Next Steps in Securing the Sustainability of the European Social Survey, European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ESS-SUSTAIN-2)

Project Information

ESS-SUSTAIN-2

Grant agreement ID: 871063

DOI

10.3030/871063

Project closed

EC signature date 16 December 2019

Start date 1 January 2020

End date 31 March 2024

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Research Infrastructures

Total cost

€ 4 963 535,00

EU contribution

€ 4 963 535,00

Coordinated by

EUROPEAN SOCIAL SURVEY EUROPEAN RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE CONSORTIUM
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ESS-SUSTAIN-2 (Next Steps in Securing the Sustainability of the European Social Survey, European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ESS-SUSTAIN-2))

Reporting period: 2021-07-01 to 2024-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The ESS-SUSTAIN-2 project united a group of European Social Survey, European Research Infrastructure Consortium partner institutions to work together to ensure the sustainability of this social science infrastructure. That ESS infrastructure is now mature and sustainable in the medium term, and the ESS-SUSTAIN-2 project has made a major contribution to this outcome.

The European Social Survey (ESS) is Europe’s largest pan-European research infrastructure, providing data about change and stability in the social condition and the opinions of those living there. ESS provides data on a range of topics from climate change, democracy, gender, health, justice and fairness, trust, welfare and many more. There are now 28 Members (countries) of ESS ERIC and one Observer, over 236,000 registered users of the data as well as just over 6500 publications. This grant has provided much needed support to complement the core funding from the ERICs members with activities to secure the future of the RI. The success of these activities means the ESS user community will continue to be served long into the future by their infrastructure.

The ESS-SUSTAIN 2 project has reinforced the sustainability of the RI through ‘expansion’ - increasing the membership of and participation in ESS ERIC, ‘promoting excellence and efficiency’ by being at the forefront of technical developments in the field and by ‘interconnecting existing and new infrastructures’ improving the synergies created by linking ESS with other social science infrastructures.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The ESS ERIC Consortium delivered all 27 deliverables due and 18 of the 19 milestones were met (with one becoming redundant). The pandemic caused significant delays and changes to ways of working and delivery, however remedial action minimised the risk to the project. In the end all critical objectives were met, which is testament to the flexibility and responsiveness of the Consortium.

WP2 resulted in the signing of an MoU between the ESS and the European Values Study, reflecting agreement to cooperate closely. This work package also saw continued cooperation with international partners already working with the ESS (Australia and South Africa) and the signing of new agreements with China, Japan, South Korea, the East Asian Social Survey and the General Social Survey (USA). These developments have strengthened the ESS and the social sciences more generally.

WP3 saw three ESS impact events held throughout the grant on the themes of ESS and research (e.g. health), ESS and teaching, and ESS and policy impact. In addition, an impact evaluation highlighted the extensive academic and non-academic impact of the ESS, whilst a report on the policy impact showed significant use of ESS data thus far, whilst also highlighting future opportunities.

WP4 saw ESS ERIC membership and participation increase and regional committees established in Southern Europe and the Western Balkans which have strengthened the ESS there. At the end of the project ESS had 28 Members and 1 Observer. Israel, Montenegro, Serbia and Spain and joined the infrastructure during the project whilst Greece and Ukraine took part as Guests.

WP5 saw the ESS provide a harmonised technology solution for data collection implemented for the first time in 11 countries, including the use of the same digital survey. These tools were also repurposed to be suitable for the future of ESS data (self-completion methods from 2027).

WP6 saw the successful delivery of a 12-country web panel recruited as part of ESS Round 10 face-to-face fieldwork. However, as Round 10 was delayed due to the pandemic, the panel itself was delivered much later than originally planned, using a staggered approach, due to cross-national variation in Covid restrictions. The panel represents a world first in terms of scale and methodology. WP7 planned how to continue the panel after the project ended, and a prospectus for developing the panel was published.

WP8 ensured the project complied with all ethical and GDPR (data protection) requirements.

All of the activities within the project were regularly communicated to ESS stakeholders (ESS ERIC General Assembly members, ESS Scientific and Methods advisory boards) who were key target audiences. Results from the project were also communicated to ESS users through the website news section and the data user bulletin. Additionally, the availability of the CRONOS web panel data for download was widely publicised. The results were showcased at the final ESS consortium meeting in Brussels where representatives from the EC and the JRC were in attendance. Results were also shared with fellow scientists at the Cross-national Survey Design and Implementation Workshop (CSDI) and the European Survey Research Association conference.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

At the core of this project was the delivery of a 12-country web panel, the largest input harmonised, cross-national, probability-based web panel anywhere in the world. Academics across Europe were provided with additional questionnaire space to examine issues including vaccine hesitancy, climate change, attitudes towards social Europe and many other topics. The panel, building on an earlier ‘proof of concept’, has now demonstrated ‘proof of scalability’, opening the door to the possibility of providing this resource permanently. In addition, the harmonised data collection tools used for the face-to-face survey have helped to move the ESS beyond the state of the art, preparing the ESS for its transition to being a self-completion survey in future. In addition, training and briefing activities have helped to support national teams entering the ESS for the first time and data users in countries where formal data analysis training is less developed.

The ESS impact case study, as well as the policy case study, have together highlighted the societal impact of the ESS by showcasing the academic and non-academic impact of the infrastructure. This was complemented by a series of events highlighting how data and findings from the ESS address grand challenges within Europe.

Closer links with the EVS were achieved by the end of the project and greater global links established adding value to the ESS data and its ability to address global challenges and meet the methodological challenges faced in survey research.

Membership development activities helped to strengthen the ESS infrastructure. They not only added value to the ESS data by expanding the countries covered, but has provided additional budget for the ESS, to help ensure a balanced budget going forward. This development has been crucial to the sustainability of the Research Infrastructure.

Together these activities have helped to ensure the long-term sustainability of the ESS by strengthening its coverage, mapping and evaluating its impact and preparing it for its future. ESS-SUSTAIN-2 has ensured Europe continues to occupy its world leading place in cross-national social survey research. It has also ensured Europe has the data it needs to illuminate the social condition across the continent and ensure that Europeans truly have a voice on the key challenges they face.

ESS Lamp