Research Capacity Building Network Skills Survey, 2001-2002

The Research Capacity Building Network (RCBN) was a key part of the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP). It was based at the Cardiff University School of Social Sciences. The purpose of the project was to support the research capacity building activities of TLRP and, where possible, to extend these to the wider educational research community. In particular, the RCBN was established to facilitate the sharing of research skills, knowledge and expertise among social scientists, to assist the professional career development of individual researchers, and thereby to support the development of expertise in the United Kingdom field of education research. <br> <br> The project activities were focused around three core elements: a review of the research resources available within the TLRP and beyond, and identification of opportunities for adding value and collaboration; support for research capacity building activities and training within the TLRP; and dissemination and training targeted at the wider research community.<br> <br> The first stage of the work was to undertake an extensive consultation exercise to identify priorities for research capacity-building and to generate a database of expertise from across the UK educational research community. The consultation included interviews with 24 key stakeholders, representing many constituencies of the education system, and a consultation survey, undertaken to ascertain the methodological training needs of educational researchers. Over five hundred responses to the consultation survey, were received from members of the TLRP, BERA, LSRN, and many other educational researchers.<br>