How do open and distance learning institutions review and renew themselves to ensure their continued fitness for purpose? Here we report on the work of a change team in the UK Open University, a Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning created to examine, innovate and improve student support. The existence of the Centre for five years from 2005 to 2010 enabled us to facilitate an extensive programme of practical support activities and to influence long-term university policy development. We are aware that very few institutions will have the luxury of such long-term funding (and do not expect it to be available again in the United Kingdom any time soon). However, we believe that there is much in models of change that can be applied more generally to improve learner support. (Contains 1 figure.)