CLOSER is delighted to announce that we have received £7.5m funding from UKRI’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through to September 2028. The funding will enable us to continue increasing the visibility, use, and impact of social and biomedical longitudinal population studies (LPS), data, and research.
Since our creation in 2012, the unique network of CLOSER, specialist expertise of the team, and the reputation and trust we have built has enabled us to effect change across data, research, and policy communities. Our diverse range of resources and outputs are highly valued and our work to increase the discoverability and use of LPS data, facilitate collaboration and cross-study research, inspire and equip the next generation of researchers, and mobilise LPS research in the policy landscape is internationally recognised.
From October 2024 to September 2028, CLOSER will continue to drive forward our ambitious vision by focusing on four key areas of work:
- Training and Capacity Building: To equip current and future LPS researchers and data services professionals with the knowledge to analyse, curate, and promote LPS data, we will continue to identify and meet their learning needs using a variety of educational modes and state-of-the art pedagogies.
- Data Discoverability: To increase the visibility of LPS datasets, we will enhance and expand the content included in CLOSER Discovery and develop and improve tools and software to reduce the burden of metadata production for LPS studies.
- Knowledge Exchange and Collaboration: To strengthen LPS research by enhancing its communities of practice we will maintain and innovate knowledge exchange between data managers, longitudinal communications professionals, LPS educators, data linkage professionals, and LPS study leads. We will also forge new international connections between organisations working to enhance LPS research outside of the UK.
- Public and Policy Impact and Engagement: To ensure that LPS research evidence informs and shapes public policy discussions and decisions we will mobilise information about the studies and their innovations and results, respond to calls for evidence from policymakers and empower and equip LPS researchers to mobilise their own research confidently and effectively in the policy landscape.
Stian Westlake, Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) said:
“The UK is home to a remarkable set of scientific studies that have tracked generations of people growing up in Britain over the last 90 years. These longitudinal population studies are unique in science and unparalleled elsewhere in the world – no other country has anything like them on the same scale.
“From Children of the 90s and the Millennium Cohort Study to Understanding Society and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, these world-class studies have shaped the word we live in today, informing policies that have demonstrably improved lives across the UK and beyond. They are a major strand of the work ESRC funds and are something at which UK researchers excel.
“I am delighted to confirm that ESRC has extended CLOSER’s funding. A key ESRC investment, CLOSER has established itself as a hugely valuable centre of excellence in making longitudinal population studies data more easily accessible to researchers and policymakers.”
Prof Jennifer Symonds, Director of CLOSER said:
“I am delighted that the ESRC has funded CLOSER for an additional four years, allowing us to continue our work across key areas of training and capability building, data discoverability, knowledge exchange and collaboration, and impact and engagement. We look forward to working with our strategic partners, UK and international longitudinal population studies, research funders, and the wider longitudinal research community.”
Prof Lynn Ang, Pro-Director and Vice-Dean Research at the UCL IOE – Faculty of Education and Society said:
“CLOSER is pivotal for its contribution to the research community as it further enhances the value of the UK’s world-leading longitudinal population studies, improving their discoverability, maximising their policy impact, and building capacity in users. The new, long-term funding reflects the achievements and important work of CLOSER to date, and our long term commitment to the Centre at UCL IOE.”
Notes to Editors
About the Economic and Social Research Council
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government. ESRC funds world-leading research, data and postgraduate training in the economic, behavioural, social and data sciences to understand people and the world around us. ESRC’s work helps raise productivity, address climate change, improve public services and generate a prosperous, inclusive, healthy and secure society.
CLOSER was previously funded by the ESRC and the Medical Research Council from 2012-2017, and by the ESRC from 2017-2024.