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Civil Society, and Place-Based Strategies for Sustainable Development, 2022-2024
No full textThis project undertook regional policy studies in Wales, the UK and Europe and action research in specific foundational sectors. Drawing on place-based social innovation approaches, it considers to what extent regional growth policies focus on foundational sectors and address inclusive growth through social innovation. In-depth interviews were undertaken in four case study countries: Croatia, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom with participants drawn from the governance structures and various sub-groups of economic and social development.WISERD celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. Over time it has grown into an international research institute that develops the next generation of research leaders. Our research brings together different disciplines (geographers, economists, sociologists, data scientists, political scientists) to address important issues for civil society at national and international levels. Our social science core provides a strong foundation for working with other disciplines including environmental science, engineering and medicine to transform our understanding and approaches to key areas of public concern. Our aim is to provide evidence that informs and changes policy and practice. This Centre will build on all previous WISERD research activities to undertake an ambitious new research programme. Our focus will be on the concept of civic stratification. This is a way of looking at divisions in society by focusing on the rights and obligations and practices of citizens and the role of civil society organisations in addressing inequalities in those rights and obligations. We will examine and analyse instances where people do not have the same rights as others (for example people who are migrants or refugees). We will also look at examples of people and groups working together within civil society to win new rights; this is referred to as civic expansion. Examples might include campaigns for animal rights or concerns about robots and Artificial Intelligence. We will investigate situations where people have the same rights but experience differences in their ability to access those rights; sometimes referred to as civic gain and civic loss (for example some people are better able to access legal services than others). Lastly, we will explore how individuals and groups come together to overcome deficits in their rights and citizenship; sometimes referred to as forms of civil repair. This might include ways in which people are looking at alternative forms of economic organisation, at local sustainability and at using new technologies (platforms and software) to organise and campaign for their rights. Our centre will deliver across four key areas of activity. First our research programme will focus on themes that address the different aspects of civic stratification. We will examine trends in polarization of economic, political and social rights, looking at how campaigns for rights are changing and undertaking case studies of attempts to repair the fabric of civil life. Second, we will extend and deepen our international and civil society research partnerships and networks and by doing so strengthen our foundations for developing further joint research in the future. Third, we will implement an exciting and accessible 'knowledge exchange' programme to enable our research and evidence to reach, involve and influence as many people as possible. Fourth, we will expand the capacity of social science research and nurture future research leaders. All our research projects will be jointly undertaken with key partners including civil society organisations, such as charities, and local communities. The research programme is broad and will include the collection of new data, the exploitation of existing data sources and linking existing sets of data. The data will range from local detailed studies to large cross-national comparisons. We will make the most of our skills and abilities to work with major RCUK research investments. We have an outstanding track record in maximising research impact, in applying a wide range of research methods to real world problems. This exciting and challenging research programme is based on a unique, long standing and supportive relationship between five core universities in Wales and our partnerships with universities and research institutes in the UK and internationally. It addresses priority areas identified by the ESRC and by governments and is informed by our continued close links with civil society organisations.</p
Cancer Research UK Local Cancer Awareness Measure: Greater Manchester, April-May 2024
No full textAbstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM) was developed in 2007-8 to address the absence of a validated measure of general public awareness of cancer (Stubbings, S., Robb, K., Waller, J., Ramirez, A., Austoker, J., Macleod, U., Hion, S., and Wardle, J. (2009) 'Development of a measurement tool to assess public awareness of cancer', British Journal of Cancer, 101(2), S13-S17.).The survey includes measures of awareness of signs and symptoms of cancer, cancer risk factors, age-related risk, screening programmes and potential barriers to seeing the GP. Since then, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has significantly revised and updated the survey, including a wider range of questions and collecting data online instead of face-to-face. The CAM was also previously known as the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative Cancer Awareness Measure (NAEDI-CAM).In 2023-2024 Cancer Research UK ran two Local Cancer Awareness Measure Plus (CAM+) pilots, collecting data in two local regions (Greater Manchester and Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR)) using both an online panel and community sampling to recruit participants. The LLR pilot Local CAM+ datasets are available under SNs 9343 and 9359.The Greater Manchester (GM) pilot Local CAM+ dataset does not include National CAM+ questions on alcohol consumption, physical activity, perception of health services capacity and closeness to cancer. However, it includes additional questions on possible facilitators for cancer screening attendance and willingness to travel for hospital tests.A Special Licence version of this data, including more geography and demographic variables, is available under SN 9358.Further information about the CAM+ may be found on the Cancer Research UK Cancer Awareness Measure Plus (CAM+) webpage.
