Call for Contributions: The ‘Good Life’ Data Challenge (02/15/26)
Posted: 12/18/2025 (Conference)
The LIVES Centre (the Swiss Centre of expertise in life course research) is launching the ‘Good Life’ Data Challenge, a large-scale collaboration using the Swiss Household Panel (SHP) to address a key question: What predicts the feeling of having lived a happy, meaningful, and interesting (psychologically rich) life thus far?
The call can be found here. The deadline for submissions is February 15, 2026.
We invite researchers from across the social sciences to submit a theory-driven proposal (600-800 words) by February 15, 2026, using the online form provided in the call. Proposals may use any variables from the 1999-2025 waves of the SHP to predict responses to three new items that are currently fielded in the 2025 wave (data will only become available in 2026), in which respondents provide retrospective assessments of happiness, meaning, and psychological richness.
Selected teams will:
- Be invited in spring 2026 to preregister their analysis plans and subsequently conduct their analyses once the 2025 SHP data are released in summer 2026.
- Co-author a collective publication coordinated by the LIVES Centre, to be submitted to a leading international journal.
- Receive CHF 1,000 per team upon submission of the final report.
Please consult the call for the timeline, selection criteria, and links to SHP documentation.
Deadline: 02/15/2026