PrOPEL Hub hackathons help managers take action to improve job quality

In February 2024, WISERD co-directors, Professor Alan Felstead and Rhys Davies hosted hackathons in Sheffield and Belfast for human resource managers interested in improving job quality for their teams. Organised by the PrOPEL Hub and attended by nearly 100 managers from a range of private, public and third sector businesses, including government departments, social care…

ITV coverage of the 1984-85 miners’ strike

Following our recent event, ‘The past in the present: Reflections on coal mining and the miners’ strike 1984-85’ we were featured on a special ITV Wales programme, which aired on Monday 4 March and looked at how the events of 1984-85 continue to shape Wales’ economy, people, politics and communities. The coverage featured one of…

The Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales publish final report

On 17 January, following a two-year national conversation, the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales published their report. The publication outlined three potential options for Wales’s constitutional future: enhanced devolution, a federal UK and an independent Wales. WISERD Co-Director, Dr Anwen Elias, is a member of the Commission and part of the Centre…

CWPS to lead major new project to support inclusive sustainable development in Rural Wales

A team led by WISERD-CWPS Co-Director Michael Woods has been awarded over £5m by UKRI to establish Cymru Wledig LPIP Rural Wales, the Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership. The partnership includes CWPS members Lowri Cunnington Wynn and Rhys Jones as well as researchers at Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff and Gloucestershire universities and non-academic partners…

Civil society perspectives on AI in the EU

As part of the WISERD study ‘New arenas for civic expansion: humans, animals, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)’ we presented new research at a WHEB event in Brussels last month, that reveals the views and concerns of civil society organisations (CSOs) in relation to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the EU. The European Commission is legislating to…

WISERD presents civil society research to policymakers in Brussels

On 25 January, WISERD and Welsh Higher Education Brussels (WHEB) hosted a workshop for policymakers in Brussels and made a case for civil society research being put at the heart of plans for the European Union. Later this year, members of the European Council will meet to agree the Strategic Agenda for the European Union…

‘‘Nonsense on stilts”? 75 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

In Anarchical Fallacies (1796), the English utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham said that the concept of natural rights was nonsense and that to claim rights not prescribed in the laws of the state was ‘nonsense on stilts.’ He argued that to confuse wishing that we possessed a right with the existence of the right itself was…

WISERD research presented at the Senedd

On 30 November, Professor Mitch Langford, a WISERD co-director based at the University of South Wales (USW), presented WISERD research from the ESRC-funded project, ‘Inequalities, civic loss and well-being’, to the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee at the Senedd. The Senedd’s Areas of Research Interest (ARI) event comprised a series of speed talks made…

Report | The implications of a new legal framework to protect minority rights

Last year, on the 30th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the Special Rapporteur on Minority Rights, Fernand de Varennes, called for a new treaty to better recognize and protect the rights of minorities. On behalf of the Coppieters Foundation, Dr. Anwen Elias has written…

‘The Bridge’ The IDEAL Opera

Earlier this year, the IDEAL team performed The Bridge, a new one-act opera about the experience of living with dementia. One audience member wrote that the opera was “excellent, thought-provoking and needs to be broadcast further.” The IDEAL team have recently launched the film of the English language performance. Watch The Bridge As part of…

Civil society and animal welfare lobbying in India

In October, as part of WISERD’s civil society and animal welfare research, a workshop was held in New Delhi. Academics present included co-investigators Professors Paul Chaney and Sarbeswar Sahoo, along with Research Associates Dr Pooja Sharma and Dr Debashree Saikia (pictured). Our work involves comparative analysis of developments in Wales, Scotland, England and India. We…

Monitoring access to warm spaces

A recently published paper by Dr Andrew Price and Professors Gary Higgs and Mitchel Langford at the University of South Wales has drawn attention to geographical variations in access to warm spaces in Wales. Warm spaces provide an opportunity to help households try to minimise the impact of rising energy bills in the winter months…

Professor W. John Morgan elected Honorary Professor at University of Jordan

Professor W. John Morgan, Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow, at WISERD, has been elected an Honorary Professor, School of Educational Sciences, University of Jordan. This is in recognition of his contribution to comparative and international education and social development. Among his several appointments, Professor Morgan has been Chair of the United Kingdom’s National Commission for UNESCO; a member…

Cardiff is UK’s first UNICEF Child Friendly City

A wealth of social science research expertise has helped Cardiff become the UK’s first UNICEF Child Friendly City (CFC). The prestigious status has been awarded to the city in recognition of the steps Cardiff Council and its partners, including Cardiff University, have taken over the past five years to advance the human rights of children…

‘Demands for independence’: new research explains secessionist party strategy

New research argues Plaid Cymru downplayed its demands for Welsh independence to prioritise vote-seeking goals between 2003 and 2015, and foregrounded calling for independence after 2019, with the new party leadership spurring this shift in the dramatically changed political context of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Demands for independence have increased across parts of…

Covid-19 vaccine inequality found among people experiencing homelessness in Wales, study suggests

A year into the mass vaccination programme, people who experienced homelessness in Wales had rates of Covid-19 vaccine uptake that were almost 20% points less than people of similar characteristics. The study, led by Dr. Ian Thomas, also found that the rate at which the Covid-19 vaccine was provided was slower for people with recent…

Teenage delinquents or digital activists?

One of my first experiences with activism was within a school setting, when I was involved in the presenting of a petition against the dress code in 2019. It was circulated through social media as a Google Docs link and then forwarded to the headteacher. Unknown to me, this had become an increasingly frequent occurrence…

New paper calls for spatial justice approach to address multiple crises in rural Britain

A new paper by Professor Michael Woods has been published in The Geographical Journal. The paper proposes the adoption of a spatial justice approach to understanding the multiple crises facing rural Britain and developing policy responses. It outlines the key dimensions of rural spatial justice and considers its application to analysis of challenges in the…

Dr Anwen Elias shares insights on Corsican autonomy

Dr. Anwen Elias’s insights on Corsican autonomy were included in the Nation Cymru, on 30 September. Corsica has a population ten times smaller than Wales and has three times as many second homes. This has sparked discussions on Corsican autonomy, supported by French President Emmanuel Macron. Read the article here: https://nation.cymru/news/macron-opens-door-for-corsican-autonomy/

WISERD Video

Our new WISERD video provides a fresh introduction to WISERD, including our research networks, collaborative projects with partners and our commitment to capacity building and training. It also gives a brief insight into some of our current research and its impact for society, and our vision for the future.   Full-length video     Teaser…

Disability and trade union membership in the UK

Disability is associated with significant labour market disadvantage internationally but despite arguments that trade unions act as a ‘sword of justice’ and protect the most disadvantaged employees, there has been relatively limited exploration of the relationship between trade unions and disability-related labour inequality. Our latest analysis provides new evidence for the UK with important insights…

WISERD Annual Conference 2023

On the 28th and 29th of June, over 120 delegates, presenters and exhibitors gathered at Bangor University for this year’s WISERD Annual Conference. This year’s theme was ‘Civil society and governance in an age of crisis’. Colleagues from across WISERD’s five partner universities and more came together, and over the course of two busy days,…

Civil society, animal welfare and Brexit

As part of a series of blog posts on WISERD’s civil society and animal welfare research, here we look at the views of campaigners with civil society organisations (CSOs) about the impact of Brexit on animal welfare. This matters, for it aligns with a key focus in the academic literature, namely, how shifting patterns and…

Civil society and animal welfare lobbying at Westminster

As part of a series of blog posts on WISERD’s civil society and animal welfare research, here we look at the views and experiences of civil society organisations (CSOs) lobbying Westminster for better animal welfare. These are emerging findings taken from a series of in-depth interviews with campaigners. This is worth studying because over recent…

Civil society activism and animal welfare policy divergence

As part of a series of blog posts on WISERD’s civil society and animal welfare research, here we look at the “territorialisation” of animal welfare rights and how this is being driven by civil society activism. In other words, civil society organisations (CSOs) successfully lobbying for distinctive laws and policies that convey contrasting protections in…

New analysis: Animals in sport – exploring civil society welfare campaigning

As part of a series of blog posts on civil society and animal welfare, here we look at emerging findings from our analysis of civil society organisations’ (CSOs’) campaigning to ban greyhound racing in Wales and Scotland. This is prompted by welfare concerns and relatedly, because races in these countries are not subject to statutory…

International, Comparative and Action Research: Triangulating Wales with the Basque Country and California

International, comparative and action research can be shaped through an unexpected and highly unpredictable rationale when conducting fieldwork research. In 1946, Kurt Lewin defined action research as ‘transformative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action that employs a spiral of steps, each consisting of a cycle of planning, action, and…

Professor W. John Morgan’s book published in Brazil

Professor W. John Morgan’s book, on the celebrated Austrian Jewish philosopher and educator Martin Buber, Buber and Education: Dialogue as Conflict Resolution,  (with Alexandre Guilherme), Routledge, 2014, has been translated into Portuguese and published in Brazil by the PUCR University Press, Porto Allegre, with the support of the Brazilian National Commission for UNESCO. Martin Buber…

Devolution and animal welfare lobbying: exploring the views of civil society campaigners

As part of a series of blog posts on our research on civil society activism and animal welfare rights, here we share some emerging findings on the impact of devolution in the UK. A key finding from our series of in-depth interviews with campaigners representing civil society organisations (CSOs) is their frustration with Westminster and…

Shifting public attitudes to animal welfare? New research explores the views of civil society campaigners

While academic literature on environmentalism has long emphasised the interdependence and fragility of all life forms on earth, scholarly work on civil society has largely overlooked the position of non-humans. Our research is seeking to address this by examining contemporary civil society advocacy for animal welfare rights in the UK. As part of a series…

Analysis of Plaid Cymru in the media

Analysis of Plaid Cymru and its new leader by WISERD co-director, Dr Anwen Elias and Dr Elin Royles from the Centre for Welsh Politics and Society at Aberystwyth University appeared in The Conversation on 17 July. It was also republished in Golwg on 20 July and the Western Mail on 22 July.    

Soft power, public diplomacy, and modernity in China and Russia

John Morgan, Honorary Professor and Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow at WISERD, based at Cardiff University has written a book review essay which has been published in the journal, Eurasian Geography and Economics. Professor Morgan says: “There is now an extensive literature on the related concepts of soft power and modernity” and this essay reviews some notable…

Job quality is worse for teachers who are expecting an Ofsted inspection, report finds

Teachers in England who are expecting an Ofsted inspection in the coming 12 months have worse job quality and a higher work intensity, according to a report. The study from academics at Cardiff University and University College London (UCL) also showed that the conditions for teaching professionals have barely changed since the pandemic and have,…

New WISERD research on human rights violations in East Africa during the pandemic

I recently presented new WISERD research on human rights during the pandemic at the International Political Studies Association Congress in Buenos Aires. My research findings aligned with the conference theme of ‘Politics in the Age of Transboundary Crises’ and examine how political elites in East Africa used the crisis as a pretext for rights suppression….

Growing up in Wales: Navigating Uncertain Times I Evidence from the WISERD Education Multi-Cohort Study

At the end of the 2021-22 school year, we surveyed young people in Years 8, 10 and 12 about their experiences of returning to school. The pandemic has contributed to a high number of school absences and challenging behaviour in the classroom and we asked the pupils about issues relating to absences and how they…

Welsh children’s subjective well-being during the pandemic ranks below average in international survey

In my previous Children’s Worlds project blog posts, we looked at the impact of the pandemic on Welsh children’s well-being in relation to school and whether they live in urban or rural areas of Wales. For this third and final instalment, we now turn our attention to how the overall level of subjective well-being for…

Research grant success for academic and practitioner partnership

Dr Elizabeth Woodcock is Research Fellow on the Social Prescribing Community of Practice research project. The project is led by Dr Koen Bartels, Associate Professor at the Institute of Local Government (Inlogov), University of Birmingham. The main research partner is The Active Wellbeing Society, a Community Benefit Society established in 2017 from Birmingham City Council’s…

The S.S. Empire Windrush and Colin MacInnes’ The London Trilogy and England, Half English

The 75th anniversary on the 22nd June this year of the arrival in Britain of the S.S. Empire Windrush has prompted me to re-read Colin MacInnes’ The London Trilogy, comprising City of Spades (1957), Absolute Beginners (1959) and Mr Love and Justice (1960). MacInnes, who died in 1976, was an English writer and journalist, who…

Gender pay and career progression gap widens with experience in the teaching sector in Wales

Recent analysis from ADR Wales’ researchers used administrative data to estimate career progression and pay differences among female and male teachers and school leaders in Wales. Using anonymised administrative data from the 2019 and 2020 School Workforce Annual Census (SWAC), ADR Wales education researchers found that 77% of the qualified teacher workforce was female, however: 15% of male…

Missed out: the households experiencing multiple deprivation in the least deprived areas in Wales

The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) is the Welsh Government’s official measure of relative (‘ranked’) deprivation for small areas in Wales. WIMD is used by government and other organisations to target services to address social disadvantage. For example, as part of their programme to increase access to higher education, the Higher Education Funding Council…

Is job quality better or worse after the pandemic?

