Title: Cohort and Longitudinal Studies Enhancement Resources (CLOSER)
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: The overarching objective of the leadership team for the Cohort Resources Facility (CRF) is to promote, and increase use of, the unique series of British birth cohort studies. A core aim is to encourage the use of these rich resources for interdisciplinary, and directly policy-relevant, research on major societal issues, such as obesity, ageing and access to health care. To this end, our proposal has a number of components; the objectives for each are discussed below. A major element of the CRF is the development of a Uniform Search Platform (USP) to enable users to retrieve information, about the data available, at the level of the study, sweep and variable, and to search a directory of experts and bibliography of key research papers. The USP will draw on a set of work packages on data harmonisation, allowing users to search for information about variables that have been harmonised across several cohort studies, and understand the methodology involved. Initially the focus of the USP will be on the studies represented by the CRF leadership team, but ultimately, it is anticipated that further longitudinal studies will be incorporated. A key part of the proposed work will be, therefore, to document the process of improving and standardising metadata, the software tools utilised, and the resources required. This will assist the planning of work to extend the USP and involve further studies. The CRF will provide a programme of Training and Capacity Building (TCB) activities covering six major themes: longitudinal study management; data management and linkage; age period and cohort effects; measurement; human growth and development; the life course. Guidance and teaching datasets will be developed to encourage new researchers to use cohort data, and provide training in advanced techniques in cross-cohort analysis. The long term objective will be to create a new cadre of researchers with the expertise to conduct analyses across the UK's portfolio of longitudinal studies. TCB activities will also focus on the crucial areas of study management and leadership. This has had limited TCB investment in the past, and so an objective of the CRF is to share best practice between studies and ensure that a new generation of academics have the skills and experience to lead Britain's cohort studies in the future. The major aim of the CRF's Impact Strategy will be to ensure that research based on data from the cohorts has the maximum instrumental impact and is utilised by policy makers(government and non-governmental) and practitioners to inform decision making. A major objective will be to showcase evidence (and use of evidence) from the studies via activities such as Westminster briefings on policy-related questions and tailored workshops to support capacity building among the government and non-academic user communities (as key routes to policy). An informal user advisory group will be established to provide advice on planned impact activities and current policy issues. Further details are in the Pathways to Impact document. Work packages 1-4 focus on data harmonisation. Their key objective is to create well-documented sets of harmonised variables in specific domains and facilitate cross-cohort analyses. A broader objective is to share learning about the process of harmonisation and the types of approaches that can be adopted to create comparable measures across and within cohorts, thus informing plans and strategies for future data collection. Work packages 5 to 7 focus on data linkage and have two key objectives: (a) to create linkages between administrative, geographical and health data and enhance the existing data from the studies represented in the CRF; (b) to improve the research potential of existing and future cohorts by an in depth study of processes needed to facilitate data linkage, ranging from the seeking of informed consent to the analysis of linked data.

Lay abstract: The United Kingdom has a unique portfolio of birth cohort studies which provide an invaluable resource for policy-relevant research across the social and bio-medical sciences. The overarching aim of the proposed Cohort Resources Facility (CRF) is to enhance their value, use and long term sustainability. Its key objectives are to: stimulate interdisciplinary research across the existing major cohort studies; develop resources that encourage more researchers to use their data ; support training and capacity building among potential users; and, to facilitate communication between the studies so that they contribute effectively to the development of ESRC and MRC strategy. The rich and detailed longitudinal datasets created by the studies enable research which is of direct policy relevance (in the short and long term). A further important role for the CRF will be to ensure that evidence from these publicly-funded resources has maximum economic and societal impact. By following individuals through the life course and by systematically collecting data on their development, behaviour, attitudes and environment, each cohort study makes it possible both to understand trajectories of development and ageing, and to identify how early life circumstances impact on later life outcomes. Each study thus forms a rich, and complex, research resource in its own right. However, strengthening the links between the studies, and creating a more visible and accessible integrated research resource, has a number of advantages. First, the replication of findings across multiple cohorts provides robust evidence on which to base future policy decisions, for example in the areas of public health and education. Second, the portfolio of cohort studies allows for investigations across different geographical areas, generations and time periods, enabling researchers to build an understanding of how varying external contexts may contribute to, or modify outcomes for individuals. Third, there are potential economies of scale and advantages of sharing best practice which will best be realised by building strong and mutually supportive links between the teams directing individual studies. The CRF includes seven work packages (WPs). Four focus on data harmonisation, three of which aim to provide comparable cross-cohort measures of (a) biological function and structure (b) socio-economic resources, and (c) senses (e.g. vision and hearing); a fourth aims to develop standardised strategies for analysing biological samples. Three other WPs focus on linking administrative, health and geographical data to survey data and enhancing further the research resources provided by the cohort studies. A major component of the CRF is the creation of a uniform search platform. This will allow users efficiently to explore the content and design of the studies and better plan research and, in particular, analyses which use data from more than one cohort. A number of existing initiatives and organisations also aim to facilitate access to data from existing surveys, and provide training and capacity building in quantitative methods. For example, the ESRC-funded National Centre for Research Methods at the University of Southampton provides a focal point for research, training and capacity building activities, while the Economic and Social Data Service and the MRC Data Support Service both provide support for the secondary use of data across the research, learning and teaching communities. The leadership team submitting this proposal have close, and complementary, links with many of these initiatives, which will promote communication and collaboration through the lifetime of the facility.

Research activity codes: 2.6 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (AETIOLOGY)
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE