GUIDE Governance Structure Established

A governance structure has been established to implement GUIDE (Growing Up in Digital Europe: EuroCohort) (https://www.guidecohort.eu/), the first comparative European cohort study on the well-being of children and young people from birth to 24 years. Its main bodies are the General Assembly, the Partners Forum, and the Board of Directors.

While the GUIDE research infrastructure is being developed, the Interim General Assembly is operating. Initially, it included research partners from 18 European countries; by 2026, the number of partners had increased to 24. In the future, the GUIDE General Assembly will consist of representatives of the state authorities of the partner countries, who will provide the political and financial support necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of the research infrastructure. The Interim General Assembly also includes the GUIDE National Node established at Daugavpils University in cooperation with the University of Latvia.

The Partners Forum is the result of long-term collaboration developed through several European Commission-funded projects: Measuring Youth Well-Being (MYWEB, No. 613368), European Cohort Development Project (ECDP, No. 777449), Cohort Community Research and Development Infrastructure Network (COORDINATE, No. 101008589), and Growing Up in Digital Europe Preparatory Phase (GUIDEPREP, No. 101078945). As the research group at Daugavpils University has long been involved in international collaboration, it leads the GUIDE National Node in Latvia.

The Board of Directors consists of five leading European experts in qualitative research on the well-being of children and young people. It is chaired by Prof. Gary Pollock of Manchester Metropolitan University. The Board meets regularly to address strategic issues related to GUIDE. Acting as the central hub, it oversees the development of the GUIDE infrastructure through three scientific groups: the sample development scientific group, the questionnaire development scientific group, and the life cycle data scientific group. Members of these scientific groups carry out specific tasks and report regularly to the Board of Directors on their progress.

As GUIDE has not yet launched its research activities, funding for the central hub is currently provided through the European Union’s Horizon Europe research programme under the GUIDEPREP project. Although this project will conclude in September 2026, the central hub will continue its operations, as the GUIDE partner institutions are expected to receive funding from the Horizon Europe project GUIDEPREP2 starting in October 2026. The European Commission has a strong interest in the success of the GUIDE study, as it will generate longitudinal data on child well-being across Europe and provide an important empirical basis for policymaking.

This initiative is implemented within the framework of ERDF project No 1.1.1.5/3/24/I/003 "Support for the Participation of Daugavpils University in the Horizon Europe programme".