About the Hub
The Research Capability Hub (RCH) brings together research training, resources and development opportunities for the UK social science community. It is designed to make it easier for researchers and learners to find relevant support, for providers to share their provision, and for partners to work together on emerging training needs.
This page gives an overview of who we are, how we work and who is involved. For practical guidance on using the platform, see the Getting started guide. For information about sharing training through the Hub, see the provider invitation article.
Who we are
The Hub is a UK-wide initiative designed to build research capability in the social sciences and to coordinate and simplify access to high-quality Training and Capacity Building (TCB) resources. Led by The Open University and supported by PolicyWISE’s UK-wide engagement, we are developing a personalised, scalable, and co-designed approach to research training - helping researchers at all career stages to learn, connect, and innovate.
As a cross-provider hub, we offer a single, trusted place to explore curated training. Our digital infrastructure enables personalised, scalable, and evidence-informed learning pathways that help researchers learn, connect, and apply skills to address complex societal challenges and inform evidence-based policymaking.
Our mission
Our mission is to strengthen UK social science research by improving access to training, supporting collaboration across the sector, and helping the research community respond to current and future capability needs.
What we do
We curate and connect high-quality training, tools, and communities, bringing together the best of UK social science training and capacity building into a coherent, user-centred experience. Our work focuses on:
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Discoverability
Streamlining access to TCB opportunities, resources, and communities of practice. -
Personalised learning
Enabling researchers to navigate co-created pathways tailored to skills, methods, domains, roles, and career stages. -
Collaboration at scale
Convening partners across institutions, learned societies, and policy communities to co-design content and share expertise. -
Open and sustainable delivery
Building an accessible, digital-first infrastructure that can evolve and endure.
How we work
The Hub is being developed with the research community. We use engagement, evidence gathering and feedback to understand training needs, identify gaps and shape future provision. Our approach is collaborative, accessible, user-centred and designed to grow over time.
Our values
Our work is guided by inclusivity, collaboration, accessibility, innovation, sustainability and impact. These values shape how we design the platform, work with providers and partners, and support researchers across different disciplines, roles and career stages.
The team
Leadership team
Academic team
Professional Services team
- Franziska Florack (Senior Hub Manager)
- Farina Sikander (Hub Administrator)
- Lauren Lupton (Hub Manager)
- Kevin McLeod (Technical Lead)
- Richard Greenwood (Senior Developer)
- Peter Devine (Designer)
- Greg Roach (Infrastructure)
Our funder and partners
The Open University has been awarded £5 million in funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to establish and run the Research Capability Hub. This funding will support the launch in 2026 and enable continued development over the following four years, to 2030.
The Hub is delivered in collaboration with Edinburgh University, University College London, Swansea University, Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Gothenburg.
Artificial Intelligence
This website has been developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence. AI technologies are also used to support the ingestion and organisation of learning resources, with human oversight applied throughout.
Ready to get started?
- Register as a researcher to bookmark training courses, resources and events, organise them into multiple lists and share them with others.
- Register as a provider to add your organisation’s training and help researchers find relevant opportunities.
To find out more, see our getting started guide.