Policy

GUIDE is an accelerated cohort survey with nationally representative samples of infants, school age children, and their parents. The samples will be surveyed at regular intervals using harmonized questionnaires, until the children are 24-years old. Two cohorts taking place in parallel will enable comparisons early in the life of the survey possible, and more responsive to policy cycles. 

The data will be used by a broad community including health, child development, family studies, psychology, sociology, demography, and economics. The cross-culturally comparative results will be of great value to education, child and youth services, and government both locally and across European initiatives and policies.

Through creating a more coherent and efficient access to wellbeing data, GUIDE is a waypoint on the path towards instrumental use of knowledge. The ever-growing body of longitudinal and life course research spans numerous academic disciplines. The policy impact of such research is clearly recognised. Existing cohort studies have had considerable impact in shaping educational, health and family policies, particularly in the earliest years of life. The ESRC Longitudinal Studies Review 2017 outlines the importance of current and future scientific and policy-relevant need for longitudinal studies (Townsley 2016). In the UK, for instance, policymakers and academics have benefited from high quality evidence, which details the lives of people and families and their social circumstances. GUIDE will expand the instrumental use of longitudinal and wellbeing data across Europe. A harmonised European dataset accessible by a wider audience will generate knowledge that could contribute toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as it would offer a greater insight into topics such as poverty, health and wellbeing, and education. 

At a national level, GUIDE will support the design of evidence-based policies. At an international level, it will provide a unique insight into factors contributing to successful policies through rigorous comparisons between European countries. This knowledge will contribute to the improvement of policies and practice.