Events

Speaker: Vytenis Deimantas, SHARE Berlin Institute 

On 11 December 2025, the webinar “Following Lives, Informing Policy: How Longitudinal Data Empower NGOs, Journalists, and Policymakers” was held, featuring Dr. Vytenis Juozas Deimantas of the SHARE Berlin Institute.

The webinar introduced how longitudinal and cohort data strengthen decision-making and public communication across public institutions, media, and civil society. Drawing on a life-course perspective, it demonstrated why societal challenges such as wellbeing, fertility, education, employment, health, and inequality can only be fully understood by observing people’s lives over time rather than through single cross-sectional snapshots.

Participants explored how longitudinal data reveal long-term social processes, clarify the sequencing of life events, and help identify when and how inequalities emerge and accumulate. Through European examples and case studies – including research on childhood socioeconomic conditions and health outcomes in later life – the webinar illustrated how early-life circumstances and policy environments shape outcomes across the entire life course.

The session also explained different types of longitudinal data, including panel surveys, cohort studies, household panels, and linked administrative records, and highlighted their value for identifying causal relationships, evaluating policy interventions, and reducing recall bias. Practical guidance was provided on accessing major European data infrastructures such as SHARE, GGS, and ESS, as well as national data archives.

In its final part, the webinar focused on effective communication of longitudinal evidence. It presented principles for translating complex research into clear, engaging, and actionable messages tailored to policymakers, NGOs, journalists, and educators, with an emphasis on trajectories, simple visuals, and policy-relevant narratives.

After the event, participants:

• Understood how longitudinal and cohort data reveal long-term social trends and causal relationships relevant for policy, education, media, and civil society.
• Learned how to identify, access, and apply European longitudinal data sources to support evidence-based decision-making, advocacy, and storytelling.
• Recognised effective ways to summarise and communicate longitudinal research findings to diverse audiences.

Webinar materials

• Slides: Deimantas, V. Following Lives, Informing Policy: How Longitudinal Data Empower NGOs, Journalists, and Policymakers. Zenodo, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17950943.
• Video: Following lives, informing policy: How longitudinal data empower NGOs, journalists, and policymakers – YouTube

This event was organised by ADP – Slovenian Social Science Data Archives and SHARE Berlin Institute.

About the speaker:

Dr. Vytenis Juozas Deimantas is a demographer and research manager working at the intersection of science and policy. His work focuses on population dynamics, social inequalities, and the practical application of demographic and social research in policy and public communication. With over 7 years of experience in managing international research projects, he has contributed to initiatives linking academic knowledge with the needs of governments, NGOs, and data infrastructures across Europe.