The ESRC recently launched our new Advanced Training Network incorporating training delivered across ESRC Doctoral Training Centres (DTCs), the National Centre for Research Methods (NCRM) and the Researcher Development Initiative (RDI) investments. Our ambition is to create an integrated, national network of advanced training and to facilitate access to that training for all social science postgraduate researchers.

We have created an initial map of training being opened up across its investments, and DTCs are currently uploading information on available training on to the NCRM training search facility. Postgraduate researchers can register for any courses uploaded onto the NCRM website and will only be charged a maximum fee of £30.00 per day for any course. The remaining cost of the course is then met by a bursary provided by the ESRC to each DTC.

The original intention was to consult with the academic community in early 2012 about the scope and nature of training available in order to identify gaps in provision, followed by a commissioning exercise to address those gaps. However, as training delivered by the DTCs is still being developed and uploaded, the full picture is not yet clear. The decision has therefore been taken to postpone the consultation until early summer 2012 in order to allow the ESRC to complete as full and accurate a mapping of the training available as possible.

This also means that the proposed commissioning process will also be postponed until late 2012 when the consultation is complete. The shape and scale of the commissioning process will be determined by the nature of the gaps identified by the consultation.

Despite this postponement, we remain committed to consulting widely on the issue of advanced training including DTCs, Learned Societies, the wider academic community, and interested non-academic organisations. We also remain committed to allowing all institutions, not just our DTC network, to bid as part of the commissioning of new training courses or in the building of further capacity in existing provision.

Further details will be circulated in due course and a provisional timetable is included below:

• DTCs develop and upload training information to DTC portal - January-March 2012
• ESRC collate and map all training available across DTCs, NCRM, RDI - March-April 2012
• Consultation launched - mapping sent to DTCs, Learned Societies and other interested institutions/ organisations - May 2012
• Deadline for responses to consultation - July 2012
• Training and Skills Committee (TSC) Advanced Training Working Group consider responses to consultation - August 2012
• Commissioning scope and process agreed by TSC; ESRC draft commissioning documentation - September 2012
• Call for proposals launched - October 2012
• Commissioning process (tbd) - October 2012-February 2013
• Funding recommendations to TSC meeting - March 2013