In a new, open access paper, Rhys Davies and Professor Alan Felstead share insights from quiz data collected before and after Covid-19 to examine what short-term effects the pandemic has had on job quality in the UK. The results show that non-pay-related job quality has improved, differences between occupations have shrunk and the growth of…

Young people posting daily social media content and in regular contact with internet-only friends could be at risk for poorer wellbeing

Dr Emily Lowthian is a lecturer at Swansea University in the Department of Education and Childhood Studies in the School of Social Sciences. Emily presented her research with Dr Rebecca Anthony, Georgia Fee at a WISERD lunchtime seminar in March. Online communication behaviours, such as social media use, are often received negatively in the mass…

Dr Igor Calzada awarded funding by the Learned Society of Wales

Principal Research Fellow, Dr Igor Calzada has been awarded a Learned Society of Wales grant to take forward his transdisciplinary social sciences research on Wales and Basque Country cooperation with an online workshop on 5 May. Wales and the Basque Country share some interesting commonalities in their development, allowing for opportunities to discuss devolution and…

Offering a sporting chance: new techniques could help plan the provision of recreation facilities to improve participation

Our previous studies examining variation in access to sporting facilities in relation to socio-economic patterns in Wales have been predicated on an assumption of private travel as the means of transport. We are now including travel distances and times for alternative modes of transport as part of our accessibility calculations. These are derived from an…

Welsh children less satisfied with school during the pandemic than before it

This blog post is the second part of a series presenting preliminary findings on children’s well-being in Wales before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. It uses data from the International Survey of Children’s Well-Being (ISCWeB) – Children’s Worlds, a worldwide survey on children’s subjective well-being, with this wave comprising 20 countries in total. The survey…

Volunteers’ role in tackling community divides discussed by Commissioner

The role of voluntary organisations in tackling polarisation in local communities will be discussed by the Future Generations Commissioner in Aberystwyth next month. Aberystwyth University academics from the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) will jointly host a symposium with partners from the Voluntary Sector Studies Network on Wednesday 24 May…

Head / Heart: Framing Future Wales

Exhibition held at the Bandstand, Aberystwyth 13 –15 April 2023 This exhibition was the first related to our ongoing project that uses photography to understand how people think about independence in Wales, Scotland and Catalonia. For these nations, becoming independent would mean leaving the state which they are currently a part of (the UK and…

Call for Papers: Migration Research Wales Network – Early Career Researcher and Postgraduate Symposium

Migration Research Wales Network is pleased to announce a one-day symposium for postgraduates and early-career researchers (self-defined) working on aspects of migration in Wales or based at Welsh institutions. The aim of the online symposium is to provide a supportive environment for researchers to share ideas on draft work and receive constructive comments. Each contributor…

WISERD researchers present findings on teachers’ job quality

Katy Huxley, Alan Felstead (WISERD) and Francis Green (UCL) presented the first results of their research on the changing job quality of teachers to a fringe event at the National Education Union (NEU) annual conference in Harrogate today (3 April 2023). The evidence is based on a research project carried out by WISERD at Cardiff…

Research on rural support for disruptive political movements wins major European grant

The relationship between voter discontent in rural areas and support for disruptive political movements in Europe and the United States will be explored in a major study by a Aberystwyth University professor, following the award of a prestigious grant. Professor Michael Woods has secured funding of nearly €2.5 million from the European Research Council (ERC)…

It’s time to rethink what citizen science really is

Citizen science is a popular method of gathering data for natural and social scientists, with the number of projects and publications produced growing year by year. A typical citizen science project uses volunteers to gather data that would otherwise be unaffordable or inaccessible. But, based on the evidence we gathered during our study of a…

How far can you travel from where you live by different modes of transport? Understanding Welsh Places now shows you

It probably comes as no surprise to hear that you can travel further in less time when travelling by private transport, such as in a car, than by public transport using a bus or a train. However, have you ever wondered what this difference looks like visually for the place where you live or work?…

Ben Bowen Thomas, Wales, and UNESCO

A new paper by Professor W. John Morgan, Honorary Professor, School of Social Sciences, and Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow, WISERD, at Cardiff University, considers the life and career of the prominent Welsh adult educator, civil servant, and cultural diplomat, Sir Ben Bowen Thomas (1899-1977). Professor Morgan was Chair of the United Kingdom National Commission for UNESCO,…

6th Foundational Economy Conference: Exploring the Foundational Economy for a Just Transition

14-16 September 2023 University of Technology, Vienna (TU Wien), Austria Call for Papers and Contributions From the 14-16 September 2023 we welcome the 6th Foundational Economy Conference in the heart of Vienna! During the course of our conference there will be keynote speakers and plenary sessions, parallel sessions as well as working groups and city…

Congratulations Professor Mitchel Langford

Many congratulations to WISERD Co-director Mitchel Langford who has been successful in the latest Higher Academic Awards appointments Mitchel Langford has been conferred the title of Professor in Spatial Analysis and Geo-informatics at the University of South Wales. Mitch’s research interests include geographical accessibility modelling and geospatial analysis in the fields of healthcare, social inequality…

New research examines effectiveness of careers guidance and how it is prioritised

New research carried out by ADR Wales has examined the effectiveness of careers guidance in supporting participation in post compulsory education and training and how careers guidance is prioritised. The work, which was undertaken by ADR Wales researchers Dr Katy Huxley and Rhys Davies, used anonymised Careers Wales data to examine how the provision of careers support to key stage…

Everything starts with a seed…

Everything starts with a seed… and so did our adventures as a fledgling research team based in the UK and South Africa, brought together through the British Council Farming for Climate Justice programme 2021-2022, coordinated by a transdisciplinary team of experienced researchers from the Centre for Agroecology, Water & Resilience (CAWR) at Coventry University and…

The ongoing impact of gender pay gap transparency legislation

Since April 2017, UK employers with over 250 employees have been required to annually report their gender pay gap to the public. The introduction of pay transparency legislation is undoubtably one of the most significant policy developments aimed at tackling the gender pay gap worldwide. The original publication comprised 10,000 organisational gender pay gaps, attracting…

Dr Igor Calzada successfully culminates his role as Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence in California

Dr Igor Calzada, Principal Research Fellow at WISERD, has completed his role as Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (S-I-R) 2022-23 at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) via the US-UK Fulbright Commission. Dr Calzada was formally welcomed by the university during a reception on 10th October 2022 (you can read the interview conducted before the event, watch the video…

International survey sees Welsh children in urban areas report decrease in overall well-being during pandemic

There is no denying that the disruption to daily life caused by the coronavirus pandemic had a profound influence on children’s well-being, with various international organisations (eg, WHO, UNESCO, WFP, UNICEF) requesting that more be done to assist children in coping with this, to  avoid long-term negative consequences. In Wales, data from the 2021 International…

Wales Housing Research Conference 2022

On December 19th, the 2022 Wales Housing Research Conference took place at Cardiff University’s Glamorgan Building, allowing delegates to come together and share research evidence relating to some of the most pressing Welsh housing issues. Co-hosted by WISERD’s Wales Housing Research Network, the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence, and Shelter Cymru, this year’s conference…

Effect of Economic Turbulence on the Experience of Work to be Investigated in Study

The experiences of workers will be investigated as part of a major survey led by Cardiff University and funded mainly by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The Skills and Employment Survey 2023 (SES2023), which also involves researchers at UCL, the Universities of Oxford and Surrey and the National Centre for Social Research, will…

Comparing the changing fortunes of trade unions across Great Britain

In our last blog post we looked at how WISERD’s free interactive mapping tool UnionMaps reveals the complex patterns in trade union membership that exist across Great Britain. Analysis revealed that the overall downward trend in union density that is observed across Great Britain as a whole masks very different local fortunes for the trade…

Mapping the uneven decline of union membership in Great Britain

Recent waves of strike action by nurses, train drivers, ambulance drivers, university lecturers, teachers and others besides has highlighted the prominent position that trade unions continue to hold within the UK. An important factor that determines the power and influence of trade unions, either within an organisation or across a sector, is the proportion of…

Mode of transport influences access to recreational opportunities

A new WISERD paper by Andrew Price, Mitchel Langford and Gary Higgs at the University of South Wales has recently been published in the journal, Case Studies on Transport Policy. Using sports facility data from Sport Wales and open-source data on green spaces, the team examine variations in potential access to recreational opportunities by different…

IMAJINE Scenarios presented to EU Cohesion Policy Conference

Professor Michael Woods presented findings from the CWPS-WISERD-led Horizon 2020 project IMAJINE to the Third Joint EU Cohesion Policy Conference in Zagreb in November. Jointly organized by the European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG-Regio), the Regional Studies Association and the Croatian Government, the conference brought together 150 academics, EU policymakers and member…

New WISERD report on North Wales Growth Deal

As part of WISERD’s ESRC-funded Civil Society Centre research programme, a team of WISERD researchers have published a new report on the process of developing and implementing the North Wales Growth Deal (NWGD), based on observations from a series of interviews with stakeholders between July-December 2021. Fifteen remote interviews were conducted by three researchers: Dr…

Launch Conference for Foundational Alliance Wales

With over 40 delegates and more presenters and delegates joining online, the hybrid conference launched the Foundational Alliance project of building alliances for change and foundational renewal in Wales. A combination of presentations and workshop discussions highlighted foundational objectives and ways of working which can sustain household liveability and responsible providers within planetary limits.

Welsh teachers lose hundreds of working hours acting as translators

Hundreds of working hours are wasted due to schoolteachers lacking a centrally shared language resource. Despite recent developments in use of the virtual learning platforms like Hwb (available to Welsh schools for free since 2012), teachers lacking Welsh-language resources for their classroom are unable to access translations of other resources. Under the current system, if…

New paper on ‘Refugees, race and the limits to rural cosmopolitanism’ in Wales and Ireland

CWPS-WISERD Co-Director Professor Michael Woods has published an open access paper in the Journal of Rural Studies which examines the settlement of refugees and asylum seekers in three small towns in Wales and Ireland, including Aberystwyth and Newtown. The paper builds on an earlier article that introduced the idea of ‘precarious rural cosmopolitanism’, arguing that…

New paper highlights the impact of industrial transformation in rural areas

A new paper in the Journal of Rural Studies reports on research from the ERC Global-Rural project led by CWPS-WISERD to examine the industrial transformation of a village in eastern China in the context of globalization. Co-authored by CWPS-WISERD Co-Director Professor Michael Woods with former CWPS-WISERD post-doc Dr Francesa Fois (now at Salford University), Professor…

20th Anniversary of the ESRC Festival of Social Science

To celebrate 20 years of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Science, WISERD hosted two events at this year’s Festival, which aimed to highlight one of our ongoing education research projects and a useful data tool that helps us to better understand our towns and local areas. We began with a…

Discussing and dealing with issues of race and racism: WMCS survey reveals wide variations between schools in Wales

In October 2022, the Welsh Government announced that anti-racist professional learning would be mandatary for all school teachers in Wales as part of its Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan. Evidence from the latest sweep of the WISERD Education Multi-Cohort Study (WMCS) suggests that such universal and compulsory training is badly needed. In the summer of 2022,…

Strengthening Welsh democracy discussed at media conference

CWPS-WISERD Co-Director will discuss how to strengthen democracy in Wales at a high-profile media conference this week. ‘Citizens’ Voices, People’s News: Making the Media Work for Wales’ takes place at the Institute of Welsh Affairs in Cardiff on Thursday 17 November, and features keynote speeches from Welsh Government Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn…

Roma, Gypsy and Traveller civil society organisations: Exploring experiences and challenges in Europe today

On the 28th and 29th September, delegates from civil society organisations attended our event at Bangor University, exploring Roma, Gypsy and Traveller experiences and challenges in Europe today. Over the course of two days, this event brought together civil society organisations, academics policymakers and community members. We were very pleased to welcome two keynote speakers…

WISERD researchers create new website to examine access to key services in Wales

A prototype website has been developed by WISERD researchers based at the GIS Research Centre at the University of South Wales (USW) which examines access to key services in Wales. This is part of an ongoing research programme investigating geographical access to services in Wales. The website allows users to see indicators of accessibility to…

Poverty in the classroom: School pupils in Wales are acutely aware of hardships experienced by their classmates

There is widespread and growing concern that the increasing cost of living will severely impact on the poorest families and communities this winter. Things were pretty bad last winter. A report by the Bevan Foundation revealed that nearly four in 10 Welsh households struggled to make ends meet. The Bevan Foundation’s Snapshot of Poverty this…

New research examines impact of devolution on social policymaking in Wales

A new book features research by WISERD co-director, Professor Paul Chaney on the impact of devolution on social policymaking in Wales. “Social policy” here refers to government policy interventions to improve social well-being. It includes most of the policy areas devolved to Wales under successive devolution Acts since 1998, including health, housing, education, youth justice, social…

A new report provides recommendations on the better use of data to inform careers guidance in Wales

A recent report published by Welsh Government highlights the benefits and limitations of enhanced data utilisation to deliver careers services in Wales.   Welsh Government commissioned ADR Wales researchers to undertake a study to examine the policy and legislative context within which the national careers provider, Careers Wales operates, the utility of data holdings of Careers Wales and other organisations,…

The IDEAL Webinar Series 2022-2023

Led by academic partners at Exeter University, IDEAL (Improving the experience of dementia and enhancing active life: living well with dementia) is a large-scale dementia research project which began in 2014 and ends in 2023. WISERD has contributed to the IDEAL study, with the aim of understanding the reasons why particular social and psychological factors…

‘The World Turned Upside Down’ film released

Today (23rd September) marks the launch of a documentary film about dementia and communication called ‘The World Turned Upside Down’. The film comes from a large-scale dementia research project called IDEAL (Improving the experience of dementia and enhancing active life: living well with dementia), which WISERD has been involved in since its beginnings in 2014….