Main Topics:The CAM questionnaire addressed the following topics:
public awareness of cancer symptomspublic knowledge of cancer risk factorsbarriers and enablers to help seekinguptake of screening programmesbarriers to cancer screening (cervical, breast and bowel)experience of breast and cervical cancer screeningsymptom experienceco-morbiditiesperception of symptom seriousnesshelp seeking behaviours including remote consultation and re-presentationperceptions of remote consultationdemographic variables including health behaviours such as smoking.</ul
Legal Problem and Resolution Survey, 2023: Special Licence Access
No full textAbstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner. The Legal Problem and Resolution Survey (LPRS) measures people’s experiences of everyday problems that may have a legal solution through the courts and tribunal system. It provides robust statistical evidence on the extent to which civil, family, and administrative justice problems are experienced, by whom, and how they are dealt with, by adults in England and Wales.The LPRS 2023 was designed to provide an up-to-date picture of legal needs to understand the:Rates and patterns of legal problems in the general populationCommon problem resolution strategies and people’s awareness and use of different sources of legal and non-legal supportRelationship between strategies used and outcomes achievedCharacteristics of potential courts and tribunal system users, including barriers to access and support needs.Changes to the data from the previous edition of the survey (2014/15, held under SN 8169) include:A different sampling frame utilised (consisting of a large online panel sample and a smaller sample of face-to-face interviews)Questions on the perceived impact of Covid-19 on respondent’s legal problemsQuestions on attitudes towards online services and remote hearingsQuestions on the awareness of advice providers and services that did not exist at the time of the previous edition of the survey .These changes mean that variations in findings between the 2014/15 and 2023 surveys may be due to methodological differences, and this must be considered if seeking to make comparisons between the two datasets.Further details of the methodology used can be found in the technical report. In addition, please refer to the SPSS user guides for more information on how to use the data (e.g., the information on different weights etc). Main Topics:This survey covers adults’ experiences of legal problems in England and Wales
Health Survey Northern Ireland, 2021-2022
No full textAbstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Health Survey Northern Ireland (HSNI) was commissioned by the Department of Health in Northern Ireland and the Central Survey Unit (CSU) of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) carried out the survey on their behalf. This survey series has been running on a continuous basis since April 2010 with separate modules for different policy areas included in different financial years. It covers a range of health topics that are important to the lives of people in Northern Ireland. The HSNI replaces the previous Northern Ireland Health and Social Wellbeing Survey (available under SNs 4589, 4590 and 5710).Adult BMI, height and weight measurements, accompanying demographic and derived variables, geography, and a BMI weighting variable, are available in separate datasets for each survey year.
Further information is available from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and the Department of Health (Northern Ireland) survey webpages.
The Health Survey Northern Ireland, 2021-2022 provides a source of information on a wide range of health issues relevant to Northern Ireland. The information collected is pursuing the development of policies aimed at improving the health and well-being of the Northern Ireland population.
Main Topics:Topics covered included: general health, long-term conditions, smoking, e-cigarettes, alcohol consumption, physical activity, mental health (including GHQ12), wellbeing, caring responsibility, loneliness, social support, sleep, care in the sun, stress and self-reported BMI.</p
Labour Force Survey Two-Quarter Longitudinal Dataset, January - June, 2025
No full textAbstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.Background
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a unique source of information using international definitions of employment and unemployment and economic inactivity, together with a wide range of related topics such as occupation, training, hours of work and personal characteristics of household members aged 16 years and over. It is used to inform social, economic and employment policy. The LFS was first conducted biennially from 1973-1983. Between 1984 and 1991 the survey was carried out annually and consisted of a quarterly survey conducted throughout the year and a 'boost' survey in the spring quarter (data were then collected seasonally). From 1992 quarterly data were made available, with a quarterly sample size approximately equivalent to that of the previous annual data. The survey then became known as the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS). From December 1994, data gathering for Northern Ireland moved to a full quarterly cycle to match the rest of the country, so the QLFS then covered the whole of the UK (though some additional annual Northern Ireland LFS datasets are also held at the UK Data Archive). Further information on the background to the QLFS may be found in the documentation.
