Impact and Engagement

Research in the School of Social Sciences and Global Studies has had significant impact on society, economy and culture on a local, national and international level. Staff and students across the school have a considerable reputation in impact and engagement driven projects. They regularly make expert contributions to governmental, non-governmental and private sectors, acting as consultants on award-winning films and OU/BBC collaborations across the UK, Ireland and beyond. Some of our recent collaborations include:

BBC Ideas

A group of academics in Social Policy and Criminology co-produced a series of thought-provoking, topical short films, including The Myth of Race, I went from Prisoner to PhD and What would a world without prisons be like?

Exodus: Our Journey to Europe

This award-winning OU/BBC co-production filmed both by refugees themselves and the production team offers a first-hand account of the biggest movement of people that Europe has seen since World War Two.

UK Parliament Week

A Changemakers project, which aims to highlight people who have made a change in our society, and the impact they have had on communities.

The Fires that Foretold Grenfall

A documentary produced by BBC Two in collaboration with the OU’s Professor Steve Tombs in Social Policy and Criminology.

Project 17

An ambitious OU/BBC World Service radio and podcast series. The United Nations announced their radical plans for change the world in 2015. A list was drawn up of 17 sustainable development goals designed to create a blueprint for a better future. The series explores what is happening five years on.

COVID-19: Chronicles from the Margins

A project that focuses on what life is like during the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants from different parts of the world.

Who Are We? Project

A long-standing collaboration with the Tate Exchange at Tate Modern, London, reflecting on identity, belonging, migration and citizenship. The programme is shaped by co-creation, co-production and exchange among artists, arts and culture organisations, audiences, activists and academics.