The Centre for Longitudinal Studies is holding a series of in-person consultation events in October to seek input from researchers, third sector organisations and policymakers across the UK on plans for a new nationwide birth cohort study – Generation New Era.  

About Generation New Era

Formerly referred to as the Early Life Cohort, Generation New Era will follow a cohort of around 30,000 babies born in 2026. Launching soon, subject to confirmation of funding from the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council and country-level approvals, it will be the first study of its kind in 25 years.

This groundbreaking study will capture valuable information about different aspects of children’s lives in their early years and beyond. With a target wave 1 sample size in Scotland of 5,000 babies, the study is designed to ensure there will be enough power to address research questions specific to Scotland, now and in the future.

Generation New Era’s design will aim to maximise the participation of seldom-heard families. The study sample will have boosts for babies born into disadvantaged and ethnic minority families, and boosts of babies born in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The study will also seek to engage as many fathers as possible in the study as well as mothers, including parents living all or most of the time in a different household to their child.

Join us at this event in Edinburgh to help ensure the study meets the needs of data and evidence users everywhere.

About the event

The consultation event will be co-hosted by Professor Rebecca Reynolds from the University of Edinburgh and the study Co-Directors Professors Alissa Goodman, Lisa Calderwood and Pasco Fearon. After an introductory presentation, participants will be able to join three rounds of small group parallel sessions, where they will discuss key measurement priorities in the following topic areas:

• children’s cognitive, social and emotional development
• parents’ mental and physical health
• children’s physical health (including growth, nutrition and sleep)
• infant-parent relationships and early home environment
• social, environmental and neighbourhood influences on children’s development and health
• inequality, disadvantage, diversity and context.

Cross-cutting themes and plenary sessions will also focus on inclusivity, involving fathers and seldom-heard families and strategies for engagement and retention. 

Who should attend?

This event is open to anyone who will potentially use data or evidence from Generation New Era in the future or who has a more general interest in cohort study data. We’re hoping to bring together a wide range of data users (e.g. academic researchers, charities, policymakers) from different sectors and fields of interest. You do not need to have any prior knowledge of cohort studies to attend – we’re interested to hear from a wide range of people about data and evidence needs.

We’re also holding similar events in London, Cardiff and Belfast.

Why take part? 

This event is an opportunity for you to find out more about our ideas for the new study and to help us refine our plans.  

Your contributions to this consultation will inform the final decisions we make about the study and the data we collect in the first sweep, at age 9 months, as well as the longer-term strategy for longitudinal measurement.

Please come along and have your say.  

If you are not UK-based, or can’t make these events dates for other reasons, there will be other opportunities to get involved in how the new study is developed. Join our mailing list to hear about these.

Register now