Longitudinal data
The LFS retains each sample household for five consecutive quarters, with a fifth of the sample replaced each quarter. The main survey was designed to produce cross-sectional data, but the data on each individual have now been linked together to provide longitudinal information. The longitudinal data comprise two types of linked datasets, created using the weighting method to adjust for non-response bias. The two-quarter datasets link data from two consecutive waves, while the five-quarter datasets link across a whole year (for example January 2010 to March 2011 inclusive) and contain data from all five waves. A full series of longitudinal data has been produced, going back to winter 1992. Linking together records to create a longitudinal dimension can, for example, provide information on gross flows over time between different labour force categories (employed, unemployed and economically inactive). This will provide detail about people who have moved between the categories. Also, longitudinal information is useful in monitoring the effects of government policies and can be used to follow the subsequent activities and circumstances of people affected by specific policy initiatives, and to compare them with other groups in the population. There are however methodological problems which could distort the data resulting from this longitudinal linking. The ONS continues to research these issues and advises that the presentation of results should be carefully considered, and warnings should be included with outputs where necessary.New reweighting policyFollowing the new reweighting policy ONS has reviewed the latest population estimates made available during 2019 and have decided not to carry out a 2019 LFS and APS reweighting exercise. Therefore, the next reweighting exercise will take place in 2020. These will incorporate the 2019 Sub-National Population Projection data (published in May 2020) and 2019 Mid-Year Estimates (published in June 2020). It is expected that reweighted Labour Market aggregates and microdata will be published towards the end of 2020/early 2021.
LFS Documentation
The documentation available from the Archive to accompany LFS datasets largely consists of the latest version of each user guide volume alongside the appropriate questionnaire for the year concerned. However, volumes are updated periodically by ONS, so users are advised to check the latest documents on the ONS Labour Force Survey - User Guidance pages before commencing analysis. This is especially important for users of older QLFS studies, where information and guidance in the user guide documents may have changed over time.
Additional data derived from the QLFS
The Archive also holds further QLFS series: End User Licence (EUL) quarterly data; Secure Access datasets; household datasets; quarterly, annual and ad hoc module datasets compiled for Eurostat; and some additional annual Northern Ireland datasets.
Variables DISEA and LNGLST
Dataset A08 (Labour market status of disabled people) which ONS suspended due to an apparent discontinuity between April to June 2017 and July to September 2017 is now available. As a result of this apparent discontinuity and the inconclusive investigations at this stage, comparisons should be made with caution between April to June 2017 and subsequent time periods. However users should note that the estimates are not seasonally adjusted, so some of the change between quarters could be due to seasonality. Further recommendations on historical comparisons of the estimates will be given in November 2018 when ONS are due to publish estimates for July to September 2018.
An article explaining the quality assurance investigations that have been conducted so far is available on the ONS Methodology webpage. For any queries about Dataset A08 please email [email protected].
Occupation data for 2021 and 2022 data filesThe ONS has identified an issue with the collection of some occupational data in 2021 and 2022 data files in a number of their surveys. While they estimate any impacts will be small overall, this will affect the accuracy of the breakdowns of some detailed (four-digit Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)) occupations, and data derived from them. Further information can be found in the ONS article published on 11 July 2023: Revision of miscoded occupational data in the ONS Labour Force Survey, UK: January 2021 to September 2022.2022 WeightingThe population totals used for the latest LFS estimates use projected growth rates from Real Time Information (RTI) data for UK, EU and non-EU populations based on 2021 patterns. The total population used for the LFS therefore does not take into account any changes in migration, birth rates, death rates, and so on since June 2021, and hence levels estimates may be under- or over-estimating the true values and should be used with caution. Estimates of rates will, however, be robust.Main Topics:The two-quarter longitudinal datasets include a subset of the most commonly used variables from the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), covering the main areas of the survey.<br
Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations Survey: Public Perceptions of Climate Change and Low Carbon Lifestyles in the UK, Brazil, Sweden and China, Wave 4, 2023
No full textThis online survey was part of the visioning research conducted at the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations. The research project, of which this survey forms a crucial part of is titled 1.4. Public perceptions of climate change and transformative action over time. The aim of this project is to examine public perceptions of climate change in the context of the Centre’s core principles, diet, transport, material consumption, thermal comfort, by conducting multi-wave, multi-country (UK, Brazil, China, Sweden) surveys.
