Chapter 8.4 Widening Participation Bristol-Fashion: Embedding Policy and Practice at the Universities of Bristol and the West of England

Purpose – The chapter reviews, compares and contrasts the experiences of two neighbouring universities, the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England, in the introduction, pursuit and institutional embedding of widening participation (WP) policies and programmes.

Methodology/approach – Comparative analysis of, and commentary on, the historical and ongoing experiences of the two universities' WP activities.

Findings – Contextual differences in the missions and roles played by the two universities inevitably mean their experiences have different underlying logics, but in terms of the practical drivers at work and outcomes more subtle similarities are also evident.

Practical implications – Making direct comparisons between the parallel experiences of universities sharing a common geographical setting can be illuminating, as can examples of their joint working and collaboration. Other neighbouring universities could follow suit.

Social implications – The ‘takes’ on WP by different universities inevitably reflect the types of institutions they are and aim to be, but successful WP practices and policy embedding is not the prerogative of any particular university type.

Originality/value of paper – The direct inter-university comparison of WP policy offered here is rare within the literature.