WISERD Annual Conference 2022

On the 6th and 7th of July, over 140 delegates, presenters and exhibitors from across WISERD’s five partner universities and beyond gathered at Swansea University to hold the first WISERD Annual Conference since the start of the pandemic. The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Civil society and participation: issues of equality, identity and cohesion in…

Engagement with the Hwb virtual learning environment during Covid-19 school closures

A new Data Insight from Dr Alexandra Sandu and Dr Jennifer May Hampton from the WISERD Education Data Lab and produced by the ADR Wales education research team is now available: Engagement with the Hwb virtual learning environment during Covid-19 school closures. This report outlines preliminary findings on engagement with the Hwb virtual learning environment…

New civil society research highlights state repression of human rights defenders in South Asia

New research by WISERD co-director, Professor Paul Chaney examines state and civil society organisation (CSO) perspectives on the contemporary situation of human rights defenders (HRDs) in South Asia using data submissions to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the United Nations five-yearly monitoring process. “Human rights defender” refers to anyone acting to: address any human right on…

New article published on measuring accessibility to banking services

A new, open access journal article on measuring accessibility to banking services by Dr Mitchel Langford, Andrew Price and Professor Gary Higgs from the University of South Wales, has been published in the ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information. The article demonstrates how accessibility can be measured to bank branches by different times of day and…

Citizen science group welcomes next stage in investigations of local air quality

Cardiff University researcher, Dr Nick Hacking, along with members of the Barry Citizen Science Group, recently oversaw the installation of a high-quality air pollution monitor from Think Air Ltd, which marked a new stage in the group’s investigations of local air quality. This ongoing investigation by the local community group is the focus of a…

From the House of Lords to a Senate of the Nations and Regions?

On 4 July It was reported on the Welsh news website Nation-Cymru, that Anas Sarwar, the leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, and a member of the Scottish Parliament, has called for a new Senate of the Nations and Regions to replace the House of Lords. Speaking to the Fabian Society at Westminster, Anas…

ROBUST: Envisioning the future for rural Wales

The Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit together highlighted many of the challenges facing rural Wales, from poor accessibility to services and youth out-migration to the over-concentration of tourism and reliance on European export markets. At the same time, as Wales navigates the post-pandemic recovery and designs post-Brexit policies and programmes, there are opportunities to approach problems…

A decade after deadly Ali Enterprises fire, Pakistan’s garment workers report shocking lack of fire exits

New research from the Clean Clothes Campaign and WISERD at Cardiff University reveals the urgent need for expansion of the International Accord in Pakistan, a legally binding safety agreement to protect workers. 2022 marks 10 years since the horrific Ali Enterprises fire that killed over 250 garment workers in Pakistan yet rights for workers in…

IMAJINE: Rethinking territorial inequalities through spatial justice

The persistence of inequalities between regions despite over three decades of interventions under the EU Cohesion Policy is a wicked problem for Europe and there is growing appetite to rethink approaches. Over the last six years, WISERD at Aberystwyth University has been leading a major project, IMAJINE (Integrative mechanisms for addressing spatial justice and territorial…

Response to Covid-19 in Wales may have helped limit infection among people experiencing homelessness

Researchers associated with WISERD working at the Administrative Data Research Centre Wales have been looking at coronavirus infection rates among people experiencing homelessness in Wales. Their research was in response to concerns from the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic of possible high rates of infection, hospitalisation, and death amongst homeless populations. Experiencing homelessness potentially means…

Alan Felstead gives evidence to the Senedd

On 11 July 2022, Professor Alan Felstead gave evidence to the Equality and Social Justice Committee on legislation currently before the Senedd. The legislation puts social partnership at the heart of the Welsh government’s approach to how it, and public bodies it supports, promote the well-being of its citizens. This approach follows recommendations given by…

sbarc|spark launch celebrates innovation

Luminaries from the worlds of social science research, government, industry and the voluntary sector gathered to mark the arrival of sbarc|spark – Cardiff University’s Home of Innovation. Described as a ‘society’s superlab,’ the building locates the research groups and external partners that comprise SPARK – the world’s first social science research park – alongside spinouts,…

Understanding Geographical Variation in Union membership: a patchwork quilt or a regional divide?

Today (25th May), the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) released its latest figures for trade union membership. The long-term downward trend in union membership in the UK is well known.  Based on union records, trade union membership within the UK peaked in 1979 at approximately 13.2 million. Since then, there has been…

Professor Sally Power on BBC Radio Wales Sunday Supplement

Professor Sally Power joined Vaughan Roderick on 15th May 2022 for the BBC Radio Wales Sunday Supplement. The programme features political news, discussions and analysis, plus a round-up of the Sunday papers. As a guest reviewer of the papers, Professor Power discussed a variety of current affairs, including fairness in education. You can listen to…

New research reveals civil society perspectives on LGBT+ rights violations in Caribbean Community countries

As part of the project Trust, human rights and civil society within mixed economies of welfare in WISERD’s civil society research programme, I’ve been analysing the human rights situation of LGBT+ people in Caribbean Community countries – alternatively known as CARICOM. Founded in 1973, it is an organisation of fifteen states and dependencies designed to…

The more types of special education needs a pupil has, the more at risk of exclusion they are

The presence of special education needs (SEN) and variations in school-level provision can cause disruptions in a pupil’s educational journey, especially when that child’s needs change as they progress through key stages. This may especially be the case when pupils have multiple needs, including mental health and communication difficulties. Furthermore, gaps between the time of…

‘Sustain our Common Humanity’

Professor John Morgan makes the plea ‘Sustain our Common Humanity’ in his latest addition to international journal, Weiterbildung. The article considers examples of idealism and realism in international intellectual cooperation and educational exchange. Professor John Morgan will also give a presentation on this subject, on 7th June 2022, as part of the WISERD online seminar…

Dr Igor Calzada awarded Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence

Dr Igor Calzada has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (SIR) at California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB) for the 2022-2023 academic year by the U.S. Department of State and coordinated by US-UK Fulbright Commission. The Fulbright SIR Program review committee convened by IIE’s Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) and Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB)…

Deprived areas hit hardest by changes in access to bus services during the pandemic

Public transport was severely impacted during COVID-19 as people’s daily mobility patterns changed. This led to a substantial drop in demand as many workers were instructed to work from home and social distancing measures were introduced on existing services. Department for Transport statistics show a decline from 91 to 26 million passenger journeys on local…

I Remember Mariupol: A civil society destroyed

I remember Mariupol. I visited the Russian-speaking port of around 500,000 people in the summer of 1983. It was then Zhdanov, a city of the Soviet Union on the Sea of Azov, adjacent to the Black Sea. Named, as were many Soviet cities and towns, after a prominent Communist: Andrei Zhdanov, a close associate of…

Examining the Welsh third sector response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis

This latest blog post in WISERD’S series on the Ukraine crisis examines what we know so far about the response of the third sector in Wales. The prevailing Welsh policy framework and emerging actions of the third sector matter – foremost for the welfare of Ukrainian refugees arriving in Wales – and allied to this,…

The pandemic and beyond – latest findings from the WISERD Education Multi Cohort Study

Latest data gathered as part of the WISERD Education Multi Cohort Study (WMCS) reveal the heightened levels of anxiety experienced by young people during lockdown and the ongoing effects of growing up in Wales post-pandemic. Nearly all (93%) of pupils felt the pandemic had affected their learning and over half (57%) think Covid will reduce…

Student talent network to be expanded after WISERD review

The Welsh Government have announced plans to expand their pilot network for high achieving school pupils. WISERD and ADRC-Wales researchers Rhys Davies and Dr Suhaer Yunus contributed to the OB3 Research evaluation of the Seren Network, which helps Wales’ brightest sixth formers gain access to top universities across the world. The report found that the…

How the Ukraine crisis is laying bare the consequences of the proposed new rights regime in the UK

The situation in Ukraine is changing hourly but the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas, the brutality of laying sieges to cities and the recklessness of attacks on nuclear facilities are likely to continue, as will the untold suffering and mass population movements among the Ukrainian people. Responses by Western governments, in terms of economic sanctions,…

In Russia, the opposition to Putin may come from civil society

The murderous onslaught on sovereign Ukraine by Putin and his ruling clique of siloviki, or former members of the security services, has made the world aware of the enormities characterising his regime. We already had plenty of evidence of ruthlessness: Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, fomenting ethnic division in Donbass, and the Crimea. Putin, a KGB foreign intelligence…

Investigating geographical inequalities in access to residential and nursing home provision

A new WISERD paper draws attention to how geographical approaches can contribute to an understanding of inequalities in access to nursing and residential care places in Wales. This research has been carried out by WISERD co-directors, Professor Gary Higgs and Dr Mitchel Langford, along with WISERD Associate, Professor Mark Llewellyn, Director of the Welsh Institute…

Sparking Connectivity

Cardiff’s new sbarc|spark hub will bring together researchers to connect across social science research disciplines to create new ways of working. Professor Sally Power, WISERD, recently published a paper examining calls for an ‘evidence ecosystem’ to address the disconnect between university-led education research, and education policy and practice. Here, she shares thoughts on what the Social…

Smart Citizen kits provide residents with the opportunity to investigate local air quality

Since February 2021, we have been working with a community group in South Wales who are concerned about the air quality in their local area. We have adopted a participatory approach that facilitates the group’s work, but which also recognises the expertise of individual members and tracks how the group develops, shares and uses this…

‘Towards Justice’ report calls for joined-up approach to supporting victims of past harms

A new report from the educational charity Cumberland Lodge calls on police, politicians, and policymakers to take a more joined-up approach to responding to past harms – and place the needs of victims, survivors, and their families at the heart of this. A key recommendation in Towards Justice: Law Enforcement & Reconciliation by Martina Feilzer (WISERD co-director), Professor…

Complex special education needs – type and timing are important factors

Characteristics closely linked to educational outcomes can vary by individual pupils’ situations and can be the result of a complex interplay between a number of risk factors. For example, being classified as having a disability such as communication difficulties, and experiencing behavioural and mental health problems can increase the risk of losing school days, which…

New Perspectives on Migration: Virtual Early Career Researcher and Postgraduate Symposium

The Migration Research Wales Network held an online symposium on 19th January for postgraduates and early-career researchers working on aspects of migration in Wales or based at Welsh institutions. The theme of the symposium was ‘New Perspectives on Migration’. Presentations covered research areas ranging from Italians in Wales, refugee women and Welshness, and the challenges facing LGBTQ+…

COVID-19 and the labour market outcomes of disabled people in the UK

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated inequalities in society. In doing so, it has reinforced the importance of the government’s ‘levelling up’ policy agenda. In terms of protected characteristics, attention focused most immediately on ethnicity given the differences in health risk posed by COVID-19 and was subsequently concerned with gender as a result of…

£17m funding for collaborative data research in Wales

An initiative that has transformed how de-identified administrative data can be securely used to provide insight into social and economic issues in Wales is set to continue thanks to an investment of almost £17 million. Administrative Data Research Wales (ADR Wales) has been awarded £16,985,944 until 2026 as part of the £90 million UK wide Administrative Data…

Charting the Impact and Legacy of the Great Homeworking Experiment

In this blog post Alan Felstead of Cardiff University discusses the publication of his new book Remote Working: A Research Overview.  The book provides an accessible overview of the history of remote working and the impact of the massive shifts in the location of work that have occurred because of the global pandemic. One of the…

Dr Igor Calzada featured in list of 100 Most Influential Academics in Government

Dr Igor Calzada has been featured in Apolitical’s 100 Most Influential Academics in Government list. Public servants were invited to nominate the academics who are the most influential to the work of government. Dr Calzada’s work intersects digital, urban, and political transformations, paying special attention to regional governments on 1. smart city citizenship, 2. benchmarking city-regions, and…

New book on remote working

Professor Alan Felstead’s book on the changing location of work will be published on 21 January. Working at home has exploded across the world over the last two years as politicians have advised, and sometimes instructed, those who can, work at home to limit the spread of coronavirus. Remote Working: A Research Overview assesses what impact…

WISERD Annual Conference 2022 – Call for Papers

We are delighted to announce that the call for papers is now OPEN for the WISERD Annual Conference 2022. WISERD Annual Conference 2022 Swansea University   Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th July 2022 The theme for our Annual Conference is ‘Civil society and participation: issues of equality, identity and cohesion in a changing social landscape’….

