Event

5th Survey Futures Survey Practice Forum

The Survey Practice Forum is where everyone involved in UK social surveys – survey agencies, survey commissioners, survey users

Event time:

29th January 2026 10:00 – 16:30
Event address:

Cardiff Masonic Hall 8 Guildford Street Cardiff CF10 2HL
Format:

offline

Overview

Challenges and Opportunities for Social Survey Data Collection in Wales

The Survey Practice Forum is where everyone involved in UK social surveys – survey agencies, survey commissioners, survey users – can share knowledge, experiences and ideas regarding survey practice.

This event will focus on Challenges and Opportunities for Social Survey Data Collection in Wales, though most of the issues to be discussed will also be of relevance in the rest of the UK.

To enable a thorough exchange of perspectives, plenty of time will be available for discussion and comment.

Programme:

10.00 Introduction to the Survey Practice Forum, Peter Lynn (University of Essex) & Olga Maslovskaya (University of Southampton)

10.30 National Survey for Wales: Evolution of the design and methods, Chris McGowan (Welsh Government)

11.15 Break

11.35 Surveys in Wales

Some reflections from Beaufort Research on the practicalities of survey research in Wales, Chris Timmins (Beaufort)

Some reflections from ORS on the practicalities of survey research in Wales, Kester Holmes (ORS)

12.30 Lunch

13.30 Methods I

Methods for respondent-driven sampling with probability-based seeds: Lessons learnt from the NatCen panel experiment, Olga Maslovskaya (University of Southampton), Luciano Perfetti Villa (University of Southampton), Curtis Jessop (NatCen) and Carina Cornesse (GESIS)

The role of web-first methods, knock-to-nudge and respondent communications in ONS’s future survey strategy, Ian O’Sullivan, ONS

14.50 Break

15.10 Methods II

Can probability-based web surveys be representative of the UK general population, with or without additional modes? Gabriele Durrant and Peter W F Smith (University of Southampton), Pablo Cabrera-Álvarez, Jamie C Moore, Jonathan Burton, Annette Jäckle (University of Essex)

The success of web-first surveys in the UK relative to alternatives, Peter Lynn, University of Essex

16.30 End

This is an in-person event and lunch will be provided.

Speakers

Professor Peter Lynn

Professor of Survey Methodology, Director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), and Director/Principal Investigator of Survey Futures University of Essex
Dr Olga Maslovskaya

Associate Professor in Survey Research and Deputy Director for Survey Futures University of Southampton
Chris McGowan

Welsh Government
Chris Timmins

Beaufort Research
Kester Holmes

Opinion Research Services
Luciano Perfetti Villa

University of Southampton
Curtis Jessop

Director of Attitudinal Surveys and the NatCen Panel National Centre for Social Research

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Curtis Jessop is the Director of Attitudinal Surveys and the NatCen Panel, where he oversees the development and delivery of the British Social Attitudes study and the NatCen Panel, the UK’s first open mixed-mode random probability research panel.
Curtis is an expert in survey research and has conducted research in a wide range of substantive and methodological areas. Prior to this role he has worked on large, mixed-mode longitudinal projects such as Understanding Society and Next Steps. He has also conducted research into combining survey data with digital trace data and was the lead for the ‘New social media, new social science’ collaborative network.
Carina Cornesse

GESIS (Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences)
Ian O’Sullivan

Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Gabriele Durrant

University of Southampton
Peter W. F. Smith

University of Southampton
Pablo Cabrera-Álvarez

University of Essex
Jamie C. Moore

University of Essex
Jonathan Burton

University of Essex
Annette Jäckle

University of Essex