About the research
Reliable evidence is central to research, policy and public debate on ethnic and religious inequalities – yet racially minoritised communities are often underrepresented in the data that drive this work, a problem known as the ‘ethnicity data gap’.
The Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) was developed to close that gap.
EVENS is a landmark survey designed to better understand the lived experiences of ethnic and religious minority people during a period of unprecedented social change: the COVID-19 pandemic. As the first and largest survey of its kind conducted in Britain, available to access through the UK Data Service, it continues to provide a rich evidence base for research and policy on ethnic inequalities.
Why?
Why is this dataset important?
EVENS uniquely provides robust data for ethnic groupings that are more detailed than the broad groups that have become used as standard in research and policy. This allows more nuanced understandings of experiences of inequalities, and better representation of minority groups.
EVENS also provides data on topics that are particularly relevant to understanding lives of ethnic and religious minorities, that tend to be poorly covered in other data, including racism, discrimination and precarity in employment.
Central to the innovative methods of EVENS is the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners. The collaboration – through design, fieldwork and dissemination – ensures that the data are relevant for addressing ethnic inequalities.
Analyses of EVENS – including in Racism and Ethnic Inequality in a Time of Crisis (free to download) – for the first time reveal the extent of ethnic inequalities in contemporary Britain, the unequal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic which have long-lasting effects, and how experience of and anxiety about racism are a feature of everyday life for ethnic and religious minorities.
Why was this dataset needed?
Ethnic inequalities in Britain have been systematically measured since the 1991 Census first included a question on ethnicity, ushering in an era of attentiveness to ethnic inequality and the data needed to address it. This was consolidated by legislation such as the Equality Act 2010, which introduced a statutory requirement for ethnicity monitoring.
Yet amid this growing body of data, two observations emerged in the late 2010s: ethnic inequalities were not diminishing, and the data available to understand them were recognised as deficient.
Organisations such as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Race Equality Foundation, alongside academics including those in the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE), connected these issues directly – that the persistence of inequalities was in part a consequence of gaps in the evidence used to understand them.
EVENS was developed to respond to these failures directly, generating the large-scale, detailed data on ethnic and religious minority populations that existing sources could not provide.
“EVENS is really important and we’re really pleased to have been involved with it. Surveys focused on ethnic minorities haven’t been done in Britain for a long time. The ambition of EVENS and also the implementation of the survey are to be lauded as a vital contribution to generating better data to address racial justice.”
Jabeer Butt OBE, Chief Executive, Race Equality Foundation
How?
How was the dataset created?
EVENS is the largest and most detailed dataset of its kind ever produced in Britain, with responses from 14,200 participants, including 9,700 people identifying as members of ethnic and religious minority groups. It captures data across a wide range of domains:
- demographic characteristics
- household and accommodation
- social cohesion and neighbourhood belonging
- ethnicity and migration
- socioeconomic characteristics
- racism and racial discrimination
- health
- social isolation
- Black Lives Matter
- attitudes towards the police
- political participation.
The dataset was developed by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) using a partnership-based approach. Collaboration with Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners informed survey design, recruitment and communication. Data collection took place between February and November 2021.
To reach the survey’s target communities, a dedicated website and brand were developed alongside a sustained marketing strategy – including a high-profile online launch, targeted campaigns in ethnic and religious minority media outlets, and extensive promotion through VCSE partner networks.
How did depositing the data with the UK Data Service help us?
Depositing the Evidence for Equality National Survey: a Survey of Ethnic Minorities During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021 with the UK Data Service ensures that the data are preserved, curated and made accessible as a shared national resource – extending the reach and impact of EVENS well beyond the life of the original project.
Furthermore, the skills and expertise of the UK Data Service team ensure that the datasets that are made available meet the highest standards of integrity for robust and ethical research. This includes ensuring compliance on confidentiality and disclosure and maintaining the highest standards in the provision of documentation to accompany the datasets.
Working with UK Data Service also helped us to expand the reach and relevance of EVENS.
For example, UK Data Service supported training for potential data users across Government, policy, community and research sectors. Also, collaboration with the UK Data Service enabled the production of the Evidence for Equality National Survey: a Survey of Ethnic Minorities During the COVID-10 Pandemic, 2021: Teaching Dataset, a focused version of the full dataset designed to support teaching around ethnicity and inequalities.