New resource launched to help people live as well as possible with dementia

The experience of thousands of people affected by dementia has fed into a new resource which aims to be a comprehensive guide to supporting people to live as well as possible with the condition. A wide range of advice, resources, and accounts of people’s own experiences are included in the Living with Dementia Toolkit, which…

Call for Papers – Migration Research Wales Network: Early Career Researcher and Postgraduate Symposium

Migration Research Wales Network is pleased to announce a one-day symposium (19th January 2022) for postgraduates and early-career researchers (self-defined) working on aspects of migration in Wales or based at Welsh institutions. The aim of the online symposium is to provide a supportive environment for researchers to share ideas on draft work and receive constructive comments. Each contributor will…

A National Conversation on Wales’s Constitutional Future

In the latest issue of The Welsh Agenda, Dr Anwen Alias, WISERD co-director, Matthew Jarvis, CWPS Executive Board member, and Mike Corcoran and Noreen Blanluet discuss what form a national debate about the constitutional future of Wales should take. The discussion is based on the ‘Constitutional Futures’ project based at Aberystwyth University, led by Dr Anwen…

WISERD co-director appointed to Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales

Dr Anwen Elias, WISERD co-director and expert on territorial and constitutional politics from Aberystwyth University, has been appointed Commissioner to the new Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales. Dr Elias, a Reader in Politics in the Department of International Politics, was among the nine appointed individuals announced by the Counsel General and Minister…

On your bike: exploring the geography and leisure of work as a cycle courier

Dr Wil Chivers, recently appointed as a social science lecturer at Cardiff University, has presented findings from his WISERD research exploring the nature of work as a cycle courier in the gig/platform economy, at the Work, Employment and Society Conference 2021. The paper, On your bike: exploring the geography and leisure of work as a…

New research reveals civil society perspectives on widespread children’s rights violations in Cambodia

As part of the project Trust, Human Rights and Civil Society in WISERD’s civil society research programme, I’ve been analysing the human rights situation of children in Cambodia. This is an appropriate, yet hitherto neglected area of enquiry because it is almost three decades since the country ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights…

New research exploring global civil society views on the Rohingya crisis

I’ve been analysing civil society organisations’ (CSOs’) perspectives on the crisis facing an estimated one million Rohingya people, members of a Muslim minority group (a variation of the Sunni religion), that have fled persecution in the western state of Rakhine, Myanmar. This work is part of the project Trust, Human Rights and Civil Society in…

More opportunities but same standard of living: young people’s perceptions of generational differences

The news often paints a rather grim future for Gen Z, the generation born between the late 1990s and early 2010s. There is low perceived job security, housing costs continue to rise relative to wages, and the 2012 tuition fee increase means that many now graduate with more debt than previous generations. The ongoing impacts…

ESRC Festival of Social Science 2021

  WISERD researchers are hosting three ESRC Festival of Social Science events, covering youth unemployment and civil society under devolution, local community food systems and a citizen science project exploring air quality monitoring. Youth unemployment and civil society under devolution: a sub-state comparison 11th November 2021 This online event hosted by Dr Giada Lagana, based…

Gender, age, economic position and education affect attitudes to climate change

In my previous blog post, I discussed regional variations in attitudes towards climate change, with people living in Wales appearing more sceptical in comparison to those in other parts of Britain. However, attitudes to climate change also differ according to people’s characteristics such as gender, age and educational level, and these will affect regional differences…

No One is an Island at a Time of Pandemic

Professor John Morgan, together with Dr Ana Zimmermann of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, has published ‘No One is an Island at a Time of Pandemic’ in a special issue of Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice on the social and cultural impact of COVID-19. The article considers the fundamental ethical question of…

Understanding Welsh Places: Filling the evidence gap for places in Wales

A shortage of robust, nationally consistent evidence at a town level has been a longstanding problem in the UK. Without evidence it is difficult for town stakeholders, such as planners, town councils, third sector organisations and community groups, to determine local needs, evaluate the effectiveness of town management strategies and to learn from past success….

Professor Jean Jenkins to lead Wales TUC’s Future of Devolution and Work Commission

  Professor Jean Jenkins, WISERD Co-Director and Professor of Employment Relations at Cardiff Business School, has been appointed to lead an independent commission into the future of employment rights and devolution in Wales. The Future of Devolution and Work Commission, established by the Wales TUC, will be tasked with considering the impact that the current…

Government consultation cites WISERD homeworking report

The WISERD report on Homeworking in the UK: Before and During the 2020 Lockdown has been cited in a government consultation on Making flexible working the default. The open consultation seeks views from individuals and businesses on proposals to reform flexible working regulations (The Flexible Working Regulations 2014). The report, by Alan Felstead of Cardiff…

Social Anthropologies of the Welsh: Past and Present

  A new collection of essays entitled Social Anthropologies of the Welsh: Past and Present, edited by Professor W. John Morgan and Dr Fiona Bowie will be published this month in the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Country Series. The book has its origins in a joint colloquium of the Royal Anthropological Institute, WISERD, the Learned Society…

Play 2021: The right to play and the child-friendly city

I recently attended Play 2021 (a new conference hosted by community interest company Playful Planet) which brought together researchers, policymakers and practitioners interested in ‘child-friendly’ urban design and children’s play. One of our interests as part of our WISERD research project has been the concept of the ‘child-friendly city’ and what an enabling environment for the…

Leverage campaigns and how they work

In this third and final part of my blog series exploring the recent election of new Unite leader, Sharon Graham, I’ll be focusing on leverage campaigns and how they work. As a highly contentious topic, they form a key part of Graham’s strategy for organising Unite into a union of “strike ready workplaces”, but are…

Unite’s shock election result

With both the TUC and Labour holding annual conferences one after the other, much attention was on the unions’ newest leader, Sharon Graham. Her election as general secretary of the UK and Ireland’s most important union, Unite, came as a shock to most of the commentariat. In this, the first part of a three-post blog…

Data from the EU Settlement Scheme Demonstrates the Challenge of Estimating the Population of EU Migrants Living in Wales

In this blog, Stephen Drinkwater, Professor of Economics at the Business School in the University of Roehampton and academic lead for the EU Settlement Scheme Data Linkage Project, looks at the latest data available on applications made to the Home Office for EU Settled Status and how this data is helping to shape the project…

Foundational renewal: Transforming reliance systems in the wake of COVID-19

WISERD’s third foundational economy conference, held online earlier this month, brought together researchers and practitioners from across the UK and beyond, to discuss how the foundational economy can be rebuilt, enhanced and sustained in response to new and old challenges magnified by the pandemic. Over three days, an expert panel of speakers and discussants from…

Professor John Morgan presents keynote at Italian conference

On Saturday 4th September 2021, Professor John Morgan presented a keynote lecture and workshop on Idealism and Realism in Educational and Cultural Exchange: International intellectual cooperation or ‘soft power?’, to the conference: Living together with ambiguities – Different cultures and common values?, organised by the Fondazione Intercultura Onus, Florence, Italy (2–4 September). An outcome of…

Wales is having a rethink about its place in the UK – could it lead the way for everyone else?

Anwen Elias, Aberystwyth University and Matt Wall, Swansea University Can the United Kingdom survive Brexit? This remains one of the great unanswered questions of our time. Politically, two major narratives have dominated. The first is that the UK is on a break-up trajectory. Brexit has revived the Scottish independence movement and destabilised Northern Irish politics. Clashes between UK and…

Active citizenship through community supported agriculture networks

COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerabilities of global supply chains, including our food system. In the UK, the dual impact of the pandemic and Brexit have led to considerable losses in food and drink trade, closures of hospitality venues and growing food insecurity among the population. In front of this backdrop, the demand for more crisis-resilient…

Roma civil society organisations in Europe: Navigating uncertainty in times of Brexit and COVID-19

Although European leaders have committed to creating more inclusive societies through the recently adopted 2020-2030 EU Roma Strategic Framework (October 2020), civil society organisations (CSOs) challenging Roma exclusion are facing a series of new uncertainties: the withdrawal of the UK from the EU (Brexit) and the COVID-19 pandemic. Across Europe, the exclusion of Roma is…

New civil society research confirms children’s human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

New research by WISERD Co-director Professor Paul Chaney examines civil society perspectives on children’s rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The study confirms widespread violations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Since 1967 Israel has occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In 1980, Israel officially annexed East Jerusalem…

Is there a geography of volunteering in Wales?

In Wales as elsewhere, the role of volunteers has been brought to the fore during the COVID-19 pandemic as people offered their services to help address the needs of vulnerable groups within their communities. Concerns surrounding the sustainability of such volunteering efforts have drawn attention to the types of infrastructure that could help facilitate and…

The pit closures of the 1980s – part of Mrs Thatcher’s green eco-strategy?

The 1984-85 miners’ strike has once again hit the headlines, despite ending 36 years ago. This time what has grabbed the media’s attention is a claim by Prime Minister Boris Johnson that Margaret Thatcher’s closure of the pits after the strike was part of a green, eco-strategy of the Conservative government. On a visit to…

Special education needs of excluded children in Wales

Pupils differ significantly in terms of their individual characteristics and needs. It’s therefore important for schools to be able to identify and assess the level of need/disability, and provide for pupils with learning difficulties that call for special education provision, described as special education needs (SEN). Under the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales)…

Is anyone ‘too small’ to make a difference?

During the recent G7 summit in St Ives, hundreds of protesters gathered to participate in demonstrations and activities about environmental issues. One of the most prominent images in media reports of these protests is of two children on the beach, with a colourful sign reading ‘no one is too small to make a difference’. The…

WISERD Summer Series 2021

Due to Covid-19 restrictions in place at the time, the WISERD Summer Series comprised four online events in place of our usual Annual Conference. These events explored some of WISERD’s established and developing research areas and saw the launch of two new research networks – the Migration Research Wales Network and the Well-being Network. To…

New book on Civil Society and Citizenship in India and Bangladesh

A new book entitled ‘Civil Society and Citizenship in India and Bangladesh’ by WISERD Co-director Professor Paul Chaney and Dr Sarbeswar Sahoo of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, presents multidisciplinary research exploring the opportunities and challenges facing civil society in today’s India and Bangladesh. It informs contemporary understanding of citizenship, gender rights and social identities…

WISERD PhD Poster Competition 2021

We are delighted to announce the winner of our annual WISERD PhD Poster Competition 2021. Muhao Du from Cardiff University has won the prize for his poster – ‘Finding Harmony in Hardship: experiences of expatriates in subsidiaries of Chinese MNCs in the high technology sector’. Emma Reardon from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David…

New Research on Adult Social Care during the Pandemic Presented at International Conference

  WISERD Co-director Professor Paul Chaney has presented new findings on adult social care delivery during the pandemic at “Transnational and Transdisciplinary Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic – An International Symposium”. The conference was organised by Hong Kong Baptist University’s Department of Government and International Studies in association with the David C. Lam Institute for East-West…

Can cooperatives/employee-owned businesses improve ‘bad jobs’?

Dr Wil Chivers presented his WISERD research on job quality in low paid sectors at a seminar to the Wales Cooperative. His presentation, with Dr Sarah Jenkins from Cardiff Business School, asked: “Can cooperatives/employee-owned businesses improve ‘bad jobs’?” Job quality has received increased attention from academics and policymakers across industrialised countries. Yet, there has been…

Area level variations of school exclusions across Wales

School practices on discipline and punishment of disruptive behaviour can affect the exclusion rates being recorded and they have been shown to vary across different jurisdictions of the UK. These practices could be closely linked to and shaped by pupil-level characteristics and needs, including free school meals (FSM) eligibility and special education needs (SEN) provision…

WISERD Director elected to BERA Council

WISERD Director, Professor Sally Power, has been elected to sit on the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Council. BERA is a membership association and learned society committed to advancing research quality, building research capacity and fostering research engagement. They aim to inform the development of policy and practice by promoting the best quality evidence produced…

WISERD and Future Economies Book Launch

  On the 19th of May, WISERD and the Future Economies University Research Centre based at Manchester Metropolitan University, held an online event to launch two books: City Regions and Devolution in the UK and The Political Economy of Industrial Strategy in the UK. The event featured discussion from the authors, alongside commentary from an…

Tackling air quality monitoring with a citizen science group

Popular conceptions of science as ‘objective’ and ‘neutral’ suggest it sits outside the problems of rights and justice that often characterise the discourse around civil society. Developments in social science and community activism since at least the 1960s – eg, the Love Canal scandal in the US – show that this view is deeply flawed….