This current survey forms the third wave of a survey that was run annually for 4 consecutive years, including tracking items and bespoke, flexible modules every year. The aim of this survey wave 3 was to map climate change beliefs and engagement with the 4 key areas (diet, transport, material consumption, thermal comfort) across the UK, Brazil, China and Sweden and zoom in on people's perceptions of policy making processes and public engagement.
This sample collected data from 1005 respondents in China, 1 000 in Sweden,1 000 in Brazil, and n= 2211 in the UK adopting quota sampling representative of each country. In the UK we oversampled for respondents in Scotland, Wales respondents with high income and non-white ethnicity.The Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations (CAST) will be a global hub for understanding the profound changes required to address climate change. At its core, is a fundamental question of enormous social significance: how can we as a society live differently - and better - in ways that meet the urgent need for rapid and far-reaching emission reductions?
While there is now strong international momentum on action to tackle climate change, it is clear that critical targets (such as keeping global temperature rise to well within 2 degrees Celsius relative to pre-industrial levels) will be missed without fundamental transformations across all parts of society. CAST's aim is to advance society's understanding of how to transform lifestyles, organisations and social structures in order to achieve a low-carbon future, which is genuinely sustainable over the long-term.
Our Centre will focus on people as agents of transformation in four challenging areas of everyday life that impact directly on climate change but have proven stubbornly resistant to change: consumption of goods and physical products, food and diet, travel, and heating/cooling. We will work across multiple scales (individual, community, organisational, national and global) to identify and experiment with various routes to achieving lasting change in these challenging areas. In particular, we will test how far focussing on 'co-benefits' will accelerate the pace of change. Co-benefits are outcomes of value to individuals and society, over and above the benefits from reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These may include improved health and wellbeing, reduced waste, better air quality, greater social equality, security, and affordability, as well as increased ability to adapt and respond to future climate change. For example, low-carbon travel choices (such as cycling and car sharing) may bring health, social and financial benefits that are important for motivating behaviour and policy change. Likewise, aligning environmental and social with economic objectives is vital for behaviour and organisational change within businesses.
Our Research Themes recognise that transformative change requires: inspiring yet workable visions of the future (Theme 1); learning lessons from past and current societal shifts (Theme 2); experimenting with different models of social change (Theme 3); together with deep and sustained engagement with communities, business and governments, and a research culture that reflects our aims and promotes action (Theme 4).
Our Centre integrates academic knowledge from disciplines across the social and physical sciences with practical insights to generate widespread impact. Our team includes world-leading researchers with expertise in climate change behaviour, choices and governance. We will use a range of theories and research methods to fill key gaps in our understanding of transformation at different spatial and social scales, and show how to target interventions to impactful actions, groups and moments in time.
We partner with practitioners (e.g., Climate Outreach, Greener-UK, China Centre for Climate Change Communication), policy-makers (e.g., Welsh Government) and companies (e.g., Anglian Water) to develop and test new ways of engaging with the public, governments and businesses in the UK and internationally. We enhance citizens', organisations' and societal leaders' capacity to tackle climate change through various mechanisms, including secondments, citizens' panels, small-scale project funding, seminars, training, workshops, papers, blog posts and an interactive website. We will also experiment with transformations within academia itself, by trialling sustainable working practices (e.g., online workshops), being 'reflexive' (studying our own behaviour and its impacts on others), and making our outputs and data publically available.</p
Humans in Digital Logistics: Interview and Focus Group Data, 2022-2025
No full textThe Humans in Digital Logistics (HuLog) project investigates the role of digital technologies in reshaping work and employment conditions in warehouses in Europe (across Poland, Germany, Belgium and the UK), in view of identifying guiding principles for a more human-centred and socially sustainable digital warehousing.
