Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study is the largest household panel study in the world which addresses the key scientific and policy questions of the 21st century. It collects high quality annual longitudinal data on individuals of all ages in households representative of the UK population. Such data enables researchers to explore the experience, causes and consequences of changes in people's lives - their family structure, health, income, expenditure, employment and housing - key issues for policy makers today. The Study also has additional samples that allow the detailed exploration of the circumstances of key immigrant and ethnic minority groups; and collects data on cognition, objective measures of health and genetics to understand how people's health and wider circumstances interact. Additionally, the Study invests in innovative ways of collecting data to continually improve the content and quality of data available. Overall, therefore, the Study enables the production of research to inform policy and practice. The Study was inaugurated in 2008 with an Innovation Panel to test methods and the first main wave of fieldwork in 2009. To date four waves of the main study and six waves of the Innovation Panel, as well as data collected from a nurse visit and derived from blood samples, are deposited in the UK Data Service. Data collection and planning are ongoing for Waves 5-8; this bid covers the costs of data collection for Waves 9-11 and associated activities. Based on careful experimental research and evaluation, in Waves 9-11 the Study will move to mixed mode data collection - meaning people will be able to complete the questionnaire face-to-face or online. This maximises flexibility for respondents, but given people may answer questions differently, depending on whether an interviewer is asking them or not, it creates complexities for data users. Crucial to our work will be to support data users to ensure they are able to use such complex data effectively. Policy and research agendas are constantly evolving, and it is important in a longitudinal study to balance creating long series of the same questions with including questions that address emerging topics and make effective use of new approaches to data collection. In this funding period, we will undertake a programme of innovation to bring in new technologies, enabling us to collect better data to address critical social science and policy issues. We will also work with Topic Champions to improve the content of the survey and the way we present the data to users. Supporting researchers in universities, government, third sector and businesses to use the data effectively is fundamental to the success of the Study. We will therefore invest in improving our user support for the Study and sharing the data in different ways to make them easier for different kind of users to analyse. We also have a Policy Unit that directly works with government departments and third sector organisations to ensure that they are fully aware of how Understanding Society data can be used to address their policy concerns and to help them do so where appropriate, and an Impact Fellow who supports both policy users and researchers to work effectively together to generate impact. During this funding period, as more waves of the Study are released to data users, the value of the study will increase significantly as it can be used to answer more questions about the effect of different kinds of changes on people's lives. We will create a wide range of opportunities for users to share their findings - for example at conferences and workshops, through Insights, by promoting publications and case studies on the website and through social media - and by creating an online community of users so that they can engage with each other.

One of the big issues European societies face is the immigration of an increasing number of migrants from various parts of the world. While European states grapple with the management of immigration flows, the challenge faced on the ground is, in fact, the challenge of migrant inclusion and exclusion. Our established paradigms for examining immigration assume that migrants settle in areas populated by white national majorities, or that they join their co-ethnics in so called 'ethnic neighbourhoods'. However, today, new migrants often move into super-diverse places which are settled by previous migrants of various backgrounds. Such areas have also been described as 'arrival neighbourhoods' which have seen long histories of immigration. Although there is a wide-reaching policy and research agenda concerning migrant integration, little is known about the role of long-established migrants regarding newcomers' settlement. They have received scant policy attention and there is minimal empirical evidence on what incoming migrants do when they first arrive and how they find support. The project asks what factors facilitate the settlement and social mobility of newcomers in such arrival areas. It draws on the notion of arrival infrastructures, constituting a concentration of actors, institutions, and organisations which facilitate arrival, and putting the spotlight on the special role played by long-established migrants. What kind of support do long established migrants provide to newcomers? To what extent are particular constellations of AIs crucial for newcomers? Or are there forms of exploitation, for example by providing substandard housing or lowly paid jobs? The project will break new ground in integration theory by moving beyond ideas of 'mainstream society' to which newcomers should adapt, and by putting the spotlight on a wide range of actors in the receiving society, rather than just on migrants. Through a comparison of arrival areas in Dortmund, Brussels, and London, the project will contribute crucial new knowledge about current processes of migrant settlement. It will: - Map formal and informal infrastructural sites in each neighbourhood, ranging from ethnic businesses, to civil society organisations and religious sites. Face-to face surveys, questionnaires and interviews with individuals working in these sites will assess their role in supporting newcomers. - Assess the role of these sites from the point of view of newcomers by undertaking in-depth interviews and walk-along participant observation with migrants. - Assess the role of differing immigration, integration and welfare regimes in each site, including existing forms of inequality in shaping AIs and the ability of long-established migrants to support newcomers. The project will examine a range of AIs indifferent realms: - Public spaces: Squares, transport hubs, markets, parks, playgrounds, etc. - Businesses: Small enterprises, launderettes, Internet cafés, hairdressers, nail salons, newsagents, mobile phone shops, money transfer agencies, cafes, restaurants, etc. - Civil Society: Community organisations, religious sites, NGOs, language classes, food banks, sports clubs, etc. - State: Libraries, citizen's advice, health services, language classes, etc. The project will deliver economic and societal impact by providing new knowledge on migrants' settlement strategies and the role of long-established migrants. It is often assumed that assistance for settlement comes through formal channels, agencies and programmes, and councils often lack knowledge on the informal channels through which newcomers find settlement information. By providing in-depth information of settlement processes and the role of AIs, the project will create an authoritative evidence base for joined-up policy formulation with respect to migrant settlement. In doing so, the project will help to increase the effectiveness of public services and enhance the newcomers' quality of life.