The Bremen Initiative to Foster Early Childhood Development (BRISE) is a longitudinal study that systematically investigates the effects of early childhood intervention. Early childhood programs for children from socially and culturally disadvantaged families aim to prevent future disparities in cognitive and social abilities. The insights gained in Bremen will inform policy on early childhood and be constructive in providing equal opportunities for all children, protecting children, and promoting their development and participation in society.

BRISE is the first longitudinal study to investigate the effects of a program fostering early childhood development that is broadly implemented within a specified region. BRISE systematically links early childhood and preschool programs into a chain of interventions. The programs forming that chain—home-based as well as center-based interventions—are all integrated into everyday life and most of them are already established in Bremen. The intervention begins in the prenatal period and ends after the children start elementary schooling.

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 first four years of funding come from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); a subsequent 4-year grant period is planned. 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 up to two years, approximately 1,000 disadvantaged families in Bremen will be 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.