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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 are currently leading two NCRM networks of methodological innovation. IN the first (running from 2012-13) our team are working alongside  the Oxford Internet Institute and SAGE to  run a knowledge exchange network exploring the impact of new social media on social science research, you can find more information about this exciting network here.  We are using a range of innovative delivery methods including Blackboard Collaborate, blogs and twitter chats to encourage wide network engagement. Our network has over 400 members drawn from the UK and worldwide. The second NCRM NMI network launches in later Autumn 2012 and will be exploring 'The how, why and when of web surveys for the general population'. NatCen Learning team also led the highly successful ESRC funded Survey Skills Programme for early career researchers from 2009-2011. This scheme gave participants a rounded insight into the survey research process and a better understanding of the applied research world. In addition to delivering a series of targeted learning events for participants in the scheme, we facilitated a unique survey skills placement scheme offering researchers the opportunity to shadow established survey teams as they went about about their day-to-day work in leading UK research organisations. This strong network continues to thrive offering continued scope for placements and we are currently running an ESRC funded RDI programme 'Making Research Real' which uses action learning to support lecturers in HE who teach undergraduates quantitative research methods.

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