The primary objective of the GUIDEPREP2 project is to advance and consolidate the preparatory foundations of the Growing Up in Digital Europe Research Infrastructure (GUIDE RI), preparing it for full-scale implementation as Europe’s first pan-European longitudinal cohort study of child and youth wellbeing. The project focuses on operationalising the Central Hub, advancing legal pathways toward ERIC status, refining financial sustainability models, and securing long-term national commitments across partner countries. Methodologically and technically, it will finalize survey instruments and protocols for the upcoming first survey wave (targeting 8-year-olds and their parents), establish FAIR- and GDPR-compliant data architectures, and build capacity through cross-national peer learning. The anticipated long-term impact is the creation of an unprecedented, harmonised longitudinal evidence base tracking child cohorts up to age 24 across diverse national contexts. This will empower researchers, European institutions, and policymakers to design more effective, evidence-based public policies in education, child health, and digital wellbeing, ultimately improving life outcomes for children and young people.
Project funding:
EU Research and Innovation Funding Programme “Horizon Europe”
Period of project implementation: 2026-10-01 - 2029-09-30
Project coordinator: University College Dublin
Project partners: KU Leuven, Universiteit Antwerpen, University of Iceland, Daugavpils university, University of Malta, STICHTING CENTERDATA, ZNANSTVENO-RAZISKOVALNO SREDISCE KOPER, LISER - LUXEMBOURG INSTITUTE OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC RESEARCH, Manchester Metropolitan University, ALMA MATER STUDIORUM, University College London, Syddansk Universitet, Helsingin yliopisto, Vilnius University, NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET (NTNU), Uniwersytet Kardynala Stefana Wyszynskiego, ASSOCIACAO ISCTE CONHECIMENTO E INOVACAO - CENTRO DE VALORIZACAO E TRANSFERENCIA DE TECNOLOGIAS, UNIVERZITA SV. CYRILA A METODA V TRNAVE, Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Stokholmo universitetas, INSTITUT NATIONAL D'ETUDES DEMOGRAPHIQUES, INSTITUT DRUSTVENIH ZNANOSTI IVO PILAR, DEUTSCHES JUGENDINSTITUT, BUNDESINSTITUT FUR BEVOLKERUNGSFORSCHUNG, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX, Masarykova univerzita, PRIVATE INSTITUTION UNIVERSITY KYIV SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS, Kaunas University of Technology