WISERD professor elected as Learned Society of Wales Fellow

  Professor Kevin Morgan is among this year’s newly elected fellows of The Learned Society of Wales. The Learned Society of Wales was established in 2010 in the absence of a national society of learning in Wales. Its aims are to contribute to advancing and promoting excellence in all scholarly disciplines, which includes providing independent…

Characteristics of excluded children in Wales

Annual official reports published by the Welsh Government primarily focus on exclusion instances; their yearly trends and variations by key characteristics, such as ethnicity and reason for exclusion. However, there is a need to expand this analysis by focusing on excluded individuals and the potential consequences of school exclusions on pupil outcomes. This would be…

What mass-support e-petitions on animal welfare tell us about new modes of civil society engagement with Westminster

In this second blog post, Professor Paul Chaney continues to share his research with Professors Ian Rees Jones and Ralph Fevre published by Oxford University Press and The Hansard Society, which analyses the significant rise in animal welfare petitions submitted to the UK parliament over the past decade. This analysis is part of the research project, New arenas for civic…

New modes of civic engagement – exploring Westminster public petitions on animal welfare

New research by WISERD Professors Paul Chaney, Ian Rees Jones and Ralph Fevre  published by Oxford University Press and The Hansard Society, analyses a significant rise in animal welfare petitions submitted to the UK parliament over the past decade. This analysis is part of the research project,  New arenas for civic expansion: humans, animals, and…

School exclusions in Wales on the rise

There is evidence to suggest that school exclusions can have negative effects on children’s lives. Exclusions have been associated with poor educational outcomes, and long-term physical and mental health problems. We need to investigate how patterns of exclusions and characteristics of excluded pupils differ across time and can help to inform current understanding of possible…

Professor W. John Morgan presents to the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion

On 20 April, Professor W. John Morgan, Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow at WISERD, gave an invitation Zoom lecture on Ben Bowen Thomas, Wales, and UNESCO to the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, a London Welsh learned society founded in 1751. The focus of Professor Morgan’s Leverhulme research is the use of the United Nations and its specialised…

WISERD Professor joins Editorial Board of the Indian Journal of Adult Education

Professor W. John Morgan, Honorary Professor and Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow at Cardiff University has joined the new Editorial Board of the Indian Journal of Adult Education. The journal was founded in 1939 by the Indian Adult Education Association. The Indian Journal of Adult Education is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes research papers, articles on education,…

New research examines the electoral politics of adult social care following devolution in the UK

A global demographic shift means that an ageing population creates an unprecedent demand for adult social care. We live in an era when, for the first time, the number of older people (60+ years) will exceed younger people1. In the UK this challenge is magnified by the effects of austerity and welfare state capacity. New…

Monitoring inequalities in physical activity opportunities in a post-COVID Wales

Local authorities in Wales have had to make difficult decisions to close or rationalise a wide range of services in response to changes in the incidence of COVID-19. This has had major impacts for those sectors of the community most dependent on various forms of service provision.  Where there have been partial closures involving changes…

New research on civil society, welfare and the rights of persons with disabilities in the former Soviet Union

New research by WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney, analyses civil society organisations’ perspectives on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in nine former Soviet republics, latterly renamed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Namely, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Over the past…

Localities and histories: Why census data is important to understanding Trade Union membership

Within England and Wales, March 21st, 2021 is census day. Taking place every 10 years, the census provides the most accurate estimate of the population and a detailed account about people and the households in which they live. The data is vital to understanding our society and in providing information that is necessary to support the…

The true impact of the coronavirus on a generation of Welsh children

On an Wales Online interview, Dr Catherine Foster said life had “changed dramatically” for many young people who suffered from effects such as loneliness and loss of routine. She said: “Although some children have been able to continue going to school at least part of the time, most have lost the organization and structure that…

Life in Lockdown: Evidence from the 2020 WISERD Education Multi-Cohort Study

WISERD surveyed young people in Years 7-12 about their home learning experiences during summer 2020, what they missed and whether they should be allowed to see friends. In addition to asking about resources for schoolwork, time spent learning and going to school during lockdown, we asked young people about their worries, how they had been helping…

New study explores civil society perspectives on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in India

New research by WISERD Co-Director Professor Paul Chaney analyses civil society organisations’ perspectives on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) that was ratified by India in 2008. This is a benchmark study; the first to systematically examine the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights…

WISERD launches Policy Press Civil Society book series

On 5 November 2020, we launched our new Civil Society book series with Policy Press. This new series provides interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives on the rapidly changing nature of civil society at local, regional, national and global scales.   The first four books draw on research findings from our previous ESRC Civil Society Research Centre….

Watch the WISERD Foundational Economy Online Series 2020

In September 2020, WISERD held the Foundational Economy Online Series 2020. This series of online events addressed key questions arising from the current COVID-19 crisis and explored the ways in which foundational thinking can contribute to social and economic repair. The series was made up of three online sessions:   Foundational Economy 2.0: building a…

Exploring the issues facing third sector adult social care providers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Wales and Northern Ireland

  Research by WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney, Dr Christala Sophocleous, and Professor Daniel Wincott, provides new insights into the issues facing third sector community-based adult care services in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales and Northern Ireland. The findings come from two ESRC-funded studies that are part of WISERD’S civil society research programme. The first…

Electoral politics study reveals how devolution provides new political spaces to advance animal welfare

Research by WISERD Professors Paul Chaney, Ian Rees Jones and Ralph Fevre analyses over 1,300 pledges on animal welfare in party manifestos for Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish elections from 1998 to 2017. It reveals the nature of political parties’ competition over the issue, as well as a significant increase in attention to this topic…

Bangor University launches Civil Society research centre

Today sees the launch at Bangor University of the ESRC Civil Society centre: Changing Perspectives on Civic Stratification and Civil Repair. At the launch, Bangor University’s Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research, Professor Paul Spencer and WISERD Director Professor Sally Power, Cardiff University, will talk about WISERD, its role in Wales and the ways in which researchers…

New study on the electoral politics of refugees and asylum seekers reveals distinctive approaches to welfare in the different countries of the UK

New research by WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney analyses political parties’ policy record on refugees and asylum seekers in party manifestos for post-war Westminster, and post-1998 Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish elections. A refugee is someone who is outside her or his country of nationality due to a well-founded fear of persecution and who is…

Voluntary sector history brought to life in new digital archive

A WISERD Research Team comprised of Professor Paul Chaney, Dr Christala Sophocleous and Professor Daniel Wincott has worked with Wales Council for Voluntary Organisations (WCVA) and The National Library of Wales to create a historically significant digital archive of the Annual Reports of WCVA and its predecessor organisations. We are delighted to make this resource…

Civil Society and the Family

This book explores the relationship between civil society and the family. Given how important family life is in the routines and responsibilities of individuals around the world, it is surprising that links between family and civic and political engagement have not received more attention until now. Ideas about family life colour our decisions about where…

The Foundational Economy and Citizenship

The Foundational Economy has been described as those everyday goods and services that provide the basis for a civilized life. But this begs numerous questions including: What does the Foundational Economy consist of? Why should we be concerned about it? And how can ordinary people get involved in developing it? In a new edited collection…

Civil Society through the Lifecourse

This book focuses on how people’s engagement with civil society changes over the lifecourse. There has been growing concern in recent decades about the health of civil society. A lot of evidence points to an overall decline in civic participation – and in particular a lack of engagement by young people. It is generally the…

Crafting civil society during COVID-19

On 10th August 2020 a group of women volunteers gathered at Lark craft studio at Cardiff MADE to make re-useable face-masks for members of the local community on low incomes. The initial idea for this event came from Sarah May, who posted an appeal on her local Mutual Aid Group, and was joined by local…

Qualifications and assessment

The Welsh Government was forced to backtrack on the grading method agreed with regulator Qualifications Wales after an outcry over students being downgraded led to a u-turn in Scotland and changes in England. An 11th hour review took place to ensure that students didn’t lose out in Wales after England and Scotland announced major concessions….

Children’s Worlds

Children in Wales have some of the lowest levels of well-being amongst children across 35 countries, a team of WISERD researchers has found. Survey of 128,000 children across 35 countries raises questions about levels of well-being experienced across different areas of children’s lives in Wales. Read the coverage for this research study: Children in Wales…

A recent report from WISERD Education Data Lab analyses the impact of Hafan Cymru’s Spectrum Project

The Spectrum Project is a specialist awareness-raising, preventative and bilingual educational programme, delivering sessions on all aspects of Healthy Relationships and VAWDASV (Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence) to pupils and staff in schools across Wales. It links with the priorities of Prevention, Protection and Support outlined in the Violence Against Women, Domestic…

Research demonstrates the importance of Careers Wales in Welsh schools

A new ADR-UK Data Insight report by WISERD Co-Director, Rhys Davis, reveals the important role played by Careers Wales in supporting those children most in need of careers guidance within Welsh Schools. Following the withdrawal of funding for the Connexions Network in 2010 – a dedicated careers guidance service for young people – concerns have…

Attainment gap “Experts warn of ‘long term damage’ to education due to school closures”

Director of WISERD Education, Sally Power, has been interviewed and quoted on ITV Wales in relation to the long term effects that COVID-19 measures in Schools might incur to pupils. “Professor Sally Power from Cardiff University has warned that the attainment gap between pupils will have widened as a result of the pandemic”. See full article: https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-09-24/experts-warn-of-long-term-damage-to-education-due-to-school-closures…

COVID-19 lockdown and the needs of garment workers in Bangalore, India

Since October 2018, researchers from WISERD and Cardiff Business School have been working in partnership with NGO, Cividep-India. We have been analysing data on whether and how garment workers in Bangalore are able to gain access to remedy (that is, the steps that are taken to prevent, investigate, punish and redress business-related human rights abuses)…

Researchers develop a new model to analyse civil society’s welfare delivery in devolved nations

An empirical research study by WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney, Dr Christala Sophocleous and Daniel Wincott, presents a new theoretical model for analysing the way that civil society delivers welfare support to citizens in devolved nations. Internationally there is a trend towards decentralised welfare systems. This new research seeks to systematically explore the breadth of factors…

Civil society approaches to tackling youth unemployment: an analysis of the UK nations

UK unemployment has risen to its highest in two years this month, from 3.9% in March to 4.1% in September. Young people aged 16-24 have been hit hardest and, to date, one-third of 18-24 year olds (excluding students) are unemployed or furloughed as a result of COVID-19, compared to one in six of 25-40 year…

UK productivity could be improved by a permanent shift towards remote working

WISERD research gathers the first analysis of employee survey data focusing on homeworking for the Understanding Society Covid-19 Study. The research findings highlight the fact that homeworking will become more the rule rather than the exception, even when social distancing is no longer required. With 9 out of 10 people surveyed saying that they prefer to work remotely, a more flexible…

UK productivity could be improved by a permanent shift towards remote working, research shows

Nine out of ten employees who have worked at home during lockdown would like to continue doing so in some capacity, research suggests. The report, by academics at Cardiff University and the University of Southampton, presents the first analysis of employee survey data focusing on homeworking, which was gathered for the Understanding Society Covid-19 Study. Homeworking…

International study reveals low levels of well-being amongst children in Wales

Survey of 128,000 children across 35 countries raises questions about levels of well-being experienced across different areas of children’s lives in Wales. Children in Wales have some of the lowest levels of well-being amongst children across 35 countries, a team of WISERD researchers has found. The team surveyed over 2,600 children from across Wales about…

Well-being of school children in Wales: European comparisons

Recent results from the Children’s Worlds study revealed that children in Wales have some of the lowest levels of well-being amongst children surveyed in 35 countries. Children’s Worlds is an international study of children’s subjective well-being, with the third and most recent survey including over 128,000 children, surveyed between 2016 – 2019. This is the…

Well-being of school children in Wales: bullying

As the start of another school year approaches, amongst the many challenges that providing a COVID-safe educational environment poses, reintegrating learners into a safe and secure learning environment will be key. Concerns have rightly been raised about young people’s mental health and welfare during these unprecedented times. Our research with children and young people as…

A level results day 2020

In the shadow of the fallout from the qualifications results announced for young people in Scotland earlier this month, and last-minute amendments made by the Welsh and English governments to the awarding of grades, this blog reflects on the steps taken to calculate grades, necessitated by these unprecedented times. Detailed information is now publicly available…

Research highlights suppression of civil society and human rights violations of LGBT+ people in Bangladesh

New research by WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney, Dr Sarbeswar Sahoo (Indian Institure of Technology, Delhi) and Dr Seuty Sabur (BRAC University, Dhaka) analyses civil society organisations’ perspectives on the contemporary situation facing LGBT+ people in Bangladesh. Until now largely overlooked in academic work, it is an issue needing attention because of the country’s poor…

Are banks doing enough to model the impact of branch closures on communities?

We have long become accustomed to the concerns expressed in the letter pages of local newspapers or on various online forums from those members of the public forced (if fortunate to have access to a car) to drive greater distances, or to make alternative and more costly arrangements, to access services such as health, educational,…

Homeworking rockets: new evidence

In late March 2020, we were told – by the Prime Minister no less – to work at home if we could.  How many workers were able to respond to this call and what effect did this have on their mental well-being? Alan Felstead (Cardiff University and PrOPEL) and Darja Reuschke (University of Southampton) present analysis of new data…

What do differences in civil society across the UK nations mean for the looming youth unemployment crisis?