How did we do something new with the dataset?
EVENS broke grounds in three important ways:
1. Non-probability sampling at scale
EVENS was one of the first large-scale surveys in the social sciences to use a non-probability sampling approach – an open invitation to ethnic and religious minority people to take part, rather than relying on conventional recruitment methods.
This made it possible to capture the breadth and depth of experience previously absent from large-scale survey data. Rigorous statistical adjustment was then applied to ensure the findings are robust, representative and generalisable.
2. Ethnic group disaggregation beyond the norm
Where many UK national surveys report on only five or six ethnic minority groups, EVENS captures the experiences of 20 ethnic minority groups, with sample sizes large enough to enable meaningful, disaggregated analysis for each. This level of granularity is rare, and allows for a far more nuanced understanding of inequalities than aggregate categories permit.
3. Community co-production embedded from the start
Thirteen partnerships were formed with leading race equality organisations across Britain – including the Muslim Council of Britain, the Runnymede Trust, Friends, Families and Travellers, and the NHS Race and Health Observatory. Partners shaped the survey from the outset, contributing to questionnaire design, recruitment strategy and communications – ensuring the survey was relevant to the communities it sought to reach and trusted by them.
This approach generated a dataset that could not have been produced through conventional means, and demonstrated that large-scale, rigorous social research can be built on genuine community partnership rather than extractive data collection.
EVENS presents both a challenge and a model for other data producers. The lessons from its methods are set out in in the recent publication Making racially inclusive data: Lessons from the Evidence for Equality National Survey, offering a practical framework across four areas: community co-production, recruitment, data quality and statistical adjustment.
“EVENS provides something new – in the voices who are represented and the methods used to gather them. The dataset is leading to some very significant new insights, such as on ethnic inequalities in loneliness and mental health. EVENS shows what’s possible if we remain committed to racially inclusive social science.”
Dr Dharmi Kapadia, Director of the Centre of the Dynamics of Ethnicity (University of Manchester)
What?
What did we find?
The EVENS dataset provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date evidence on ethnic and religious inequalities in Britain, with particular insight into the COVID-19 pandemic. These analyses are brought together in Racism and Ethnic Inequality in a Time of Crisis, an open access book presenting detailed findings across seven domains.
Ethnic identities
A substantial proportion of people describe their ethnicity in ways not captured by standard classifications, reflecting complex origins and identities that existing categories fail to represent. Strong ethnic and religious identities coexist with a broad sense of British belonging across most groups, though the relationship varies considerably between communities.
Racism and racial discrimination
Experiences of racist assault and discrimination were widespread – reported across education, employment, housing, policing and public life. Rates were highest among Gypsy/Traveller, Roma and Black ethnic groups, and the pandemic brought further shifts in who faced discrimination and where.
Health and wellbeing
Ethnic minority groups faced heightened risks of COVID-19 infection and bereavement. Mental health patterns varied significantly – with some communities faring better than the White British majority and others facing considerably greater pressures – challenging assumptions about uniform vulnerability.
Housing, place and community
Significant housing inequalities persist across ethnic minority groups, yet EVENS also found strong local attachment and a sense of belonging – a picture more complex than deprivation statistics alone would suggest.
Work and employment
Pre-existing labour market inequalities persisted during the pandemic. For most ethnic minority groups, they were not significantly worsened – but neither did the crisis prompt any narrowing of longstanding gaps.
Socioeconomic circumstances
Financial hardship nearly doubled across many ethnic minority groups during the pandemic, intensifying inequalities that were already deeply entrenched before COVID-19 struck.
Political participation and Black Lives Matter
Despite experiencing sustained adversity, ethnic minority people generally demonstrated high levels of political engagement – though trust in Parliament varied considerably across groups and parts of the UK, reflecting different experiences of representation and recognition.
The data reveal significant variation within groups – resisting simplified narratives and pointing to the need for more targeted, nuanced policy responses.
What are the key lessons for policy and practice?
The evidence is clear: ethnic inequalities are persistent, structural and driven by racism – and policy responses that do not recognise this will fail.
The findings from EVENS sit in tension with the conclusions of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (2021) and the UK Government’s Inclusive Britain response, both of which downplay the significance of the role of racism in driving these inequalities.
