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Our training - NatCen Learning

Sharing our Experience

NatCen Learning is the leading provider of high-quality flexible events delivering practical insight and skills for contemporary social research.   Established in 2006, we're part of NatCen Social Research, and our learning events are run by practising researchers and social research experts.  Our mission is to boost the quality of UK social research. Not our income.

NatCen has always had a strong commitment to supporting and developing the quality of social research in the wider research community.  Since 2006 NatCen Learning has established a track record for providing high-quality, interactive learning events and effective individual organisational support.  We not only maintain the highest standards in our own research and evaluation work but also actively contribute to debates relating to quality in research and evaluation. Our researchers, through NatCen Learning events, provide top class insight into these issues and have helped a range of organisations to develop their knowledge of key methodological issues and core research skills, as well as raising general levels of research literacy.

Sharing our experience

Individuals or groups working in academia, the public and third sectors and the wider research world can benefit from NatCen's wide range of learning and training opportunities. We are focused on sharing learning and knowledge with you, informed by our own extensive experience of applied research. When you participate in a NatCen Learning event, you'll find it's about pooling your experiences, as well as drawing on the knowledge of our expert researchers who will have faced many of the same challenges and issues. Drawing our trainers from our research staff ensures a level of engagement with real world research, innovative methods and contemporary issues which is hard to surpass.

What we offer

NatCen Learning offer specialist training based on the methodological and substantive knowledge and research techniques which we utilise in our own research and evaluation studies. To find out more about learning quantitative or qualitative research from NatCen Learning please see our new flyers.

NatCen Learning offers an annual programme of public courses, and a range of different options for in-house training from bespoke, tailored courses to 'off-the-shelf' modules which we have ready for delivery. We also regularly work in collaboration with other key organisations to build capacity in social research. For example, we were responsible for the popular ESRC funded Survey Skills programme which provided training and placement opportunities for early-career researchers. We are currently developing a new ESRC funded Survey Skills programme for lecturers in HE which will use action-learning approaches to support lecturers who want to develop their skills in delivering methods training to undergraduates (contact Kandy Woodfield for more information). A team from NatCen, the Oxford Internet Institute and SAGE are also leading a new NCRM network of methodological innovation exploring the impact of social media on social science research, you can see more information about this exciting network here.

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