About NCRM

The National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) provides cutting-edge research methods training and capacity building across the UK. The centre runs a diverse programme of courses, workshops and events throughout the year, covering a vast array of topics in a variety of interactive formats.

In addition to our training, we produce learning materials, host an extensive library of online resources, conduct research and support innovation in research methods.

Through these activities, NCRM aims to advance methodological practice in the social sciences and beyond, across all disciplines and sectors. Our training and resources are designed for both academic and non-academic researchers, and cover core, intermediate and advanced methods.

Watch the video timeline below to find out about some of NCRM's key milestones over the past 20 years.

Partners and funding

NCRM is a partnership between three universities with international reputations in methodological research and training in the social sciences: the University of Southampton, The University of Manchester and the University of Edinburgh. This core team is complemented by nine, strategically selected institutions from across the UK, which deliver and advise on training, and provide subject expertise diversity.

These nine centre partners are: Centre for Multilevel Modelling at the University of Bristol, Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, National Centre for Social Research, Timescapes Archive at the University of Leeds, University College London, University of Exeter, University of Glasgow, University of Liverpool, and Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data. Find out more about our centre partners.

NCRM was established in 2004 and has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council through a number of phases. The current funding phase runs between January 2020 and December 2025 and focuses on training and capacity building.

The centre is guided by an independent advisory board.

Further information

For more information about our current activities, visit our Training, Resources and Research pages. To find out about our earlier work, visit our page on past NCRM phases. Read a summary of our activities between 2020 and 2023 in our publication Learning Together (April 2023).

To get in touch, please visit our Contact us page. For information about the NCRM team, please see our People page.