An essential condition for building a more efficient and resilient European logistics is the improvement of the poor work and employment conditions today prevalent in this sector. The technologies that ensure an as- smooth-as-possible integration of workers into logistics processes, from online purchase to goods delivery, fundamentally shape work and employment in ways that are too often harmful to workers (e.g. through work intensification, health and safety concerns, high turnover rates, increased surveillance).
Building on the extant knowledge on the key role of digital technologies in shaping work and employment conditions in logistics, this project innovates by approaching technology as essential to envisioning any improvement of work and employment conditions in logistics. More specifically, HuLog investigates the key role of digital technologies in shaping work and employment conditions in warehouses across Europe in view of making them more human-centred and socially sustainable. The project is structured around three main objectives:
Objective 1: To gain an in-depth understanding of how digital warehouse management systems shape workers’ lived experience of the warehouse work.
Objective 2: To document and theorise the role of warehouse management systems in co-shaping companies’ human resource management strategies affecting work and employment conditions.
Objective 3: To derive an analytical framework comprising guiding principles for envisioning policy fostering human-centred and socially sustainable digital warehousing.
This collection includes interview data from the UK (UKRI-funded) branch of the broader European project, encompassing 69 interviews with 92 research respondents.The Humans in Digital Logistics (HuLog) project investigates how digital technologies shape work and employment conditions in warehouses in Europe. Warehouses are today profoundly affected by rapidly evolving digital technologies along the whole supply chain, which allow online purchases at express delivery, harmonize systems for tracking parcels, and optimize warehouse operations to reduce the time for handling goods. Warehousing is expected to keep growing and to generate new jobs, as companies rise local inventories to mitigate the risk of global supply chain disruptions caused by international trade conflicts (e.g. Brexit) and calamities such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
HuLog examines how digital warehouse management systems shape workers' experience of work and drive warehousing companies' employment strategies to maximise workforce flexibility, affecting employment conditions. To date, the impact of digital technologies on work and employment in warehouses remains a neglected field of investigation. Workers are absent from most studies of warehousing, which focuses on increasing efficiency to reduce time and costs. Current knowledge is largely limited to journalistic accounts of work and employment in single companies such as Amazon.
HuLog combines a socio-material and an employment relations perspective to study 12 digital warehouses in 4 logistic hubs in Europe: Western Poland, Leipzig-Halle (Germany), Limburg (Belgium) and West Yorkshire (United Kingdom). This research design allows for comparison across institutional, economic and socio-demographic contexts.
The HuLog project will produce multidisciplinary, cutting-edge scientific knowledge on work and employment in European logistics, advancing the debate in key disciplines and, more broadly, on the future of work. It will also scientifically support and facilitate policy stakeholders' negotiation of guiding principles for more human-centred and socially sustainable digital warehousing.</p
Northeast Nigerian Food System Data, 2020
No full textThis dataset captures household food system and food security conditions in Northeast Nigeria using a mixed-methods, transdisciplinary design. The core is a household survey (target = 400, realized n = 375) collected via multistage random sampling across two case-study states (Taraba and Gombe) during Feb–Mar 2020 (2 states, 4 agri zones, 8 LGAs ? 16 communities, 25 households each). Qualitative components comprise six focus group discussions and a stakeholder consultation (farmers, extension agents, agronomist, food scientist, agricultural economist) that informed causal loop diagrams (CLDs) and a system dynamics model. The survey covers demographics; crop–livestock production and diversity; labour and costs; markets and forest foods; income and expenditures; and food consumption with a Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) module following FAO/FANTA groupings. Data were cleaned and analysed with descriptive statistics and system-thinking tools (Vensim). Fieldwork followed ethics approval and COVID-19 safety protocols
Participation Survey, 2023-2024: Open Access
No full textAbstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Participation Survey is a continuous push-to-web survey of adults aged 16 and over in England. It serves as a successor to the Taking Part survey, which ran for 16 years as a continuous face to face survey. Paper surveys are available for those not digitally engaged. Fieldwork started in October 2021 and it is envisaged that the survey will be a key evidence source for Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and its sectors by providing statistically representative national estimates of adult engagement with the DCMS sectors. The survey’s main objectives are to:
Provide a central, reliable evidence source that can be used to analyse cultural, digital, and sporting engagement, providing a clear picture of why people do or do not engage.
