Why enter?
It’s an opportunity to field your experiment, with support from the Understanding Society Innovation Panel team.
Access rich data
The Innovation Panel has rich household data, you can’t get through other research channels.
Test your ideas
The Innovation Panel is a test-bed for new and existing projects, without the associated cost.
Get valuable support
Understanding Society will provide you with a high level of support throughout your research.
How to apply
Academics and researchers are invited to submit proposals for studies to be incorporated on the Understanding Society Innovation Panel Wave 18.
Data collection will take place in summer 2025.
Researchers can submit two types of proposals:
New survey questions
Proposals for new survey content, that will be used to address innovative research questions. The proposed survey questions can be on any topic, but are limited to one minute of questionnaire time.
New survey questions application (Microsoft Word)
Experiments and methodological tests
Proposals for survey methods experiments and evaluations. Methodological studies could relate to the design of survey instruments (e.g. question wording, item order, etc.) or to survey design features (e.g. procedures intended to reduce non-response or to improve fieldwork efficiency).
Experiments and methodological tests application (Microsoft Word)
Please submit your proposal by 26 March 2024, by email to aejack@essex.ac.uk.
In preparing proposals, applicants are encouraged to consult with Professor Annette Jäckle, Associate Director for Innovation (aejack@essex.ac.uk), about how their study could be designed to meet the Innovation Panel criteria. Applicants should note that Wave 18 will involve mixed mode data collection, whereby some sample members will complete the interview online, some with a face-to-face interviewer, and a few with a telephone interviewer. The survey instruments will contain the same questions in each mode, with only minimal differences. The survey also collects interviewer observations (where the interview is conducted face-to-face), call records (where the interview is conducted face-to-face or by telephone) and time stamp data for questionnaire sections.
Proposals must be accompanied by a CV (maximum 2 pages) for each named proposer, the draft specification of questions or other required text, and a list of references cited in the Case for Support.
There are no costs to successful applicants, unless the proposal includes non-standard survey elements (e.g., task-related incentive pay-outs or additional mailings).
All proposers will receive preliminary notification of the review panel’s decisions in July 2024. Final acceptance will be conditional on fully establishing the feasibility of the proposed study. Successful proposers will be expected to work with the Innovation Panel survey team to develop and finalise the details of the implementation of the experiment. This will include checking the questionnaire specification or other relevant documents, and testing the computerized questionnaire script. Once data are available, proposers will be expected to analyse and report the main outcome(s) in a summary form appropriate for inclusion in a Working Paper. Successful proposers will be asked to sign a memorandum of agreement indicating their willingness to carry out these development and analysis activities.
Proposers are expected to publish their research based on the resultant data. Proposers will be given early access to the data, as soon as possible and in advance of general release via the UK Data Service.
Entry criteria
In addition to assessing the quality of individual proposals according to the criteria above, we will aim for a balance of topics and methods across proposals. This is to ensure that the Innovation Panel interview remains interesting and reasonable for respondents.
Background to the Innovation Panel
Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study is a major research study designed to enhance understanding of life in the UK and how it is changing. The Study, funded primarily by the UK Economic and Social Research Council, takes a sample of 40,000 households containing around 100,000 individuals and attempts to interview all household members annually. A large boost sample of ethnic minority persons is also included. The first wave began in January 2009 with interviewing spread over 24 months.
The Innovation Panel is an important and integral part of the design of Understanding Society. It consists of the original sample of around 2,500 persons clustered within households, plus refreshment samples of around 700 persons added in 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021. Interviews have been attempted with all adult sample members at annual intervals starting with Wave 1 in 2008. Wave 17 will be going into the field in spring 2024. Subsequent waves of interviewing will continue to be carried out at annual intervals (subject to funding), replicating the household panel survey design employed by Understanding Society, whereby attempts are made to re-interview all sample members regardless of changes in household composition or geographical location, as well as any other (non-sample) members of the current households of sample members.
To date a range of experiments and tests have been incorporated into the Innovation Panel. These are documented in the Innovation Panel User Guide and in a series of Understanding Society Working Papers summarizing findings from experiments.
Timetable
The latest Innovation Panel Competition will take place in the Spring/Summer of 2024. The key milestones are summarised below.
| Phase | Action & events | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline for entries | Ensure proposal meets mandatory criteria | 26 March 2024 |
| Notification of decisions | Proposers notified by email | July 2024 |
| Development work | Work with implementation team to finalise the details of your experiment | July-Sept 2024 |
| Fieldwork | Interview IP households | March-Sept 2025 |
| Early data available to proposers | Report on key outcome/s for a Working Paper | End 2025 |
| Data released through UK Data Service | Publish your findings | Summer 2026 |
FAQs
What experiments have previously been carried out?
The experiments implemented in the Innovation Panel are summarised each year in an Understanding Society Working Paper and in the Innovation Panel User Guide.
I’m not sure whether I meet the criteria. Who can I talk to?
Please get in touch with Annette Jäckle, Understanding Society Associate Director for Innovations, to discuss your ideas in the first instance.
How do I calculate expected question timings?
We use the following rule of thumb for different question formats: yes-no questions 10 seconds, ‘select one’ single choice questions 15 seconds, ‘select all that apply’ multi-choice questions 18 seconds, open numeric questions 16 seconds, and open text questions 71 seconds. The expected question timings take into account the proportion of the sample asked the question and the timing per question. For example, for a “single choice” question asked of women only, the expected question time is the proportion of female respondents (0.55) x the timing of a single choice question (15 seconds) = 8.25 seconds.
What is the sample size of the Innovation Panel?
We estimate that the sample size in Wave 18 will be about 2,600 individuals.
Where can I find out about the content of the Innovation Panel?
Please see the Innovation Panel questionnaires and the User Guide.
Who judges the competition?
All proposals are reviewed for feasibility and considered by a panel made of Understanding Society Co-Investigators. We may send proposals to additional external topic experts.
Can I submit more than one proposal?
Yes – there is no set limit to the number or proportion of proposals that will be accepted. As many good proposals as can reasonably be carried out in conjunction with one another will be accepted.
When will I find out if my idea has been accepted?
Proposers are usually notified in July 2024. Final acceptance is conditional on fully establishing the feasibility of the proposed study with the fieldwork agency.
Do I have to pay for anything?
Standard data collection costs will be borne by Understanding Society and there will be no cost to successful proposers. Costs for non-standard elements of data collection (e.g. additional mailings or task-related incentive payouts) will be borne by proposers.
When will the data be made available?
The data are made available to competition proposers as soon as possible and in advance of general release via the UK Data Service.
What do you expect from successful applicants?
Successful proposers work with the Innovation Panel survey team to develop and finalise the details of the implementation of the proposal. Researchers are expected to analyse and report on the main outcome(s) in a summary form appropriate for inclusion in a Working Paper and publish their findings based on the resultant data.