The distinctive features of the project are its innovation and its integration. Multiple cross-national surveys have existed for decades, but they have been operating in silos. Even where methodology is broadly in alignment – probability-based sampling, firm protocols on translation – there have been slight differences in the wording of items and the measurement scales for respondents to use, and the resulting data, collected at different points in time itself, is spread across many archive locations. Activities in the first half of this project have already addressed many of these shortcomings, and in doing so have taken the resources available to users to a new level.
Among the many ‘firsts’ delivered are:
a) a searchable inventory of more than 10,000 items fielded cross-nationally and relevant to the five pillars of NextGeneration EU, stretching back to 2000;
b) data summaries (one for each pillar) drawing on a small selection from the inventory, authored by topic experts and designed to illustrate the greater potential of the resources available;
c) five waves of a self-completion panel in eleven countries, each fielding 90 items relating to the five pillars, and involving academic experts, policy analysts and stakeholders in their design.
These outputs do not just stand in their own right; they have been fed into briefing materials to prepare for, and inform, four national deliberative mini publics with young people, to be followed up with a reconvened cross-national online workshop. This qualitative element of the project will add nuance to the quantitative outputs of the project.
The outputs from the work packages focusing on the five pillars integrate not just with the deliberation exercises, but flow into a set of tools and resources to which there is virtual access. The most innovative of these is the Harmonised Data Gateway, where users can find merged files (available in multiple software formats) created from up to six cross-national surveys, comprising variables with relevance to each of the five pillars. In each case the survey-specific items originally differed slightly in question wording or response scales, but these have been statistically harmonised prior to merging, greatly increasing the sample sizes available for analysis. Users also benefit from guidance materials, indicating the degree of confidence they can have in the equivalence of each harmonised measure.
A tool called ‘E-NextGen’, still in development, allows users to both map selected data from the inventory (and ultimately also CRONOS) and to ‘position’ themselves and their own responses in relation to others with similar socio-demographic characteristics. This product takes cross-national survey data more widely out into potential user groups, such as pupils and their teachers in schools, as well as the general public, to an extent not previously achieved. Policymakers who sit on the project Stakeholder Board have also been positive about this tool being more accessible for their colleagues in the policy arena.