Provide data at a county level to meet user needs, including providing evidence for the levelling up agenda.
Underpin further research on driving engagement and the value and benefits of engagement.Further information on the survey can be found on the gov.uk Participation Survey webpage.The Participation survey is a continuous push to web survey of adults aged 16 and over in England. There are paper surveys available for those not digitally engaged. Fieldwork started in October 2021 and will be a main evidence source for DCMS/ACE and its sectors by providing statistically representative national estimates of adult engagement with the DCMS/ACE sectors. The survey’s main objectives are to:
- Provide a central, reliable evidence source that can be used to analyse cultural, digital, and sporting engagement, providing a clear picture of why people do or do not engage.
- Provide data at a county level to meet user needs, including providing evidence for the leveling up agenda.
- Underpin further research on driving engagement and the value and benefits of engagement.
For 2023-2024 annual data the fieldwork period was from 9th May 2023 - 4th April 2024. Participants in the survey are randomly selected from addresses from the Post Office’s list of addresses in England. This ensures results reflect the experiences and views of the whole population.
Further information on the survey can be found on
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/participation-surveyMain Topics:The Participation Survey collects data on engagement in:
the arts
libraries
heritage
museums and galleries
tourism
major cultural events
major sporting events
sport
gambling
digital sectors
The survey includes information on frequency of participation, reasons for participating, barriers to participation and attitudes to the sectors.
Information is also gathered on demographics (e.g. age, education), and related areas including wellbeing, loneliness, and use of digital technology.</p
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Young People, and on Their Access to Food, Education and Play and Leisure in England and the West Midlands, 2020-2024
No full textThe project had Four Research Stages
Stage 1 – Global Mapping Exercise
Aim: Map and develop typologies of the pandemic’s impact on the food/education/play-leisure nexus, with a focus on young people’s vulnerabilities globally, based on an international, integrative review of research and policy literatures.
Stage 2: – National and Regional Mapping (Brazil, South Africa, UK)
Aim: Examine key impacts of pandemic-related policy on young people’s access to and adaptations around food, education and play/leisure at the national, regional and local scale.
Stage 3: Zooming in on local adaptations of young people in monetary-poor households
Aim: In-depth research with professional stakeholders and young people in each case study region, with a focus on incremental and innovative strategies and the impact of those adaptations on everyday survival and recovery. In England, this research took place in Birmingham and the West Midlands. In total, we worked with 87 young people, using qualitative methods such as interviews and visual mapping. The research was co-produced with young people: we worked with a core group of ten young people from Birmingham City Council’s Youth Voice team, who co-designed some of the methods, undertook peer research with some of the young people in our sample, and co-analysed data.
Stage 4: Co-design of solutions to foster young people’s recovery and resilience
Aim: Co-design solutions with our community of young people and key professionals that will help vulnerable young people to recover and be prepared in the eventuality of future major health and socio-economic crises. In England, this process took place in Birmingham and the West Midlands and involved the same core group discussing the project’s main findings. Through a series of workshops, young people’s recommendations were created and tested with us and a selected group of professional stakeholders.
Stage 1 - Interviews with key organisations working in the food/education/play sector and with children and youth.
The team conducted 32 interviews with key organisations between February and June 2023. The aim was to situate and identify what had been the key impacts of pandemic-related policy towards the food, education, play/leisure nexus of issues facing young people during and after COVID-19, in England. It also sought to examine what policy/programmes/initiatives were developed, and how local places mattered (including home life/household contexts). To do so, we identified representatives from a range of organisations that played a key role in supporting young people and/ or in assessing the impacts of the pandemic on them.
