Centre-UB is a £7.1 million ESRC-funded Centre for Doctoral Training Plus (CDT+) based at the University of Birmingham. It is one of two UKRI investments in a National Capability for Behavioural Research. The second is a “Hub” called Behavioural Research-UK (BR-UK) which is jointly managed by University of Edinburgh and University College London. Centre-UB commenced on 1st October 2023 and is funded for 7 years.
Centre-UB is designed around four themes representing areas of critical mass and major societal challenges. Three pillar themes relate to understanding behaviour in the context of digital harms and goods, equity in physical and mental wellbeing, and environmental change and sustainability. These are bridged by one cross-cutting theme of systems thinking, which recognises that all behaviour exists within the context of multiple systems.
The CDT+ delivers doctoral-level and post-doctoral training to PhD students with centre-affiliated studentships, research fellows with centre-affiliated 12-month fellowships, and provides a suite of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to non-academic partners (e.g., government and other public sector, industry and charities).