Join the ESS Core Scientific Team
Institutions are being invited to join the European Social Survey (ESS) Core Scientific Team – the body that leads the implementation of the survey.
A call for institutions has now been published for three areas of responsibility in the 2025-29 work programme, due to begin in June 2025.
The call is open to new and existing Core Scientific Team (CST) members and will focus on three areas: analysis and training, survey nonresponse and academic impact.
Successful applicants will formally become a part of the CST, currently formed of eight institutions based across Europe.
The deadline for proposals is 12pm (BST) on Friday 4 April 2025.
Analysis and training
A new work package will focus on analysis of ESS data and providing guidance and training for ESS users.
This is being introduced to better understand the impact ESS’s switch to self-completion data collection and to help users navigate this transition.
Round 12 (2025/26) will be carried out by a mixed-mode approach, with half the sample in each country interviewed face-to-face with the other half using completing online or postal questionnaires.
From Round 13 (2027/28), all participating countries will use a full self-completion approach (web and paper) for all data collection.
Proposed activities will therefore include carrying out analysis of ESS’s self-completion and mixed-mode data sets to better understand mode effects and providing guidance and training in an accessible way that allows users to understand how to analyse data collected in both modes.
It is expected that activities associated with the analysis and training work package will begin in September 2025.
Nonresponse
The change in data collection mode will also have implications on survey unit nonresponse – an area that the ESS invested heavily in during the early years of the survey.
This reintroduced area of work aims to assess the types and levels of unit nonresponse error associated with self-completion data collection – for example, the extent to which certain groups are underrepresented.
Once these areas have been identified, the successful applicant will develop strategies for use by ESS national teams to help reduce the level of nonresponse error.
They will be expected to work with the rest of the CST to introduce methods for improving survey inclusivity and accessibility.
It is expected that activities associated with the survey item non-response work package will commence in September 2025.
Measuring and generating impact
Monitoring the impact of the ESS has become an increasingly important task over the past decade to help establish who is using the data and what impact this has within and beyond academia.
These impact outputs are reported in the ESS annual activity report; used for key performance indicators (KPIs) and are made available for national funding councils.
A revised impact work package seeks to build on the excellent academic monitoring conducted to date whilst critically reviewing this with a view to developing an even better approach in future.
Monitoring of academic articles that include significant analysis of ESS data is deemed an essential task and should be incorporated into the new work package, though the amount of reporting should be reduced.
Other possible activities include the creation of impact case studies or impact monitoring activities which would add value to the reporting of the ESS and use of its data.
It is expected that activities associated with the impact work package will start in September 2025.
The final specification for each area of work will be agreed between the ESS Director and the successful applicant(s), once appointed.
More information on all three calls is available from the Procurement section of our website.