Sampling was done through desk-based research based on a review of national and regional review of the literature and reports and further on snowballing, we identified non-governmental and non-profit organisations that played a key contribution in supporting young people and/or assessing the impact and repercussions of the pandemic on them. Selection of the interviews was made either through their role across the country or because of their contribution at regional and city levels. The number of 30 was considered as commensurate with the methods used in similarly-sized comparative projects of similar scale.
This included representatives from the following types of organisations:
• Charities (incl. Foundations and Think-Tanks) working either across England or in specific English regions, and specialized in the following sectors: food education, food policy, food provision
(including food banks) and healthy food; education provision, education and digital technology, education policy, education and youth, social mobility and educational disadvantage; play provision, play policy; support to disadvantaged and vulnerable young people.
• Not-for profit social enterprises focusing on youth education, youth employment, food and nutrition.
• Schools/Colleges.
• Private Companies specialized in supporting education organisations and play provision.
• Research Institutions with specific expertise in education, food and health and children/young people.
• Local and Combined Authorities.
• Diocesan and Faith groups.
• National networks representing community
organisations in the faith and play sector.
• Young People Ambassadors.
While looking at England as a whole, we also zoomed on West Midlands/Birmingham. The West Midlands was one of the hardest-hit parts of the UK during COVID-19. The region includes some of the most deprived neighbourhoods and a younger than average population. The intent of the interviews was twofold: 1) to understand each organisation’s response to supporting young people during/after COVID-19, and 2) from the organisation’s views, to identify what adaptations and tactics young people used to deal with the challenges that COVID-19 and associated lockdowns presented. Interview questions focused on the following themes: The role of the organisation and how they engaged with young people, the impact of the pandemic of the food/ education/play-leisure nexus, the connection between vulnerability, place, social networks and adaptation, the legacy of Covid-19 and the importance of the cost of living crisis. All interviews were recorded, and our research fully conformed with UCL’s ethical guidance. The interviews were transcribed, coded and analysed, with 37 core themes extracted.
Stage 2 - Interviews with Young People
Aim: In-depth research with professional stakeholders and young people in the West Midlands with a focus on incremental and innovative strategies and the impact of those adaptations on everyday survival and recovery.
In total, we worked with 89 young people, aged 10-24. The research was co-produced with young people: we worked with a core group of ten young people from Birmingham City Council’s Youth Voice team, who co-designed some of the methods, undertook peer research with some of the young people in our sample, and co-analysed data. Data archived relates to interviews with young people conducted by the Panex Youth Research Fellow.
Young people were recruited from a range of settings across the case study region. Predominantly, young people were recruited from youth groups, youth centres and schools. Sampling was done based on age, gender, ethnicity, status (i.e. student or in employment), place of living.
While not ‘representative’, per se, this has ensured coverage of a range of different living conditions and (along with working with established schools networks and NGOs in each region) enable recruitment of young people. This was commensurate with the methods used in similarly-sized comparative projects working with youth (Kraftl et al., 2019) and enables sampling for diverse youth while again not seeking ‘representativeness’ in this qualitative study.
The main methods for this strand of research were interviews and visual web discussions conducted through workshops between June 2023 and May 2024
Some activities were not recorded and transcribed, for example the workshops done with 32 primary school pupils nor the other workshops done with young people. Owing to the impossibility of anonymising the mapping exercise and visual webs (which were intensely personal in nature and showed data about young people’s homes, schools and workplaces), we cannot deposit these data. We have not taken this decision lightly but this is the only way that we can conform to our project’s ethical principles.PANEX-Youth aimed to understand how young people have adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess the wider impact of such processes of adaptations in England (ESRC), South Africa (NRF) and Brazil (FAPESP). To do so, we adopted a nexus approach, focusing on the interconnections between three key elements of children and young people’s everyday lives that were impacted by the pandemic: food, education, and play/leisure. These elements were embedded within a wider understanding of the settings (local places) and home/personal contexts (household composition and home/personal life) of children and young people.
The findings of the research aim to support global recovery and the longer-term resilience of societies in a post-pandemic world. To achieve this we used an action research methodology to co-create knowledge with young people, and the communities in which they live, along with non-government bodies and non-profit organisations that focus on this age group.</p