Roles and Responsibilities
Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Central Statistics Office
The Department of Children Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) work in collaboration to deliver the Growing Up in Ireland Study.
While DCEDIY and the CSO each have these distinct responsibilities in relation to Growing Up in Ireland, their roles are closely inter-related and the two organisations work collaboratively at every stage of the process to ensure the success of this important longitudinal study.
DCEDIY is the study sponsor and leads on the research aspects of Growing Up in Ireland. This role involves:
- consulting children, policy, research and NGO stakeholders on data needs and priorities
- developing potential questionnaire content and standardised measures/instruments
- conducting policy focused research analyses of the data and producing research reports
- organising the annual research conference; and
- promoting the use of GUI evidence to support the development of effective policies and responsive services.
DCEDIY compiles a Research Needs Report to identify priority data needs and propose questionnaire content and standardised measures or instruments to the CSO, for every wave of data collection.
The CSO leads on Growing Up in Ireland data collection, which is carried out under the Statistics Act, the legislative basis for the compilation and dissemination of official statistics. This role involves:
- the design, build and testing of GUI survey questionnaires
- decisions on methodology and fieldwork
- conducting pilot surveys and carrying out each main phase survey
- generating and disseminating statistical outputs; and
- managing, archiving and making the data available to researchers.
- You can find the Memorandum of Understanding between the CSO and DCEDIY relating to Growing Up In Ireland Survey here
Governance of Growing Up in Ireland
The CSO and the DCEDIY have their own distinct governance requirements, and co-operation between the two organisations is overseen by a DCEDIY-CSO Bilateral Steering Group.
The Steering Group is comprised of senior leadership and project management staff from both organisations.
To find out more about the corporate governance structures of the CSO, please go here
Growing Up in Ireland Advisory Structures DCEDIY
DCEDIY has established two expert advisory groups, a GUI Policy Advisory Group and a GUI Research and Practice Expert Advisory group, to help inform the development of the study and to support the use of GUI data and findings.
The GUI Policy Advisory Group
The Policy Advisory Group comprises representatives from across a wide range of Government Departments and public bodies. It meets at least twice a year and is chaired by DCEDIY. The purpose of this group is to help ensure the continued policy relevance of the study and to maximise the policy use of GUI data and research findings. This group:
- Provides expert advice on policy data needs and priorities to help inform the content of GUI questionnaires across key domains.
- Provides expert advice on policy questions, problems and emerging initiatives to help inform the content of GUI questionnaires across domains.
- Helps identify measures which could be used in the collection of GUI data and ensure complementarity with other state sponsored data collection initiatives.
- Inputs into the development of the DCEDIY Research Needs submission for each wave
- Provides feedback on data collection updates from the CSO on progress on GUI work, including development of questionnaires, fieldwork progress, response rates and preparation of outputs
- Provides expert advice to support the production, dissemination and use of policy relevant findings and statistical outputs.
See here for the full terms of reference for the Policy Advisory Group
The GUI Research and Practice Advisory Group
The Research and Practice Advisory Group comprises representatives from across the research and academic community, as well as representatives from across a range of non-governmental organisations working with children, young people and families. It meets at least twice a year and is chaired by DCEDIY. The purpose of the group is to help ensure the scientific integrity of the study, while also ensuring that the study is relevant to respondents and practically useful for organisations involved in services and advocacy for children, young people and families. The Research and Practice Advisory Group:
- Provides expert advice on data needs and priorities for each wave of data collection across the main domains covered by Growing Up in Ireland.
- Provides expert advice on national and international research findings and developments to help inform the content of GUI questionnaires across key domains and the identification of potentially useful standardised measures.
- Provides expert advice on service provision and needs to help inform the content of GUI questionnaires across key domains and the identification of potentially useful standardised measures.
- Inputs into the development of the DCEDIY Research Needs submission for each wave.
- Provides feedback on data collection updates from the CSO on progress on GUI work, including development of questionnaires, fieldwork progress, response rates and preparation of outputs.
- Provides expert advice to support the production, dissemination and use of GUI findings and statistical outputs.
See here for the Terms of Reference for the Research and Practice Advisory Group.
The terms of reference also allow for both groups to meet together.
Voice of the Child/Young Person
It is essential that the voice of the child/young person remains central to Growing Up in Ireland. The study needs to be tuned into the lives of children and young people, both in terms of the survey content, but also to ensure that young participants see it as relevant and remain committed to taking part. The Growing Up in Ireland team at DCEDIY works closely with the Department’s Participation Unit, to ensure that consultations with a broad spectrum of children and young people are undertaken regularly to inform each wave of data collection.
Research Ethics
DCEDIY is establishing a Research Ethics Committee (REC). This REC will have a responsibility for ethical review of the Department’s role in Growing Up in Ireland including the review of research needs reports prepared by the Department for submission to the CSO. (Research Needs Reports identify priority data needs, and propose questionnaire content and standardised measures or instruments to the CSO for every wave of data collection).
