NCRM will continue to deliver research methods training courses and activities after the end of its current six-year phase.
From January 2026, the centre will run high-demand courses through its ongoing partnership between the University of Southampton and The University of Manchester.
NCRM will also deliver AI skills training as part of projects backed by newly secured funding from UKRI, such as the digital skills project.
Following the award of new funding by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for 2026 to 2030, learners will continue to have access to NCRM’s extensive library of free online tutorials and resources.
Professor Gabriele Durrant, Director of NCRM, said: “NCRM will continue to support researchers in the social sciences and beyond by focusing on the delivery of core and advanced research methods training, as well as cutting-edge training in digital skills.
“This is possible thanks to the commitment of our core partners – the University of Southampton and The University of Manchester – our outstanding trainers and our network of collaborators across the UK.
“NCRM has been supporting research methods training and capacity building for more than 20 years and I’m thrilled that we will be able to continue offering our high-quality, accessible courses and online learning materials.”
A key part of the UK’s community of research skills training providers
NCRM was launched in 2004 with support from the ESRC, which has funded the centre’s core activities through a number of phases. The most recent funding phase began in January 2020 and is due to end in December 2025.
Over the past two decades, the centre’s courses, events, networks and online learning resources have reached hundreds of thousands of researchers, across all career stages and sectors.
The NCRM website now hosts more than 100 online tutorials on a vast range of methods, along with resources for trainers and a large publications archive.
Professor Durrant said: “I would like to thank the trainers and methods experts who have delivered NCRM training activities on a huge array of topics, contributed to debates on cutting-edge methodological issues and shaped strategic developments in research methods.
“We look forward to maintaining this strong relationship with our trainers and other partners, and value their ongoing collaboration with NCRM.
“As a key part of the UK’s community of research skills training and capacity-building providers, NCRM will also work with the ESRC’s new Research Capability Hub.”
The hub, led by The Open University, will seek to strategically coordinate research skills training provision in the social sciences.