Ethnic inequalities interact across people’s life courses – improvements in one area do not automatically translate into better outcomes in another. Institutions must critically examine how their structures amplify ethnic inequalities, and pursue change informed by a racial justice agenda.
The evidence also carries a lesson about timing: periods of crisis – whether the COVID-19 pandemic or the current cost of living pressures and climate emergency – risk entrenching existing inequalities. They should be treated as moments for urgent, targeted intervention rather than deferred action.
Underpinning all of this is the need for continued investment in high-quality, inclusive data – because understanding ethnic inequalities depends on sustained commitments to evidence that genuinely reflects the experiences of the communities most affected. EVENS demonstrates both the value and feasibility of doing so.
What is the impact of the dataset?
The EVENS dataset and research outputs based on it are being used across policy, practice and research to drive action on ethnic inequality in Britain. Its reach – spanning health, housing, parliamentary scrutiny and race equality practice – reflects the breadth of the survey itself.
Health policy and practice
EVENS has become a key evidence base for health needs assessments and strategic planning, particularly for communities historically underserved by national data.
In Leeds, the EVENS analysis informed a Roma Health Needs Assessment (PDF) published in February 2024, feeding directly into the Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board Joint Strategic Assessment (PDF), shaping the region’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy.
Birmingham City Council drew on EVENS in a health profile of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities published in April 2024. Bristol City Council’s 2021 Recommendations on how to address Ethnic disparities in COVID outcomes in the UK (PDF) identified EVENS as a key resource for future work on inclusivity and cultural sensitivity in public health.
NHS South East London Integrated Care Board cited EVENS in its April 2023 Integrated Care Board meeting (PDF) in relation to racial abuse, health disparities and socioeconomic deprivation facing Roma, Gypsy and Traveller communities. Diabetes UK also referenced EVENS in its No One Left Behind 2025-2030 Strategy on tackling health inequalities in diabetes care.
Housing and homelessness
EVENS has filled a gap in evidence on ethnic inequalities in housing – an area where data limitations have previously constrained policy responses.
Research on Ethnic inequalities and homelessness in the UK, with the Centre for Homelessness Impact, draws on EVENS as part of the wider emerging research landscape on ethnic inequalities in housing. It has been referenced in the UK Government’s National Plan to End Homelessness, the strategy setting out the long-term vision to end homelessness and rough sleeping in England.
The Resolution Foundation directly analysed EVENS data in their February 2025 report, Heritage and home, finding that ethnic minority adults consistently spend a higher share of their income on housing than their White British counterparts, even after accounting for age, tenure and location.
Parliamentary scrutiny and equality monitoring
EVENS has informed formal scrutiny processes at parliamentary and national level, providing robust evidence on ethnic inequality to bodies tasked with holding government and institutions to account.
EVENS findings have been submitted as written evidence to parliamentary select committees, including a January 2025 submission (PDF) by the Roma Support Group and Law for Life to the Education Committee’s inquiry into Children’s Social Care.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission cited the EVENS survey in its November 2023 Equality and Human Rights Monitor – its five-yearly assessment of progress towards a fairer Britain – specifically in relation experiences of unfair treatment in the workplace.
The Scottish Government drew on EVENS in an equality impact assessment of a mobile homes pitch free up-rating policy published in June 2024, highlighting that people from Roma, Gypsy and Traveller ethnic groups experience the highest levels of socioeconomic deprivation.
In February 2026, the EVENS dataset was discussed in the UK COVID-19 Inquiry public hearing examining the unequal impacts of COVID-19 on women, particularly in relation to ethnicity.
Most recently, the Scottish Government’s Race Equality Anti-Racism Delivery Plan in March 2026 cited EVENS directly, demonstrating its continued relevance to national equality policy:
“There is a substantial and well-established evidence base demonstrating the existence of systemic racism in Scotland. […] Further research, such as the Evidence for Equality National Survey, document widespread experiences of racial insult, unfair treatment in education, employment, and policing, and significantly higher levels of worry about racism harassment among adversely racialised communities in Scotland compared with England and Wales.”
Scottish Government Race Equality Anti-Racism Delivery Plan
Its inclusion in a national anti-racism delivery plan underscores the role EVENS is playing in shaping the policy frameworks designed to address racial inequality across the UK.
Supporting race equality organisations
EVENS has been taken up by the voluntary and community sector as a practical tool for race equality work – not only as a source of evidence, but as a model for how inclusive data can be produced and used in partnership with communities.
