Swansea University will be playing a key role in the first new UK-wide scientific study of babies in a quarter of a century.
The Generation New Era study will follow the lives of more than 30,000 babies born in 2026, during their early years, and potentially beyond.
Led by the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, the study is being funded by the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and will feature participants from across the UK. Academics based at the universities of Swansea, Ulster, and Edinburgh will serve as the study's leads in their countries.
Study lead for Wales Professor Lucy Griffiths, of Swansea University Medical School, said the £42.8 million investment will provide vital new evidence to answer important scientific and policy questions, informing decisions about early years and childcare services to help improve the lives of parents with young children across the UK.
With many families facing multiple social and economic challenges, from rising costs to an uncertain job market, the new study will paint a comprehensive picture of family life and early childhood development in all four nations of the UK today.
Generation New Era is part of a long tradition of research council-funded longitudinal birth cohort studies charting the lives of tens of thousands of people over the past eight decades. These include the 1946 National Survey of Health and Development, CLS’s 1958 National Child Development Study, 1970 British Cohort Study and the most recent Millennium Cohort Study.
The study is set to collect data at two key developmental stages – between 9-11 months and again at 3-4 years – providing crucial insights before children enter formal education. It will include a sample of babies born over a 12-month window from 1st January to 31st December 2026 and invitations will be sent to families from next summer 2026.
One of the study’s central aims is to capture the voices of ‘seldom-heard’ groups by boosting the numbers of participants from ethnic minority families, low-income households, and those from across the smaller nations. It is estimated that a third of all babies in Wales, and almost half of those in Northern Ireland will be invited to take part.
Professor Griffiths said: “This study is so important for helping to shape vital policies and services for families across the UK. We are particularly delighted that the sample will be boosted in Wales so more families here have the opportunity to participate.
“We really hope parents of babies born in 2026 will join the study, helping us to support the health and development of this generation, and future generations too.”
The survey team will collect data on various questions from physical, mental and social development during the early years to how technological, environmental and social changes affect early childhood experiences. It will answer critical questions about how inequalities in children’s development emerge and shape life chances.
Generation New Era will invite more than 60,000 children and their families from across the UK with the aim of recruiting 30,000 participants. There will be a particular focus on recruiting fathers as well as mothers and including groups previously underrepresented in population research.
Families living in low-income areas will be overrepresented by up to 15 per cent above the national rates in the general population. Mothers under 25 will also be well represented in the final sample.
This comprehensive approach will ensure the findings are representative of the experiences of families across the country and that comparisons can be made to help all areas of the UK to learn what works best to improve lives and livelihoods.
Generation New Era is part of a long tradition of research council-funded longitudinal birth cohort studies charting the lives of tens of thousands of people over the past eight decades. These include the 1946 National Survey of Health and Development, CLS’s 1958 National Child Development Study, 1970 British Cohort Study and the most recent UK-wide study, which Generation New Era follows, the Millennium Cohort Study.