Apply for funding to deliver a project on understanding coverage in UK longitudinal population studies.
£150,000 is available to fund one proposal. Note that this is the limit of the ESRC and MRC contribution. ESRC and MRC will cover 80% of the full economic cost (FEC) of the proposal with any exceptions paid at 100% FEC.
Your project must start after 1 September 2023, with funding to end by May 2024.
You must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for ESRC funding.
For further information please see ESRC’s research funding guide.
Check if you are eligible for research and innovation funding.
As part of the PRUK programme, ESRC and MRC are commissioning an interdisciplinary project to develop a methodology for assessing, on a consistent basis, the coverage of individual longitudinal population studies (LPS).
Supporting PRUK’s vision, the project will maximise the use, innovation and benefit from the UK’s rich collection of LPS across social and economic, and biomedical science.
The project aim is to develop the means to provide consistent, reliable information for potential users to enable them to assess the suitability of each study’s data for different types of research questions across the full spectrum of social, economic and biomedical sciences.
This funding opportunity specifies the use of two of the large population cohorts, UK Biobank (UKB) and the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70), as case studies to be used in developing the methodology. Proposals to undertake this work are invited and will be assessed in open competition.
The budget for this project is £150,000 (80% FEC) across nine months.
Within the wider discussion about coverage, there is current interest in the means to assess to what extent data from existing LPS are suitable for use by biomedical and social scientists to address particular research questions.
The flagship UKB data resource, co-funded by MRC, is a key example of a large cohort that is not widely used by the social science community. Meanwhile there is recognition that ageing birth cohort studies established long ago and designed for use primarily by the social sciences, face the challenge of continuing to sustain coverage of the relevant UK population. Such as BCS70, funded primarily by ESRC.
This is why the examples of UKB and BCS70 have been selected as case studies to trial the methodology developed in this project.
The UK’s LPS are largely dependent on public funds and are intended for use for public benefit. Over the last few years, a number of reports and audits have highlighted gaps in the coverage of data collections relating to protected characteristics and vulnerable groups.
The COVID-19 pandemic and governmental and societal emphasis on inequalities, regional differences in opportunities and social justice, and UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) recent equality, diversity and inclusion strategy have reinforced the importance of equity and inclusion in data collections.
Recent reports have identified that future LPS should be designed, and existing studies should be improved, where possible, to ensure coverage of all parts of the population that they seek to represent. Especially members of vulnerable groups who may miss the benefits that research using LPS will bring.
There is a need for transparency about the degree of coverage of existing LPS and being able to measure this in a recognised way and provide standardised information on coverage. These are important first steps that will help secondary users of data to understand whether a study is suitable for their research or could lead to biases.
The aims are:
To meet these aims, successful proposals will be expected to demonstrate how they will for each of the two LPS datasets, as case studies:
The project will produce the following deliverables:
Requirements regarding monitoring and reporting will be set out in the terms and conditions of the grant award between ESRC and the award recipient. It will be a condition of funding that grant holders provide an interim update on progress.
At the start of the grant, the grant holders will be required to produce an updated timeline, deliverables list and risk register for the investment, for regular discussion with ESRC.
You must apply using the Joint Electronic Submission (Je-S) system.
You can find advice on completing your application in:
We recommend you start your application early.
Your host organisation will also be able to provide advice and guidance.
Before starting an application, you will need to log in or create an account in Je-S.
All investigators involved in the project need to be registered on Je-S.
Any investigators who do not have a Je-S account must register for one at least seven working days before the opportunity deadline.
When applying:
This will populate:
Once you have completed your application, make sure you ‘submit document’.
You can save completed details in Je-S at any time and return to continue your application later.
In addition to a completed proposal, your application must include the following attachments:
Optional attachments:
ESRC must receive your application by 19 June 2023 at 4:00pm.
You will not be able to apply after this time. Please leave enough time for your proposal to pass through your organisation’s Je-S submission route before this date.
You should ensure you are aware of and follow any internal institutional deadlines that may be in place.
ESRC reserves the right to adjust the commissioning process as the funding opportunity progresses.
Applications will be assessed by an independent expert panel who will meet to agree funding recommendations to be considered by ESRC and MRC. Proposals will be assessed on the following criteria.
Delivery criteria:
Management and governance criteria:
Collaboration criteria:
Applicant criteria:
All proposals submitted to this funding opportunity will be subject to standard eligibility checks. Following these checks, eligible proposals will be sent to an expert review panel, who will meet to discuss them and agree a recommendation to ESRC on funding.
Note also:
Commissioning timetable:
For help and advice on costings and writing your proposal please contact your research office in the first instance, allowing sufficient time for your organisation’s submission process.
Email: rebecca.perring@esrc.ukri.org
Email: beccy.shipman@esrc.ukri.org
Please copy datainfrastructure@esrc.ukri.org into all enquiries and include ‘understanding coverage in UK longitudinal population studies’ in the subject line.
We aim to respond within 10 working days.
01793 444164
Je-S guidance for applicants (PDF, 322KB) (funding opportunity specific)
Equality impact assessment (PDF, 166KB)
