News | Thursday, 15th April 2021
Researchers to develop first ever Europe-wide survey to track children’s wellbeing as they grow up
The Policy Evaluation and Research Unit (PERU) at Manchester Metropolitan University leads international project to help policy makers improve child and youth wellbeing
Researchers are developing the first ever Europe-wide survey to track the wellbeing of children as they grow up, providing data to inform the policies that directly affect their lives.
Led by Manchester Metropolitan University’s Policy Evaluation and Research Unit and The Geary Institute at University College Dublin, the four-year COORDINATE project involves 18 partners across 13 countries.
It has been awarded €5m by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme to undertake a range of activities that will build the capacity and infrastructure to collect and use longitudinal survey data to improve child wellbeing across Europe.
For the first time, a survey will offer policymakers unique insights into key transitions in children’s lives, the ability to make international comparisons on child and youth wellbeing, and to evaluate policies over time. This will help them make more informed decisions on issues ranging from education, to health and social policy.
COORDINATE is the next phase of the Growing Up In Digital Europe (GUIDE) project, launched in 2018 and funded by the Horizon 2020 programme in recognition that policymakers are currently unable to draw upon consistent and high quality data on child wellbeing to inform policy.
Professor Gary Pollock, co-project lead from Manchester Metropolitan University’s Policy Evaluation and Research Unit said: “The seismic effects of the COVID-19 crisis on young people’s education and mental wellbeing underlines the importance of understanding how policy decisions made today affect them in the years to come. In the UK, we have witnessed huge changes to their daily lives over the last year alone, from home-schooling to changes to exams and ongoing issues over the extension of free school meals.
“Longitudinal surveys routinely inform policy development. Longitudinal data is important as it can be used to show how the experiences of different cohorts of people vary over their life course.
“We are delighted to be awarded funding to take another step closer to the delivery of Europe’s first birth cohort survey, and to lead the next stage of this important project here at Manchester Metropolitan.”
Associate Professor Jennifer Symonds, co-project lead from The Geary Institute at University College Dublin, said: “A Europe-wide birth cohort survey will allow policymakers to access large amounts of data on measures of young people’s health and wellbeing, such as stress at school and happiness in the home, and how these are affected by decisions they make at different stages of their young lives. We believe that this will give children a louder voice in the conversations about issues that affect them.”
Longitudinal surveys routinely inform policy development. Longitudinal data is important as it can be used to show how the experiences of different cohorts of people vary over their life course.
GUIDE will be an accelerated cohort survey, meaning that it will include nationally representative samples of newborn babies and school age children. With two cohorts taking place in parallel it will be possible to make cohort comparisons and generate policy relevant data early in the life of the survey. The survey will collect both objective and subjective wellbeing measures on major themes including: Inequality, Learning, Digital Life and Lifestyle.
Researchers on COORDINATE will bring a full Europe-wide cohort study a step closer by facilitating improved access to existing survey data on child wellbeing, building capacity in longitudinal survey analysis across Europe, extending the GUIDE survey network, and initiating the GUIDE survey with a large-scale cohort pilot survey in Croatia, Finland, France and Ireland.
A Europe-wide birth cohort survey will allow policymakers to access large amounts of data on measures of young people’s health and wellbeing, such as stress at school and happiness in the home, and how these are affected by decisions they make at different stages of their young lives.
Keeping children at the heart of the research design, COORDINATE will also establish Youth Advisory Boards (YABs) in the UK, Portugal, Croatia, and Finland. The YABs will overview and advise researchers on key questions regarding the project.
This new longitudinal survey will be an important source of evidence in developing social policies for children, young people and families across Europe for many years to come. Its innovative design balances scientific rigour, policy priorities, and children’s voice.
A full list of project partners can be viewed on the PERU website, and you can read announcements from partners including UCD, and in Austria, France and Belgium.
