areas are:

• International Development: The OU’s pioneering approach, inclusive innovation, works with poor and marginalised people for a fairer and more sustainable world.
• Education: The OU has always fought to make high-quality education accessible to all. Now, OU research in technology-enhanced learning is driving innovations and breaking down barriers around the world.
• Citizenship and Governance: From migration to the increasing scrutiny of private lives, OU research is rethinking the changing relationships between citizens and authorities in the 21st century.
• Space Science: The OU teaches more astronomers than any university in the UK, and is playing a key role in the growth of the space sector in the economy.

Maureen Mackintosh, IKD Director, commented: ‘It's an exciting time for IKD. The new SRA in Inclusive Innovation and International Development will allow us to build on our cross-faculty research that is already helping to improve infrastructure, health systems, food and agriculture, and inclusive education around the world.’

Find out more about OU research and the new SRAs.