In this case study, I show how the decision to launch an Open Access repository – now increasingly common place in universities in Britain and elsewhere – is part of a broader strategic decision to adopt “openness” as an organisational concept at the University of Salford. I talk about new ways of working that take advantage of the benefits of Open Access to research outputs, open curriculum content, open innovation and – in the future – new protocols for open access to data. In this case study I have shown how this trajectory is taking shape within one university. While this can be conceptualized in an abstract sense – the “Generic Open Access University” – this is not to suggest that convergence can be steered along a preordained plan, since the pace of change is generally to rapid for traditional management systems. It is more a matter of understanding the connections between opportunities when they arise. Looking to the future, it is reasonable to conclude that open access repositories are now firmly established across a majority of universities in Britain, since well over one hundred are now listed, and more than eighty of these are institution-wide facilities clearly badged to specific universities. The point of this case study is not to repeat this success story, but rather to map out the opportunities for major changes in the way that research and teaching are conducted, and in how innovation systems can be advanced.