The National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024 with a series of special initiatives.
NCRM was founded at the University of Southampton in 2004 with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).
Since then, it has led the advancement of research methods in the UK through an extensive array of innovative activities, from training courses to research projects.
Professor Gabriele Durrant, Director of NCRM, said: “It is a great privilege to be able to mark this exciting milestone alongside our partners and funder, the Economic and Social Research Council, with our series of special initiatives.
“The anniversary is a fantastic opportunity to reflect on NCRM’s outstanding achievements over the past 20 years and to celebrate our long-standing success and impact.
“The deep knowledge and expertise we have built during this time has enabled us to support researchers through a huge range of unique activities – from our high-quality training and capacity-building programme to our vibrant cross-sector networks.
“Thanks to these strong foundations, we’re now delivering more events, courses and online resources than ever before, acting as a catalyst for interdisciplinary innovation and providing methodological leadership across the social sciences and beyond.
“To all of NCRM’s team, partners, users and collaborators, and to the ESRC for your ongoing support, I would like to say a huge thank you and invite you to join our celebrations in 2024.”
How NCRM is achieving more as a partnership
NCRM is now a partnership of three leading institutions – the University of Southampton, The University of Manchester and the University of Edinburgh – and 2024 marks a decade of this collaboration.
The centre has 21 team members spread across the three universities, with 13 based at its headquarters within the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Southampton.
NCRM’s anniversary initiatives will include a bursary programme, an impact prize, mail outs of branded items and spotlights on our key contributors and online resources.
A new video highlights some of NCRM’s most significant moments. These include the beginning of the centre’s current phase in 2020, when nine new training partners joined the NCRM network.
Together, NCRM and its partners now run more courses than ever before – around 50 a year. The centre has also significantly expanded its online resources, with 80 tutorials now available on the NCRM website.
Praise from our Vice-Chancellor
Professor Mark E. Smith, President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, said: “NCRM continues to lead the way in research methods training and innovation, and I am enormously proud of the centre’s outstanding impact over the past two decades.
“Its vital work has enabled tens of thousands of researchers to enhance their skills, forge new practices and make a difference to society with their research.
“The centre plays an essential role in the research community, supporting researchers in the UK and around the world.
“This reach extends far beyond academia, to those working in areas such as government and healthcare, as well as to the charity and voluntary sectors.
“I would like to congratulate Professor Gabriele Durrant for her excellent leadership of NCRM and express my gratitude to the centre’s team and partners for their dedication.
“The University of Southampton is one of the world’s leading research institutions and NCRM is a key part of our vibrant, innovative research ecosystem.”
Support for researchers across disciplines
NCRM’s mission is to advance methodological practice in the social sciences and beyond. As a result, its training, resources, networks and events are designed for researchers in different sectors and disciplines, and at various career stages.
The centre offers bursaries to cover course fees for researchers employed in the UK. Its website also hosts a growing number of resources for research methods trainers, backed by NCRM’s own pedagogic research.
Professor Jo Swaffield, Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Southampton, said: “I’d like to wish all the team at NCRM many congratulations on their 20th anniversary. NCRM is a wonderful example of a research-led and research-focused national training collaboration funded by the ESRC.
“Our leadership of NCRM since 2004 – and partnership with the University of Edinburgh and The University of Manchester since 2014 – has shared our faculty’s excellence in qualitative and advanced quantitative social sciences across cohorts of social scientists.
“I thank all the NCRM team, across the last 20 years, for these important contributions, and particularly highlight my thanks to Professor Gabriele Durrant and her senior leadership team for the agility, creativity and dedication evidenced during the Covid years to ensure the continuation of our NCRM training delivery to the highest standards.”
The ESRC explained NCRM’s work over the past 20 years enabled it to meet its strategic aim of enhancing methodological expertise in the UK.
“A key feature of our delivery plan is our commitment to sustaining world-class people and their careers,” said Stian Westlake, ESRC Executive Chair. “Supporting research methods training and capacity building is part of that strategy.
“NCRM have played a pivotal role in strengthening research methods capability in the social sciences and we congratulate them on reaching this milestone.”
NCRM will announce further details of its 20th anniversary initiatives throughout 2024. For more information about NCRM and its activities, visit: www.ncrm.ac.uk