Early data suggests 15% of people in the UK have now lost their jobs due to Covid-19. Hidden within this figure is the disproportionate impact on already marginalised and disadvantaged groups, including black and minority ethnic people, women and those without a degree. Young people are also at the sharp end this surge in unemployment, as…

The rural dilemma: how to restart tourism and reassure residents

As Wales seeks to navigate a safe path out of the coronavirus lockdown, one of the biggest challenges for the Welsh Government is how to re-open the rural economy whilst avoiding a surge of new cases in the countryside and panicking an anxious rural population. First Minister Mark Drakeford has signaled that restrictions on the…

‘Civil Society, Social Change, and a New Popular Education in Russia’ nominated for Alexander Nove prize

Professor John Morgan‘s recent book Civil Society, Social Change, and a New Popular Education in Russia has been nominated by the publisher Routledge for the Alexander Nove Prize 2020 of the British Association of Slavonic and East European Studies. Professor Nove was a famous economic historian of Russia and the Soviet Union. The book is…

New research reveals civil society perspectives on human rights and social welfare across UK jurisdictions

New research by WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney analyses civil society organisations’ perspectives on how the UK, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Ireland governments are responding to their international human rights treaty obligations in the formulation and delivery of social policy. This socio-legal study is the first that examines human rights and the territorialisation of social welfare…

PrOPEL hub website launches

The Productivity of Outcomes of Workplace Practice, Engagement & Learning (PrOPEL) Hub launched its website this week, featuring contributions from WISERD staff. Professor Alan Felstead and Rhys Davies are part of the Productivity Outcomes of Workplace Practice, Engagement and Learning (PrOPEL) Hub, a £1.95 million project, which is supported by the Economic and Social Research…

WISERD Insight 2020 annual report now available

      This report provides an overview of our research activity in 2019 – a year that has marked the end of one chapter and the beginning of another, and has strengthened WISERD’s position as an important national research centre. Read more about our latest income profile, the work we’re doing to strengthen our…

COVID-19: the role of trade unions

The impact of Covid-19 on the economy and the world of work is unprecedented: full or partial lockdown measures are affecting approximately 80 per cent of the global workforce, with the harshest effects falling disproportionately on unprotected workers and those working in the informal economy[1]. For trade unions, the Covid-19 pandemic has cast light on…

Professor Chris Taylor quoted in WalesOnline article about Year Six students in lockdown

WalesOnline, 7th June 2020 Read the full article. Professor Chris Taylor is quoted in the article: “Much of the research on transitions says that it is the familiarisation with high school that is important – knowing where to go, who the teachers are, how work is organised, how much homework there will be, will they get…

Five key messages for those with dementia and their carers during COVID-19

People with dementia living in the community are likely to be disproportionately affected by social distancing, isolation and lockdown measures. WISERD’s Civil Society Centre Director, Professor Ian Rees Jones, is part of the ‘Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life’ research programme (IDEAL project). Based on research findings, the team has recently published…

New Research reveals civil society perspectives on the contemporary threat to religious freedom in Bangladesh

New research by WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney and Dr Sarbeswar Sahoo (Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi) analyses civil society organisations’ (CSOs’) perspectives on religious freedom violations in Bangladesh. These have been recently thrown into stark relief following the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 2011 that confirmed Islam as the State religion of the…

Curriculum reform and inequality: The challenges facing Wales

Wales is in the process of undertaking a major overhaul of its national curriculum. Until recently, the curriculum largely resembled that put in place by the 1988 Education Reform Act. The new Curriculum for Wales, based on the Successful futures for all review by Graham Donaldson (2015), entails a radical move away from the traditional…

WISERD Director awarded Hugh Owen Medal for education research

WISERD Director, Professor Sally Power, has won the Learned Society of Wales’ Hugh Owen Medal 2020 for her outstanding educational research. Professor Power is a leading education researcher, with a broad focus on policy and inequality. She plays a significant role in supporting education research throughout Wales. The WISERD Education Multi-Cohort Study (WMCS), directed by…

COVID-19 and pupil assessment

GCSE exams were due to take place over the next few weeks in Wales, but have been cancelled due to COVID-19. In the second of our blogs about the impact of the pandemic on young people’s education I look at the replacement of formal examinations with teacher assessments. As qualifications bodies will be relying more…

COVID-19 and school closures

Those of us in WISERD engaged in education research have real worries about the impact of the Coronavirus on the welfare and progress of children and young people. Some are rightly concerned about the impact on young people’s physical and mental health. But here we want to concentrate on the potential effect of the response…

COVID-19 Report from the Foundational Economy Collective

The team of researchers leading WISERD’s foundational economy work has contributed to a COVID-19 report, which makes a case for renewal of the foundational economy, after the immediate public health crisis is over. The crisis demonstrates the importance of the foundational economy, that part of the economy which produces essential goods and services consumed by…

Are there differences in volunteering in health and social care and responses to the Coronavirus in England and Wales?

This week, hundreds of thousands of volunteers reported for duty and have started helping the NHS in its fight against coronavirus. The public’s response in volunteering to assist the NHS has been one of the most positive reactions to the current coronavirus crisis. In particular, over 250,000 people living in England signed up to volunteer to provide help for…

Launch of new initiative to tackle UK productivity puzzle

WISERD researchers based at Cardiff University have joined a network that aims to improve productivity in the UK.  Professor Alan Felstead and Rhys Davies are part of the Productivity Outcomes of Workplace Practice, Engagement and Learning (PrOPEL) Hub, a £1.95 million project, which is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The three-year…

Why is understanding trade union membership from survey data harder than it might first seem?

Rhys Davies explores how he uncovered problems with official UK government figures on trade union presence and coverage – and how the government recognised and corrected the error.  In a time when trade union membership is decreasing in both the UK and the USA, The decline in union membership has been well documented for many…

Celebrating Civil Society Research: A New Chapter

This week we launched our five-year plan for civil society research at a stakeholder event at the Senedd. Our new research will explore social and economic inequality, migration and multiculturalism, the foundational economy, the changing dynamics of work, and animal rights and A.I. Celebrating Civil Society Research – A New Chapter was attended by over 70…

New research reveals rights violations of disabled people in the Commonwealth of Independent States

New research by WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney, analyses civil society organisations’ (CSOs’)  perspectives on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Over the past decade, the majority of CIS countries have finally ratified the CRPD, offering new rights for the region’s…

Professor John Morgan’s book published in Portuguese

Professor John Morgan’s 2019 book Philosophy, Dialogue, and Education: Nine modern European philosophers (with A. A. Guilherme), Routledge, London and New York, has been translated into Portuguese and published in Brazil by the UNESCO Chair of Youth, Education, and Society, the Catholic University of Brazilia, DF, 2020.

Gender Pay Gap Transparency Legislation in the UK: How have employers responded?

The Equality Act Regulations 2017 required all firms with over 250 employees in the UK to publish their gender pay gap (GPG) annually. This paved the way for employers to focus on causes of and solutions to gender-related wage discrimination. Mandatory GPG reporting was designed to be the first step in helping firms identify their…

WISERD hosts joint conference with Voluntary Sector Studies Research Network

During November, WISERD hosted a joint conference with the Voluntary Sector Studies Research Network, entitled ‘Civil society in the four UK nations: past, present and future challenges’. The day included a diverse range of papers from academics and third sector organisations. The first session presented research findings on civil society and the state across time…

Michael Gove and the Miners’ Gala: Not so wide of the mark

“Just think about it, next year, both the Durham Miners’ Gala and the Notting Hill Carnival will take place in seats represented by Conservative MPs” Michael Gove, December 2019. The Durham Miners’ Gala, established in 1871, is the largest annual gathering of trade unionists in the UK. Despite the last coal mine in County Durham…

Professor John Morgan attends symposium on contemporary Russia

Professor John Morgan was invited to a symposium on ’Twenty Years of Putin: How has Russia changed’ held at the Russian and East European Centre at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, on 7th December 2019. The invitation symposium brought together Russian and other international experts on contemporary Russia from academia, diplomacy, and international business….

Is there a future for Welsh-Breton town twinning?

Town twinning grew after the Second World War, forging new friendships between old enemies as civil society crossed borders. Today, though, post-war memory has faded, while Brexit and Eurosceptic politics sow new divisions. Here in Wales, will town twinning stay relevant – or be relegated to the past? “I can’t see a future for twinning…

Growing up in Wales: school students’ perspectives and experiences

Our recent event, Growing up in Wales: school students’ perspectives and experiences, explored the latest findings to come out of the WISERD Education Multi Cohort Study (WMCS) survey data.  Over the past seven years, the WMCS has made an important contribution to understanding the lives of young people in Wales, by conducting an annual survey…

Professor John Morgan gives seminars in Moscow

Professor John Morgan, Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow, gave two seminars in Moscow during October. Professor Morgan, who was on a research visit to the Russian State Library as part of his Leverhulme project on UNESCO and other UN Specialized Agencies and the Cultural Cold War, spoke first at the Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences….

Findings from ‘Successful Futures for All’ presented at Senedd

This week, Dr Nigel Newton presented findings from our ‘Successful Futures for All’ project to members of the Children, Young People and Education Committee of the National Assembly for Wales. The project explores the way the new curriculum is being developed in Pioneer Schools and the potential impact on children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Curriculum for…

Better evaluation and funding can improve plans to promote minority languages

Efforts to promote minority languages among children and young people would benefit from improving the way projects are evaluated, and from adequate funding. These are among the key findings of research into minority language promotion activities in the Celtic nations. Academics at Aberystwyth and Edinburgh Universities conducted research into the activities of organisations in Scotland,…

Appetite for Change

In October 2019 WISERD co-hosted a collaborative workshop with the Sustainable Places Research Institute and the Wales Governance Centre to discuss the environmental and social justice considerations of food systems in Wales. The event brought together a range of experts – including policy makers, civil society activists and other stakeholders to assess the major challenges…

Urgent Appeals: Data and Shared Learning

WISERD researchers will continue to support the development of data repositories for strategic use within NGOs, having successfully obtained funding from the ESRC under the NGO Secondary Data Analysis Call. Dr. Jean Jenkins and Dr. Katy Huxley will build on previous work with partners the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), who campaign for decent work and…

WISERD publishes new research on civil society, welfare and governance in China

  Over the past three years, WISERD has been part of a successful international Newton Advanced Fellowship scheme with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and funded by the British Academy. This has been led by Professor Sin Yi Cheung (School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University), Dr Xiao Lin (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing), Professor Paul…

WISERD Civil Society goes to Canada: comparisons from Wales, Manitoba and Québec

In September, we returned from a research exchange trip to Canada. The aim of the visit was to locate recent Civil Society project findings in an international context and develop greater insights through comparative reflection going forward. Canada, as a Federal state, develops and delivers much of its social policy at a Provincial level. This sub-state…

What maps reveal about the impacts of austerity

Following nearly a decade of austerity, local authorities face funding challenges that are having major impacts on the ways public services are delivered. Financial pressures, combined with increasing demand and expectations from the public for accessible and timely services, are having a detrimental effect on those social groups most reliant on essential facilities. In our…

Welsh towns receive boost for grassroots planning

People working and volunteering in Welsh towns and communities will benefit from a new resource to help them identify opportunities in their areas.  Understanding Welsh Places is a bilingual website built by a team of researchers at WISERD and coordinated by the Institute of Welsh Affairs. It presents information on the economy, demographic make-up and…

£2.55m funding boost for research into impact of UK school exclusions

New ESRC grant will see first-time multi-disciplinary research conducted on consequences of school exclusions across the UK, led by the Department of Education at the University of Oxford. Professors Sally Power and Chris Taylor are part of a team of researchers operating across Oxford, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast, Reading and the London School of Economics (LSE)…

Best paper award for young people and politics research

Dr Stuart Fox (Brunel University London) and Dr Sioned Pearce (Cardiff University) have received an award for ‘Best paper published in 2018’ from the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality, original research. The paper, “The generational decay of Euroscepticism in the UK and the EU referendum”, explores…

WISERD at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Annual Research Conference

The WISERD stand attracted much interest from conference-goers. Findings from WISERD’s civil society research featured prominently at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Annual Conference at Aston University last week (10-11 September). WISERD researchers presented a number of papers, including PhD student Amy Sanders, who shared initial findings from her research on sustaining the…

WISERD launches interactive UnionMaps service

Today, WISERD launches a new interactive service allowing users to access data on union membership for over 400 unitary authority and local authority districts of Great Britain. UnionMaps allows users to produce area reports of union membership for a particular location or explore how different measures of union membership vary across Great Britain. Since its…

WISERD to present at TUC Congress 2019

On Monday 9th September, a team of WISERD researchers from Cardiff University, Helen Blakely, Wil Chivers, Rhys Davies, Steve Davies and Katy Huxley, will share the latest findings from our research on trade union membership in the UK, to the TUC Congress. The 151st annual congress event will take place at the Brighton Centre and attract hundreds of delegates representing every…

WISERD holds joint international conference on the Rohingya Crisis in Bangladesh

  In cooperation with the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh, WISERD recently held a conference attended by 250 delegates on citizenship rights and the Rohingya crisis. This was part of a series of events stemming from a Global Challenge Research Fund project led by Professor Paul Chaney and Professor Nasir Uddin….

WISERD hosts 10th Annual Conference

On the 3rd and 4th July, WISERD held its 10th Annual Conference in the Medrus Conference Centre at Aberystwyth University. This year’s theme was Civil Society and Participation, and as Wales’ largest social science conference, the event attracted over 100 delegates from across academic, policy, public, private, and third sectors. The conference began with two…

Professor John Morgan appointed to editorial boards of Russian academic journals

Professor John Morgan has been appointed to the editorial boards of two leading Russian academic journals. He joins Sotsiologicheskie Issledovaniia (Sociological Studies), the journal of the Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences, and Filosofi Zhurnal (Journal of Philosophy), published by RUDN-Russia People’s Friendship University. Earlier this year Professor Morgan published Civil Society, Social Change,…

Dr Nigel Newton talks about closing the attainment gap on BBC Radio Wales

Following on from the previous Eye On Wales programme last month, when Dr Nigel Newton was involved in a discussion which introduced the new education system, Dr Newton now discusses whether or not the new curriculum will help to close the attainment gap. Almost two-thirds of teachers at schools that have trialled Wales’ new curriculum feel it will…

Visiting Fellow from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi – gives WISERD Seminar on Civil Society, Faith and Social Transformation in Rural India

On 25th July distinguished Visiting Fellow, Dr Sarbeswar Sahoo from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi gave an informative seminar presentation entitled: ‘“The Lord Always Shows the Way!” Women’s Narratives on Conversion and Social Transformation in Rural India’. In the presentation Dr Sahoo analysed why, in today’s India, a large number of tribal women convert…

If your sexual orientation is accepted by society you will be happier and more satisfied with your life

In recent years LGBT+ rights have improved dramatically. Same-sex marriage is now legally performed and recognised in 28 countries. Equality laws protect LGBT+ people at work and increased media coverage is improving knowledge and awareness of sexual orientations. More is to be done, however, to ensure equality for all, and researchers have been looking into…

WISERD Annual Conference 2019 to take place 3rd-4th July

In two weeks’ time, WISERD will be holding its Annual Conference in the Medrus Conference Centre at Aberystwyth University. This year’s theme is Civil Society and Participation. Delegates will have the opportunity to discuss cutting-edge, inter-disciplinary research from Wales and beyond, focusing on approaches to civil society and participation that have been adopted in a…

Foundational economy presentation at UK2070 Commission event

  Professor Kevin Morgan from the School of Geography and Planning at Cardiff University presented research on the Foundational Economy at the UK2070 Commission: Wales Stakeholder Event, which took place at the Cardiff Business School this week. The UK2070 Commission is an independent inquiry into city and regional inequalities in the UK. Chaired by Lord…

How youth volunteering increases young voter turnout: the impact on citizenship

The previous post outlined the central finding of Social Action as a Route to the Ballot Box: youth volunteering increases turnout among young people by increasing their interest in political issues and so raising their motivation to vote. This effect is only apparent, however, for young people whose parents have little or no interest in…

WISERD at Co-Production Network for Wales Conference

The WISERD exhibition stand attracted much interest at the Co-production Network for Wales annual conference in Wrexham today. All in this Together: A Celebration of Co-production and Involvement in Wales provided key networking opportunities to connect our work with third and public sector organisations. The aim of the day was to explore co-production of policy…

Social action IS a route to the ballot box – but only for a minority of young people

As previous posts in this series have shown, one of the major challenges facing British democracy is the declining tendency of successive generations of young citizens to vote, leaving them under-represented in policy-making and potentially raising questions about the legitimacy of our democratic institutions in the future, as this low turnout becomes a lifelong habit….

