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The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ and The Open University (OU) combine the best of both organisations’ resources and talents to reach the widest possible audience with innovative, exciting and inspiring content. They work in partnership to co-produce programmes for all ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ TV, radio, digital and online channels/platforms. In total they produce up to 35 projects a year.

A Learning Journey is the educational journey that enhances and enriches the broadcast/content experience that the viewer/user takes after watching, listening or engaging with programmes and/or online/digital content.

The OU, through its nominated academics, will provide regular input into the production process including reasonable attendance at production team meetings. The OU’s involvement is managed by Broadcast Project Managers who are the primary contact between production teams and OU academics.

All Learning Journey projects shall include a request made to the audience to continue the Learning Journey by accessing free complementary materials produced by The OU. The call-to-action will be collaboratively agreed in advance of the online edit. See the  for more information.

Programme makers should refer to the relevant ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ factual commissioning team or the key contact for The Open University.

Find out more about how to deliver to . 

Priority subject areas

The OU is interested in factual commissioning in the areas of:

• Arts and history
• Business, management and law
• Education and languages
• Health, wellbeing and social care
• Technology including, engineering, maths and computing
• Science and nature
• Social sciences including psychology
• Current affairs

The OU is interested in supporting proposals which:

• Inspire people to find out more about subjects or topics by engaging with content on OU and partnerships platforms, such as  and  â€“ the OU’s Citizen Science platform developed in partnership with the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ, which supports a number of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ projects eg Gardenwatch and Forest 404.
• Provide the stimulus for further study at The Open University.
• Are intellectually challenging and focus on priority subject areas.
• Explore new ways of delivering content and interactivity for the audience, via mobile, online, apps. AR and VR and on demand services.
• Stimulate 'local' audiences and provide outreach in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and English Regions.
• Connect to the OU's teaching and provide material for modules. 

Overview of recent projects

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One

• The Green Planet
• Greta: A Year to Change the World
• A Perfect Planet
• Patrick Kietly: One Hundred Years of Union
• Inside the Supermarket
• Blue Planet II
• Blue Planet Live
• Earth from Space

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Two 

• Universe
• The Truth About...
• Don’t Exclude Me
• Secret Science of Sewage
• The Detectives: Fighting Organised Crime
• Secrets of the Museum
• Cornwall: This Fishing Life
• Fever Pitch: History of the Premier League
• Countryfile: Plant Britain
• The Decade The Rich Won
• Building Britain’s Biggest Nuclear Power Station
• Child of Our Time: Turning 20
• Inside the Care Crisis with Ed Balls
• The Big Hospital Experiment
• Hospital
• Our Dementia Choir with Vicky McClure
• Autumnwatch
• Forensics: The Real CSI
• Gold Town

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Three

• Freeze: Skating on the Edge
• The Surrogates
• Nowehere to Run: Abused by our Coach
• Drugsland
• Life Begins Now
• Wanted: A Very Personal Assistant

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Four

• Write Around the World with Richard E. Grant
• How to Make
• NHS: A People's History
• The Secret Story of Stuff: Materials of the Modern Age
• Magic Numbers: Hannah Fry’s Mysterious World of Maths

Radio 4

• Economics with Subtitles
• Green Originals
• ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Inside Science
• More or Less
• The Bottom Line
• Thinking Allowed
• All in the Mind

World Service

• A History of Music and Technology
• The Superlinguists
• Project 17
• The Superlinguists

Learning English

• Leadership
• International Law

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Ideas

• The Open University playlist

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Education

• Green Careers

Terms of trade

The process is the same for independent productions and the agreement with the independent will incorporate the OU rights and requirements. Find out more about the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Business framework (Terms of trade) on the Production and delivery website.

Making and delivering OU content

Find out more about The Open University production and delivery requirements including credit and publicity guidance on the .