The twelfth meeting of the Consortium Board (CB) of the Generations and Gender Programme (GGP) took place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 27 to 28 April 2006. In the absence of John Hobcraft, Chair of the CB, Jenny Gierveld, chaired the meeting.

Questionnaire Development Group 2 (QDG 2)

The GGS Wave 2 Core Questionnaire was presented for approval to the CB. Various new implementations and additional questions have been discussed in detail in the deliberations of the QDG 2. Beside the additional topics introduced in Wave 2, the Ajzen–Fishbein question batteries were removed from the Core and are introduced as a new additional sub–module. The CB endorsed the submitted version of the questionnaire.

Contextual Database Group (CDBG)

Collection of Contextual Data has been completed in Russia, Bulgaria and Hungary. Romania and Lithuania are in the process of collecting the data and it is envisaged the data collection to be completed by August 2006 and April 2007 respectively. Some progress on contextual data collection has been reported from Canada, Portugal and Norway. The standardized contextual data sets can be used for comparative research beyond the scopes of the GGP and as such are available to the broader group of interested scientists (http://www.demogr.mpg.de/databases/cdb).

Administrative Records Group (ARG)

Norway is the first GGP country to integrate a field survey with register data. The Norwegian survey is a combination of two modes of data collection — telephone interviewing and self–administered mail questionnaire. Some legal impediments can be foreseen for sharing the Norwegian GGS data with the GGP community. Survey data could be shared relatively easily, while additional data protection legislation apply to register data.

The ARG will prepare a guideline document for integrating register and survey data. The document will be completed and presented at the next IWG meeting.

Analysis Working Group (AWG)

The first draft of the GGS standard tables was presented to the CB. The work of the Analysis Working Group was commended. The standard tables are work in progress and still require additional standardizations and elaborations. Cross–cutting variables need to be more precisely defined and specified. Each table should be equipped with explanatory notes denoting the total population the table refers to and the application of weights. A general introduction to the tables will also be prepared to document definitions of variables and categories used.

The next draft version of the standard tables is to be completed before the European Population Conference in Liverpool, June 2006. Thorough test of the standard tables using the GGS data and implementation of any comments from the CB is to be completed in the Autumn 2006. It was further agreed that the Standard Tables should be published on the internet after acquiring the permission from the countries.

Panel maintenance

The presented draft of the panel maintenance document has been met with the approval of the CB. An additional chapter for countries utilizing register data was suggested to be included in the document. Helge Brunborg will participate in the preparation of the additional chapter. When the document is finalized it will be included in the Fieldwork Guidelines.

Data dissemination

The proposed outline of the data dissemination activities as proposed by the PAU were accepted by the CB. After the data is submitted to the PAU and all the harmonization and archiving activities are concluded, access to the data will be open to bona fide researchers based on an application that described the planned research.

The legal documents proposed by the PAU were accepted by the CB. Some amendments to the agreements might be necessary. CB members will consult their own legal departments for any proposed changes.

Preparation of the 5^th IWG meeting

The Informal Working Group was renamed to the International Working Group. The change was supported by all the CB members.

The provisional date for the next IWG meeting is second half of January 2007. Slovenia remains as the most probable venue for the meeting. The operational detail of the meeting will be finalized within the discussion between the PAU and the local organizers.

Fresh ideas about the format of the IWG meetings organization are being explored. The meetings will tend to be less technical since the progress reporting is being implemented as an on–line system available to all the IWG members. The new format of the IWG meetings could attract a wider audience, especially from national and international policy makers. This way the usefulness of the GGP in policy–making activities can be demonstrated to them. PAU will produce the first draft of the new format in autumn 2006.