Welsh Policy and Politics in Unprecedented Times

  Austerity, the further devolution of powers, and issues such as an ageing population, climate change, and Brexit are all important conditions and events leading to uncertainty, instability and an unprecedented situation in Welsh policy and politics. These issues affect how and why policy is made and services are delivered. Held in partnership with the…

How well is Wales monitoring its fulfilment of the Convention on the Rights of the Child? A view from Dr Rhian Barrance and Sally Holland, Children’s Commissioner for Wales

Sally Holland, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and Dr Rhian Barrance, WISERD Research Associate, discuss how Wales has gone further than any other UK country in implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) by introducing the Rights of Children and Young Persons (Wales) Measure in 2011. This requires that ministers…

Why are primary school children in Wales so worried about tests?

WISERD recently conducted a survey of almost 10,000 children aged between 7 and 18 years-old in Wales for the Children’s Commissioner for Wales. The aim of the survey was to identify the most significant issues facing children in Wales in order to guide the Commissioner’s 3 year workplan for children and young people. The 11-18…

Live on BBC Radio Wales – Dr Rhian Barrance discusses the impact of national tests on children in Wales

Dr Rhian Barrance talks on BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio Wales about new research findings from her work with the Children’s Commissioner for Wales on the impact of national tests on children in Wales. BBC Radio Cymru, ‘Post Cyntaf’, 8am, 09/05/19: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0004rn5 BBC Radio Wales, ‘Good Evening Wales’, 5pm, 09/05/19: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_radio_wales_fm

Childhood in Wales is changing, Wales’ services must change too

New data from over 10,000 children and young people in Wales reveal the impact pressures of modern life are placing on their mental health. WISERD Research Associate, Dr Rhian Barrance carried out the Beth Nawr, 2019 survey for the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, which collected data to help shape the Commissioner’s new three-year work plan….

WISERD hosts Social Anthropologies of the Welsh: Past and Present

WISERD hosted an evening lecture and one-day symposium at Cardiff University this week. The event was organised jointly with the Royal Anthropological Institute, the Learned Society of Wales, and the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. Social Anthropologies of the Welsh: Past and Present examined the development of social anthropology in Wales from the perspectives of both…

New international research project announced

      WISERD has been successful in gaining funding for new international research. Led by Professor Paul Chaney, the project is entitled: ‘Civil Society Advocacy and the Rohingya Crisis in Bangladesh: Challenges and Resolutions’. Co-investigator of the new study is Professor Nasir Uddin of the University of Chittagong, a leading international scholar on the…

Welsh Government publishes new evidence about work in Wales

The Welsh Government has today published a report written by Alan Felstead and Rhys Davies which provides new evidence on the nature of employment in Wales. Work in Wales 2006-2017: Evidence from the Skills and Employment Surveys provides valuable insights – taken from the perspective of workers – on a number of issues including the promotion…

Hopes and fears: The development of a new curriculum in Wales

Since 2015, ‘pioneer’ schools across Wales have been contributing to the development of a new national curriculum based on Professor Graham Donaldson’s (2015) report, Successful Futures. As part of a Welsh government-funded research project being conducted through the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD),*  over 30 teachers involved in this…

What influences local and community engagement in renewable energy in Wales?

A new report has been published by the Institute of Welsh Affairs based on WISERD research by Professor Judith Marquand, Kate O’ Sullivan and Dr Sioned Pearce from Cardiff University. ‘Factors influencing local and community engagement in renewable energy in Wales’ is based on conversations with people directly involved with local and community renewable energy…

WISERD visits University of Paris 1, Panthéon-La Sorbonne

Professor W. John Morgan visited the University of Paris 1, Panthéon-La Sorbonne this week, at the personal invitation of Professor Georges Haddad, the University’s President, to discuss his Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship research on ‘UNESCO and the Cultural Cold War: International Intellectual Co-operation or Soft Power?’ Professor Haddad was formerly Director of the Division of Higher…

WISERD to present at Hay Festival 2019

  Jean Jenkins, Reader in Employment Relations at Cardiff University is to present at this year’s Hay Festival on Tuesday 28th May. Jean is working on a UK government-funded Global Challenges Research Fund project with WISERD, which investigates the availability of access to remedy for garment workers in today’s garment supply chain. Her presentation, Still…

My Erasmus placement at WISERD

  I am a PhD student in Sociology at the University of Brasilia. Through the Erasmus+ programme, I spent six months on a research placement at the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. I have been based in the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD). At WISERD I had…

Are Millennials a generation of volunteers?

When we talk about the benefits of volunteering this is usually in relation to young people. Most organisations promote volunteering opportunities to young people; ‘good news’ stories in the media about volunteering focus on the activities of young citizens; and government interventions to increase participation are usually focused on school initiatives (such as the Welsh…

WISERD researchers secure places at the 2019 GW4 Crucible

Three WISERD researchers – Constantino Dumangane, Wil Chivers and Ian Thomas – have successfully secured places on the 2019 GW4 Crucible. The GW4 Crucible is a competitive annual programme that seeks to promote interdisciplinary collaboration between early career researchers from Cardiff, Bristol, Bath and Exeter universities. This year’s programme comprises three two-day residential labs. 30…

WISERD presents latest research on curriculum reform in Wales

    WISERD Co-Director, Professor Chris Taylor and Dr Nigel Newton presented at an education event sponsored by WISERD and the Learned Society of Wales this week, where a new report by the Institute of Welsh Affairs on implications of curriculum reform was launched. Following a review undertaken by Professor Graham Donaldson in 2015, the…

Volunteering in the UK: How can we compare across nations?

A long-standing challenge for charities, policy-makers, think tanks and academics interested in volunteering in the UK has been identifying how and why rates of volunteering might vary across the four countries within it. This matters not only for those interested in how the distinct histories, communities and cultures of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland…

WISERD and Indian partner deliver workshop on civil society and good governance in New Delhi

    Leading academics presented as part of a two-day workshop held by WISERD and the Indian Institute of Technology, in New Delhi on 24 and 25th January. The event, ‘Civil Society and Good Governance’, was part of a project funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Global Challenges Research Fund and led by…

Praying on Brexit: Christianity and Euroscepticism in Britain

On 23rd June 2016, UK voters delivered one of the greatest shocks to British politics by voting 52% to 48% in favour of Brexit. The closeness of the result masked the depth of difference between the moral, political and social values held by those on each side. These differences continue to be a source of…

Growing up in Wales: Evidence from the WISERD Education Multi-Cohort Study

Over the past six years, the WISERD Education Multi Cohort Study (WMCS) has made an important contribution to understanding the lives of young people in Wales, by conducting an annual survey of over 1,000 young people, aged eight to 18-years-old. A key part of the data we’ve been gathering is around our young people’s educational…

The Shared Prosperity Fund should give Wales a future – not just a cheque

Wales faces an imminent funding hole. After Brexit, we will lose access to the net benefit we gain from EU funds. These include the so-called ‘structural funds’, which support regional development and social initiatives. For 2012-20 alone, Wales has been allocated some £2 billion worth of structural funding. That’s a lot of money to miss…

WISERD symposium on the family and civil society: across the generations

On the 20th November, researchers from universities and third sector organisations came together at the London offices of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) for a symposium on the relationship between the family and civil society. Chaired by WISERD co-director, Professor Sally Power, the event provided an opportunity to share updates on WISERD Civil…

Young people value diversity, humour and honesty in their friendships – new research

Friendships made in school play a special part in young people’s development. They are more than just moral support, friends help them learn key social skills, and serve as a source of social support. Close school friends also help young people develop a sense of importance, trust, acceptance and belonging within their school. Young people…

ESRC Festival of Social Science 2018

From sharing our latest research findings and hosting expert panel discussions, to providing practical workshops and networking opportunities, WISERD ran four events as part of this year’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Festival of Social Sciences. We began the week by visiting a local secondary school and sharing some of the latest findings from…

New WISERD Working Paper: Trust-transparency paradoxes: proceedings of an international conference

WISERD’s latest working paper outlines the  main  proceedings  of  an  international  conference  held  at Sciences Po Lyon, France, on 4 May 2018.  The symposium and subsequent working paper was led by Professor Alistair Cole (Professeur de Science Politique, Directeur du pôle Stratégie et partenariats internationaux, Sciences Po, Lyon and WISERD). The new publication pulls together…

Do volunteers vote, or voters volunteer? The Causality Conundrum

When researchers look at the people who are more likely to vote in elections, or to volunteer in their community, they regularly find themselves describing the same group: those who are highly educated, come from middle class backgrounds and households, who believe that interacting with their community is what a ‘good citizen’ does, and who…

WISERD at 10

This year WISERD celebrates a decade of influencing policy and debate. To mark this important anniversary, a variety of external stakeholders were invited to join WISERD colleagues, old and new, for WISERD at 10, at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. The event marked the launch of Changing Wales: WISERD at 10, a new publication showcasing…

Falling between the gaps: findings of an evidence review

  There are significant gaps in evidence about our most disadvantaged children, reveals an evidence review carried out to assess the state of children’s rights in Wales. Dr Rhian Barrance, Research Associate at WISERD, carried out the review for the Children’s Commissioner for Wales to inform the Commissioner’s strategic priorities. The review identified key evidence…

WISERD Keynote Address at H.M. Treasury, Government Economic Service and Government Social Research Annual Conference

    On Friday 21 September 2018, WISERD Co-Director Professor Paul Chaney gave a keynote address at H.M. Treasury, Government Economic Service and Government Social Research Annual Conference in Aldersgate, London. The conference theme was ‘Better Analysis through Diversity of Thought, Place and People’. Professor Chaney presented the findings from WISERD research into international progress…

WISERD Civil Society awarded transition funding

    WISERD Civil Society is one of nine research centres to have been awarded follow-on ‘centres transition funding’. This will enable us to continue our research and activities, and work towards increasing the use of our research in policy and practice. WISERD Civil Society is an ESRC-funded social science research centre undertaking multi-disciplinary, policy-relevant…

WISERD holds joint research workshop on civil society, human rights and social justice in Bangladesh

Following the recent violence and civil unrest in Bangladesh over the summer https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-45069935 some of the country’s leading human rights activists attended a one-day civil society research workshop organised by WISERD and BRAC University in Dhaka on August 30. It was held as part of the project ‘Exploring Effective Practice in Civil Society Organisations: Promotion of Human…

WISERD welcomes Gwyther Rees – Honorary Research Fellow

Earlier this month Cardiff University announced they are conferring an honorary title upon Gwyther Rees. Gwyther is an internationally renowned expert on children’s subjective wellbeing, he has been researching children’s wellbeing in the UK and internationally for nearly thirty years. Gwyther has considerable experience of working in the third sector with various organisations such as…

Female Foeticide and Bride Trafficking in India: New Perspectives from Civil Society

Constitutionally a secular state, India is a diverse country with marked religious divides. Recent years have seen growing international and domestic concerns over multiple forms of discrimination affecting persons belonging to religious and linguistic minorities, and a growing trend of violence against members of religious minorities. There are similar worries over discrimination and oppression faced…

Strong WISERD presence at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Annual Research Conference

Work from WISERD’s Civil Society Research Programme features prominently at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Annual Conference in London, taking place today and tomorrow September 6-7. The WISERD stand (pictured) is doing brisk business with high levels of interest from conference-goers.     WISERD researchers will be presenting a raft of papers. For…

Inequalities in Youth Turnout: it’s not only age that matters

Our previous blog showed the challenge facing British democracy stemming from the sharp age-based differences in electoral turnout: while younger people have always been less likely to vote, since 1970 the difference between them and their elders has trebled. Since 2001, it has been fair to say that the average British young person does not…

WISERD- IIT Delhi – joint Civil Society and Citizenship Research Workshop held in New Delhi

India’s leading human rights NGOs attended the two-day WISERD- Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi joint civil society Research Workshop held in New Delhi on August 17-18. It was held as part of the project ‘Exploring Effective Practice in Civil Society Organisations: Promotion of Human Rights, Good Governance and Social Justice in India and Bangladesh’ project…

Six days of induction into life as a Welsh Cruciblee

When I first got the email confirming my place on the prestigious Welsh Crucible programme for developing ‘future research leaders of Wales’ my initial thought was; “great that will look good on my CV”. However, over the following six days of Crucible Labs held across Wales, I came to realise that the programme is much…

Social Action as a Route to the Ballot Box: Can Volunteering Help Reverse Declining Youth Turnout?

