Each year Understanding Society gives researchers the opportunity to suggest survey content or a survey methods experiment for the Innovation Panel. The Innovation Panel Competition gives researchers access to the rich household data in the Innovation Panel (IP), and the benefits of testing new ideas with the support of the IP team.
Researchers are now invited to submit proposals for studies to be incorporated into the IP at Wave 18, with data collection taking place in summer 2025. There are two types of proposal that can be submitted:
- New survey content, that can be used to address innovative research questions. The proposed questions can be on any topic, but are limited to one minute of questionnaire time.
- Experiments and methodological tests. These could relate to the design of survey instruments (for example, question wording or item order) or survey design features (for example, procedures to reduce non-response or improve fieldwork efficiency).
There are no costs to successful applicants, unless the proposal includes non-standard survey elements, for example task-related incentives or additional mailings.
The deadline for proposals in 26 March 2024. You can find full information about the IP Competition and the application forms on our website.
What is the Innovation Panel?
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.
Participants are, on the whole, asked the same questions, using the same procedures as the main Understanding Society survey. The IP also includes experiments and methodological tests designed to develop and evaluate survey methods and new content for longitudinal survey research. You can read about some of the past experiments on the IP on our website.
Survey methodology