Through the EVENSinACTION programme, EVENS findings were put directly into practice by five VCSE partners – BEMIS, Friends, Families and Travellers, the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, the Muslim Council of Britain, and the Stuart Hall Foundation.
In April 2026, the Race Equality Foundation, CoDE and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation jointly hosted the Advancing Racial Justice: Convention on the State of Data 2026 in London – bringing together policymakers, researchers, funders and VCSE leaders to examine how data can better support racial justice work. You can watch highlights of the event online.
Public engagement and media coverage
EVENS findings have reached audiences beyond policy and research, contributing to wider public debate on racism and ethnic inequality in Britain.
The survey received national media coverage from its launch from Sky News during recruitment in May 2021. On publication of its findings in April 2023, The Guardian published pieces on the headline findings, the experiences of Roma, Gypsy and Traveller communities, and the complexity of racism in Britain – bringing the survey’s evidence to a national audience.
Taken together, EVENS is not only a landmark dataset but a living resource – one that continues to shape how ethnic inequality is understood, measured and acted upon across British public life.
The dataset is freely available to access from the UK Data Service, ensuring it remains accessible for researchers, policymakers and practitioners who want to build on this evidence.
What’s next?
The EVENS team and others will continue analysing the EVENS datasets to interrogate ethnic inequalities, examining their patterns, drivers and consequences.
Methodological development will build on the innovative approaches pioneered by EVENS. The full report from the Inclusive Survey Futures project was published in Summer 2026.
Work with race equality organisations will continue, aimed at better understanding the ethnicity data gap and what is needed to address it.
We are also partnering with CoDE, Race Equality Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to develop a Racially Inclusive Data Charter, which will support and expand racially inclusive production and use of social data across sectors.
Additional information
About the author
Nissa Finney is Professor of Human Geography at the University of St Andrews. She has published and taught widely on neighbourhood change; community cohesion, integration and segregation; ethnic inequalities and housing; and residential mobility. Nissa currently leads the Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) project within the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) and the Community Resilience project with the Centre for Population Change. You can find details of Nissa’s current work and publications via her research profile.
A full list of the research team and voluntary and community organisation partners can be found on the Centre for Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) website.
Publications
- Finney, N., Nazroo, J., Bécares, L., Kapadia, D. and Shlomo, N. (eds.) (2023) Racism and ethnic inequality in a time of crisis: findings from the Evidence for Equality National Survey, Bristol: Policy Press. ISBN 978-1-4473-6884-7.
- Finney, N., Bécares, L., Borkowska, M., Hale, J., Kapadia, D., Shlomo, N., Horn, D., Taylor, H. and Dulout, G. (2026) Making racially inclusive data: lessons from the Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS), Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity.
- Finney, N., de Noronha, N. and BEMIS (2024) Racism, belonging and COVID’s legacy of ethnic inequalities in Scotland, Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity.
- Bécares, L., Taylor, H., Nazroo, J., Kapadia, D., Finney, N., Begum, N. and Shlomo, N. (2024) ‘The persistence and pervasiveness of racial discrimination in Great Britain: capturing experienced racial discrimination over time and life domains‘, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 48, 16, pp.3200-3221.
- Irizar, P., Kapadia, D., Taylor, H., Wafula, G., Kwaku-Odoi, C., Bécares, L. and Katikireddi, S.V. (2025) ‘Associations between experiences of racial discrimination across the life course and mental health: exploring direct and indirect pathways‘, Sociology of Health & Illness, 47, 4, e70023.
- Joshi, M., Finney, N. and Hale, J.M. (2025) ‘Ethical loneliness and the undermining of social capital: how racism shapes loneliness in three UK Asian communities – a mixed methods study‘, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 51, 19, pp.4901-4926.
Research funding and partnerswhe
Led by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE).
EVENS was funded by UK Research and Innovation via Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) grants ‘Exploring racial and ethnic inequality in a time of crisis’ (CoDE; ES/V013475/1), ‘The social, cultural and economic impacts of the pandemic on ethnic and racialised groups in the UK’ (CoDE; ES/W000849/1) and ‘Inclusive Survey Futures: Lessons from the Evidence for Equality National Survey’ (UKRI114).
Partnered with Ipsos Mori, a global leader in survey research, to deliver EVENS and with Words of Colour for strategic communications.