Bremen Initiative to Foster Early Childhood Development (BRISE)

Current Project

Project Management

Speekers of the project group:
Prof. Dr. Olaf Köller, IPN

Head of the project at SOEP/DIW Berlin:
Dr. Emilija Meier-Faust

Project Period

December 1, 2016 - February 28, 2029

Funded by

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

In Cooperation With

IPN - Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education

University of Bremen

University of Bamberg

Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi)

Heidelberg University

Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin

DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Eduacation, Frankfurt am Main

Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB)

The Bremen Initiative to Foster Early Childhood Development (BRISE) is a longitudinal study that systematically investigates the effects of early childhood intervention. BRISE follows socio-economically challenged families in Bremen during early childhood. The support chain links selected support programs beginning at a prenatal stage and continuing until the first year of primary school. The support programs are integrated in everyday life and most of them are already established in Bremen. They are implemented in the family home or in the day-care institution.

Research within the scope of BRISE examines the cumulative effects of a coordinated intervention program on the participating children’s cognitive, social and emotional development. The overall eight years of funding come from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). BRISE employs a quasi-experimental longitudinal research design to gauge effects of the coordinated program on multiple dimensions. Families participating in the intervention chain will be compared with families who decide for themselves in which and in how many of Bremen’s programs they enroll. Over a period of four years, 493 socio-economically and culturally challenged families in Bremen have been included in our sample. Linking BRISE to the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) as well as to the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) further enables comparative analyses with additional high-quality data. The insights gained in Bremen will inform policy on early childhood and can be constructive in providing equal opportunities for all children, protecting children, and promoting their development and participation in society.

DIW Team

Project Partners

Project website

The joint research project is primarily coordinated by the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN). Data collection is conducted by the University of Bremen; the Max Planck Institute for Human Development assisted in setting up the required facilities and utilities (i.e., laboratories) at the University of Bremen. The research foci of the project partners encompass the professionalization of early childhood educators, domain-specific processes in mathematics and science as well as research in the field of developmental psychology and developmental psychopathology. The Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) conducts cost-effectiveness-analyses regarding the coordinated intervention program. The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) is responsible for the linkage of BRISE with the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). To that end, innovative survey methods originating in the SOEP are applied in the Bremen study lab. The University of Bamberg and the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) collaborate in establishing BRISE’s linkage with the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). The two panel studies SOEP and NEPS will be used for comparitive analyses with BRISE. The assessment of early childhood development, in particular milestones in normal development, are the focus of the Heidelberg University. The University of Bamberg, furthermore, specializes in investigating the interaction quality within families as well as day care centers. The Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF), lastly, is responsible for conducting the assessment of children's school aptitude at the time of school enrolment.

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