The main objectives of this project are organised in 2 domains: A) scientific and B) public. At the scientific level two aims are pursued: substantive relevance and methodological innovation. i) ESS questionnaires are theoretical driven instruments of data collection, built by research teams of different disciplinary backgrounds: sociology, political science, economy, psychology, demography, among other. The selection of the rotating modules follows an international call, where teams composed by a minimum of three scholars of different participating countries are invited to present a proposal of a module on a specific socially relevant issue. Each proposal must be theoretically substantiated, relevant for all participating countries and ground-breaking. These two modules can be new or repeat. For Round 12, 2 repeat modules were selected: attitudes toward immigration (2002, 2014); social and personal wellbeing (2006, 2012). Repeat questions from the two previous Rounds will be crucial for understanding long-run changes in sentiments over the last two decades, the different trajectories of change that they have followed in different European countries, and the extent and evolution of division between different segments of the public within each country. Regarding the module on attitudes towards immigration, Round 12 will fulfil the need to develop our understanding of the causes and consequences of two important trends that previous analysis of ESS data uncovered: a widely observed positive shift in attitudes to immigration, and growing polarisation both within and between European countries. The repeat wellbeing module will provide new data on how the understanding and potential for application of basic psychological needs, optimism, meaning in life, depression, and other wellbeing variables have developed since 2006. It will also allow for the introduction of some new wellbeing questions that can take into consideration recent scientific advances, such as social cohesion and inclusion, harmony, mindfulness, compassion, and safety. ii) From a methodological point of view, Round 12 represents the beginning of a vital shift on data collection modes. Since 2002, data has been collected in a face-to-face mode, involving the participation of hundred of interviewers. Due to the extremely rigorous rules regarding the execution of the fieldwork, costs have been raising Round after Round in almost every participating country. At the same time, response rates dropped and fieldworkers’ capacity has decrease to levels that severely compromise the quality of the final data, and the number of fieldwork agencies able to follow ESS Specifications became minimal, even absent in some countries. To overcome this conjunction of limitations, the ESS decided to shift to self-completion modes (online and paper-and-pencil). By doing this, the ESS is adapting to the growing digital reality, without losing from sight those social groups that are still excluded from that reality. Aside maintaining the high data quality that characterises ESS, another big challenge is to guarantee the representativeness’ of the national samples. B) At the public level, the aim is to contribute to a better knowledge of the Portuguese society and to produce high quality data suitable to inform public policies, journalists, teachers, as well as every person that seeks empirical and objective evidence about social and political attitudes of people living in Portugal.