The National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) was established by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in 2004 and was originally coordinated from the University of Southampton. Since 2014, NCRM has been a partnership between three universities with international reputations in methodological research and training in the social sciences: University of Southampton, The University of Manchester and University of Edinburgh. In January 2020, NCRM entered a new phase with an ESRC award for five years. The new phase focuses on delivering a comprehensive programme of cutting-edge research methods training across the UK. This phase is still delivered by the Universities of Southampton, Manchester and Edinburgh but this partnership is significantly enhanced and expanded to include strategically selected Centre partner institutions who will deliver training locally to ensure geographical and subject expertise diversity. The nine institutions are: UCL, NatCen, WISERD, Bristol, Exeter, Essex, Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow.