AccessHE: can collaborative outreach work continue in London after Aimhigher?

The end of the Aimhigher programme in England in July 2011 combined with the change in the regulatory regime for access outreach work has fundamentally changed the landscape for practice. This paper examines an attempt to continue with collaborative outreach work in London through the development of a new organisation called AccessHE. It explores the challenges that this organisation will face in being sustainable in a context where higher education institutions (HEIs), not the state, control the funding. It argues that opportunities for collaboration in this area remain, but the nature of this work has to be re-positioned and a new, wider set of stakeholders engaged.