OU awarded £4.9M to lead research skills hub for social scientists

The Open University (OU) has been awarded £4.9M by the UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to lead the delivery of an exciting new approach to research skills development in the social sciences.

The new Research Capability Hub, funded for five years, positions the OU at the forefront of driving change in how research skills are developed and supported across the UK. It represents a major investment in the UK's social science research infrastructure and will support researchers at all career stages across academia, government, business, and the third sector.

The Hub will support ESRC’s commitment to sustain a world-class, diverse and inclusive research base that promotes talent across the entire research career and powers the best research across the breadth of the social sciences. This new way of developing research skills training and capacity building seeks to strategically coordinate provision and will include innovative approaches to enable effective learning and a culture of continuing professional development.

Stian Westlake, ESRC Executive Chair, said:

"This investment demonstrates our commitment to maintaining the UK's position as a world leader in social science research. By developing and coordinating research skills training and capacity building provision across sectors, the new hub will ensure our social scientists have the cutting-edge skills needed to address complex societal challenges and support evidence-based policy making.

"The hub will bring together expertise from across the sector and beyond, to build a more connected and collaborative community that supports researchers throughout their careers. Our vision is to simplify how researchers navigate training provision and to promote a culture of lifelong learning, which will ensure the UK remains at the forefront of methodological innovation."

The new Hub will use the OU’s innovative technology infrastructures to transform research skills training to an innovative programme.

Bart Rienties, Professor of Learning Analytics at the OU’s Institute of Educational Technology (IET), Project Lead for the Hub said:

“I am absolutely delighted that the ESRC has selected the OU to deliver this transformative initiative over the next five years. With over 15,000 social scientists across the UK, we look forward to engaging with the community to understand their evolving training needs and to co-create high-quality personalised learning through OpenLearn Create – our innovative, leading open educational platform.”

Led collaboratively by teams across IET, the OU’s Faculty of Business & Law, and PolicyWise, this initiative will enhance training and capacity-building through scalable, co-created, and personalised learning pathways, leveraging the OU’s longstanding strengths in innovation, pedagogy, and digital delivery.

Professor Rienties added:

“Researchers require adaptable training that not only enhances their methodological expertise but also connects research to impact, particularly in policy-making and social change. However, existing research training does not always align with the dynamic and changing needs of the research community and other stakeholders.”

Hear more from Professor Bart Rienties about the new Research Capability Hub.

The OU team will work in partnership with University College London, Swansea University, Queen's University Belfast, University of Gothenburg and established networks (UKRI Future Leaders Fellows Development Network, SoLAR, and Social Partnership Networks). This will enhance research skills training and capacity building for social scientists through scalable, co-created, and personalised approaches.