Editorial
UKRI Economic and Social Research Council funds Research Capability Hub
OU awarded £4.9M ESRC funding to lead national research skills hub for social scientists
The Open University has been awarded £4.9 million by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to lead a new Research Capability Hub—a five-year initiative to transform research skills development in the social sciences.
This major investment places the OU at the forefront of reshaping how research training is delivered across academia, government, business, and the third sector. The Hub will support researchers at all career stages through scalable, co-created, and personalised learning, using the OU’s innovative platforms like OpenLearn Create.
Led by Professor Bart Rienties from the Institute of Educational Technology, the Hub will be delivered in collaboration with the OU’s Faculty of Business & Law, PolicyWise, and partners including UCL, Swansea University, Queen’s University Belfast, and the University of Gothenburg.
Stian Westlake, ESRC Executive Chair, said the Hub will “ensure our social scientists have the cutting-edge skills needed to address complex societal challenges and support evidence-based policy making.”
