Longitudinal Study of Young People in England 2 (LSYPE2): Waves 8 and 9

Expressions of interest are invited to deliver two waves of an established Department for Education longitudinal survey, LSYPE2 (also known as Our Future). The contract will encompass survey design, fieldwork, data provision, managing data access and report writing. The Department for Education has an excellent track record of managing high-quality longitudinal studies which have been used effectively to influence policies affecting young people and their families. We plan to build on this success by undertaking additional waves of LSYPE2. LSYPE2 is currently in its seventh wave and here we invite suitable organisations to express interest in conducting waves 8 and 9. Wave 8 will survey only those young people who have been involved in Further Education or are presently in Higher Education (FE or HE) at ages 20/21. Wave 9 will survey the entire cohort at ages 24/25 following a re-contact exercise. A 'keep in touch' strategy will be in place between these waves to help sustain engagement of the whole cohort. Complimenting waves 6 and 7, wave 8 will collect a range of data about the decisions that young people make during FE and HE, their experiences of these phases of education, and their preparedness for work. These topics are of key interest to policy makers, as are the economic and wellbeing outcomes of all young people once they have left education, which will be the focus of wave 9. As LSYPE2 is an established longitudinal study, it will be important to maintain high standards and consistency with previous waves. The sampling frame for wave 8 will be those participating in wave 7. The fieldwork will begin in March 2020. For wave 8 (age 20/21), only those who have ever been involved in FE (excluding school sixth form) or those who are currently in HE will be surveyed using web and telephone surveys. For wave 9 (age 24/25), the full cohort will be surveyed using the sequential mixed mode design of earlier waves. As there will be a four year gap between waves 8 and 9, it will be important to run an effective, annual 'keep in touch' strategy with the cohort will be used to re-engage participants lost to the study in advance of wave 9. As outputs for each wave, we require high quality, timely, cleaned and fully weighted datasets suitable for conducting high quality analysis, and research and technical reports which meet Department standards. THE DEADLINE FOR RECEIVING EOI RESPONSES IS 23:59 ON 28th APRIL 2019