Introduction to the Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS)

The EVENS dataset provides unique insights into the experiences and attitudes of ethnic minorities in GB. Developed by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) in response to the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19, the largest and most comprehensive survey of the lives of ethnic and religious minorities in Britain for more than 25 years, EVENS explores how and why experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic varied according to ethnicity. EVENS used pioneering, robust survey methods to collect data in 2021 from 14,200 participants of whom 9,700 identify as from an ethnic or religious minority.

EVENS data covers: racism and discrimination, education, employment, housing and community, health, ethnic and religious identity, and social and political participation.

EVENS aims to:

• Document the lives of ethnic and religious minorities in Britain during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Provide novel data for analysis of new and changing forms of racism and racial inequality in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and responses to it.
• Explore emergent forms of social, political and cultural mobilisation around racism and racial inequality during and following the emergence of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
• Examine experiences within particular social arenas and institutions (education, health, housing, welfare, culture, employment and business, and policing).
• Work with community, policy and third sector partners to understand how racial and ethnic inequality was being addressed during the pandemic, and to formulate future plans for addressing racial injustice.

In this workshop we will hear from Professor Nissa Finney, University of St Andrews, Director of EVENS and one of the editors of Racism and Ethnic Inequality in a Time of Crisis: Findings from the Evidence for Equality National Survey. Nissa will give an overview of the survey methods and the resulting EVENS dataset, an introduction to research using the EVENS dataset, and an overview of potential areas for future research using EVENS. Dr Jennifer Buckley will outline how to access the dataset, which is freely available from the UK Data Service. The workshop will provide the opportunity for discussion and questions about the dataset.

This free online workshop, organised by the UK Data Service in collaboration with CoDE, will consist of an interactive presentation and Q&A session for those interested in exploring this valuable new resource. Two future events are planned covering teaching with an open version of the EVENS dataset and the technical challenges of making a large non-probability survey representative of the population.

Presenters: Professor Nissa Finney and Dr Jennifer Buckley