In the 1970 General Election (the first following the reduction of the voting age to 18), 65% of eligible 18-24 year olds voted – roughly 7% lower than the turnout for the whole electorate.  By the 2017 election (despite claims of a so-called ‘youthquake’), this difference had trebled: fewer than half of eligible 18-24 year…

Huge variance found in aspirations of school-leavers, depending on where they study

Schools can be hugely influential in students’ choices about higher education, irrespective of the grades they achieve, research has found. The Study led by WISERD’s Professor Chris Taylor followed the educational pathways of all Year 11 pupils across Wales between 2005 and 2007. When the only variable factor was the school they went to, the…

Remembering Professor Geoff Whitty

    WISERD Director Professor Ian Rees Jones pays tribute to Geoff Whitty, Director Emeritus of the UCL Institution of Education (IOE) and a member of the WISERD Advisory Board, who sadly passed away last week. “It is a great sadness to hear the news of the death of Professor Geoff Whitty CBE. Over a…

Trams, canals and international perspectives on third sector research

Earlier this month WISERD colleagues from Cardiff and Bangor attended the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) Conference in Amsterdam. This bi-annual gathering of academics and practitioners from over 80 countries across the world, aims to promote the study of civil society and the non-profit sector. Hosted by Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, the conference saw…

Global trade union organisation recognises WISERD’s research impact

The importance of a new report Trade Union Responses to the Changing World of Work, written by Dr Helen Blakely and Dr Steve Davies, which looks at the trade union responses to the changing world of work around the world, has been recognised by UNI Global Union. In a letter from UNI Global Union’s General Secretary,…

Gender pay gaps in the UK: statutory reporting and wage transparency at the BBC

The gender pay gap has narrowed since it was first measured in the UK in the early 1970s, however since 2010 this trend has stalled and the gap currently remains at about 25%. With the recent implementation of new legislation requiring UK companies with more than 250 employees to publish their gender pay gaps this…

Sheffield Needs a Payrise

The Sheffield Needs A Payrise (SNAP) research project follows the campaign of the same name and builds on the WISERD Spaces of New Localism Civil Society research project. It looks primarily into forms of grassroots, civil society and trade union working together to address issues of low pay and precariousness in work in Sheffield. SNAP…

WISERD Civil Society research on family arguments presented at childhood studies conference

Professor Sally Power, Director of WISERD Education, will today present new research on family arguments at an international childhood studies conference. This research is from the ESRC Civil Society centre research project ‘The intergenerational transmission of ‘civic virtues’: the role of the family in civil society engagement’. Professor Power’s presentation, entitled ‘Family Arguments: about what…

WISERD Civil Society Programme at the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) Conference, Amsterdam

WISERD will have a strong presence at the International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) Conference (10-13 July) hosted by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Philanthropic Studies Department. Founded in 1992, the ISTR is the major international association promoting research and education in the fields of civil society, philanthropy, and the non-profit sector. It is committed to building…

WISERD housing network lead takes part in Westminster Expert Panel

Dr Peter Mackie, the Chair of WISERD’s housing research network, will today share findings from his research at an event on homelessness at Westminster. The panel discussion, ‘How can we tackle the homelessness crisis?’ is part of the Social Market Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)’s ‘Ask the Expert series’.  This event…

Young people are leading a growing movement against low pay and precarious work

Strikes have taken place at McDonald’s and TGI Friday’s restaurants across the UK in recent months. These strikes are the first of their kind in the UK, instigated by a new generation of trade union members fighting for better pay and fairer working conditions.  At the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and…

Pioneers voice their hopes and fears for the new Curriculum for Wales

Wales is in the process of developing a curriculum that is designed to transform the nature of teaching and learning in primary and secondary schools. The ‘Curriculum for wales’ – sometimes referred to simply as ‘Donaldson’ after the person who developed the proposals – is based on ‘ a brand new way of developing a…

WISERD in Paris: Bringing lessons to bear from the UK’s experience for the French constitutional reform

Last Thursday I was invited to the French Senate, the second chamber, to contribute my thoughts on introducing territorial diversity into the French constitution, with a focus on drawing lessons from comparable European experiences.  The specific brief was to discuss how the UK government had managed to introduce Devolution almost two years ago. As with…

Organ transplants: knowing more about where donors live could save lives

In 2017-18, a record number of people (1,575 in total) in the UK donated their organs after death, resulting in more than 5,000 life-saving or life-improving transplants. These figures, released by NHS Blood and Transplant, show numbers of deceased donors continue to rise in the UK. The 2017-18 figure was an 11% increase on the…

UK Government Revises National Statistics on Trade Union Membership in Response to WISERD Research

Rhys Davies reveals how official figures have under-estimated the presence of trade unions within UK workplaces over many years. This morning, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published its latest estimates for trade union membership in the UK based upon data from the Labour Force Survey.  Today’s figures reveal that 6.2 million…

Trade Union responses to the changing world of work

WISERD researcher Dr Helen Blakely is working with UNI Global Union to identify trade unions’ responses to the changing world of work from around the world. This work is being presented at UNI Global Union’s World Congress in June 2018, the largest single global union gathering in the UK in 2018. Here they outline some…

TGI Friday’s staff go on strike for fair pay and fair tips

Continuing with research into current trade union activity, WISERD researcher Wil Chivers reports from a day spent in London last Friday, as TGI Friday’s staff go on strike for the first time in Covent Garden and Milton Keynes. Another week, another strike. There is definitely something growing here. Hot on the heels of the UK’s…

Ageing, intergenerational relations, and barriers to social participation

In ageing societies, promoting active ageing and intergenerational solidarity has been a key aim of policy at national as well as European level. Governments have promoted these policies as a response to concerns over the social exclusion of older people; critics have suggested that such policies merely serve to ease the economic and financial burden…

Sharing research and extending learning

Christala Sophocleous reflects on the experience of co-writing with WISERD colleagues. What did we learn from the Communities First programme? This question was at the heart of many conversations and (often fierce) debates that took place in the months following the announcement in February 2017 that the programme would end in 2018. Across Wales, in…

How does disability affect life satisfaction?

Disability, that is, the presence of a long-term limiting health condition, is associated with substantial economic disadvantage, as illustrated by the low rates of employment and high rates of poverty among disabled people. Yet becoming disabled during the life course, which is experienced by more than 80% of disabled people of working age, can potentially…

Understanding Policy Fellowship funding awarded to Dr Stuart Fox

Dr Fox’s funding is for an Understanding Society Policy Fellowship, which will fund a one year research project called ‘Social action as a route to the ballot box: can volunteering reduce inequalities in turnout?’ The funding is for an Understanding Society Policy Fellowship, which will fund a one year research project called ‘Social action as…

Dr Sioned Pearce awarded ESRC New Investigator funding

Dr Pearce’s successful research grant will fund the WISERD-based research project ‘Youth unemployment and civil society under devolution: a comparative analysis of sub-state welfare regimes’.  The £211,000 grant from the Economic and Social Research Council will fund a two-year project examining divergences in civil society responses to youth unemployment (policy) in the four, devolved nations…

WISERD collaborates with Welsh Government to revolutionise the homelessness data infrastructure in Wales

Dr Ian Thomas, an Administrative Data Research Centre Wales Research Officer based at WISERD, will work with Welsh Government on a part-time basis for a year, introducing new expertise and capacity, with the primary focus of exploring the feasibility of introducing an individual level data collection, reporting and analysis in relation to homelessness in Wales….

WISERD conference in Lyon marks next step in European collaboration

Today’s conference ‘Trust-Transparency Paradoxes’ marks the beginning of a formal collaborative agreement between WISERD and TRIANGLE in Lyon, France. The memorandum of Understanding, signed on the eve of the conference, will support the development of exciting joint research projects, future academic exchanges and collaborative publications. TRIANGLE and WISERD are both cross-institutional, multi-disciplinary centres of research…

McDonald’s workers strike for the second time on International Workers’ Day

Following last week’s WISERD blog post about the 2017 McDonald’s strike, Wil Chivers and Helen Blakely report from the picket lines in London at the UK’s second McStrike. Until now our research on the McStrike has been at a distance. We’ve followed the Twitter conversation and although we’ve got a good sense of what’s been…

How the UK’s first #McStrike was tweeted

In September 2017, McDonald’s workers went on strike for the first time in the UK. Researchers at WISERD analysed the social media conversation that surrounded the ‘McStrike’at the time. With a second McStrike scheduled for the 1st May Wil Chivers, Helen Blakely and Steve Davies outline key findings from this research. Young workers unite McDonald’s…

Student talent network to be expanded after WISERD review

The Welsh Government have announced plans to expand their pilot network for high achieving school pupils. WISERD and ADRC-Wales researchers Rhys Davies and Dr Suhaer Yunus contributed to the OB3 Research evaluation of the Seren Network, which helps Wales’ brightest sixth formers gain access to top universities across the world. .@wgcs_education has announced the @Seren_Network…

Charities are playing a growing role in schools – but is that a good thing?

WISERD Education Director, Professor Sally Power, explores the situation in this blog post. While there have been growing concerns about the permeation of business in education, relatively little attention has been paid to how schools are increasingly engaged in the “business” of fundraising for charities. At WISERD Education, we have been examining the increasingly close…

Tracking progress on the government’s disability and employment commitments

WISERD’s Professor Melanie Jones blogs for The Conversation with Professor Victoria Wass, Cardiff University. Disability affects the lives of millions of people in the UK. With about one in six working-age people currently reporting some kind of disability, around 70% are either working, looking for work or want to work. Good quality work is important…

Does community cohesion matter when it comes to library accessibility?

From realms of fantasy to political intrigue, libraries are places where people of all ages can immerse themselves in fiction and non-fiction alike. Sadly, ever-tightening local government budgets have necessitated changing levels of provision for many of our beloved local public services. For some libraries this means reduced opening hours or even forced closures when…

Engaging with the voluntary sector at gofod3

‘Have you done any research on how to recruit volunteers?’; ‘Can I use the WISERD DataPortal to map my members?’. These were just some of the questions we were asked when WISERD returned to this year’s gofod3, the WCVA’s annual gathering of the third sector. We had a stand in the exhibition hall, along with 60 other organisations…

A space for the voices of young, BME women in the Brexit process

To mark International Women’s Day, we want to create a space for the voices of young, ethnic minority women in the current Brexit process. With EU-UK exit negotiations well underway, this study is an extension of both WISERD’s ‘Young People and Brexit’ study and Welsh Crucible-funded ‘Migration, Moral Panic and Meaning’, exploring representations of EU migrants…

New book on modern European philosophers launched

A new book by WISERD academic Professor W. John Morgan examining nine modern European philosophers was discussed at a recent lunchtime seminar. Philosophy, Dialogue, and Education: Nine Modern European Philosophers, by Prof Morgan and Alexandre Guilherme, is intended for academics and students in philosophy or the philosophy of education and in educational, cultural, and social studies. It considers…

What do young people in Wales think about their school environments?

For the past 30 years there has been substantial focus in the UK on the issues related to the physical size and condition of schools, and how it may affect pupils’ academic progress, achievement and overall school experience. Young people’s perspectives of their environments are reflected through cultures and organisation, as well as physical structures…

New WISERD civil society research in India and Bangladesh

A new WISERD international partnership project examining civil society in India and Bangladesh has been announced. The project, entitled “Exploring effective practice in civil society organisations’ promotion of human rights, good governance and social justice in India and Bangladesh” is led by Professor Paul Chaney (Cardiff University) and Sahoo Sarbeswar (Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi). Funded by the…

Transparency – a commitment to greater accountability or an overpriced pint?

The seemingly unending decline of trust in politicians and the political process has been a recurring story within the media in recent years. In January, the annual Edelman Trust Barometer reported a “global implosion of trust”, with levels of trust in government falling across half of the countries surveyed, from South Africa to Spain. Politicians…

The ‘youthquake’ myth & Britain’s Millennials

Dr Stuart Fox suggests there was no real increase in youth turnout at last year’s election After the polls closed in the 2017 general election, the ‘youthquake’ quickly became one of the hottest talking points amongst academics, politicians and journalists alike. Driven on by photographs on social media of young people queuing outside polling stations,…

The perils and pitfalls of feeding back on local field studies

In 2014 we embarked on a comparative study of two villages in North East Wales. Our research focused on how people come together in local areas – in clubs, societies and groups – and observed how such association is changing. We spent two years interviewing local people, listening to their life histories and experiences, observing…

Should levels of access to essential services be measured by travel time alone?

According to available estimates, residents living in more rural areas of Wales generally need to travel farthest to access a number of key services. Take access to GP surgeries, for instance. A two-way journey by car to a local GP surgery is considered to take, on average, between 10-14 minutes for those living in smaller…

Dr Scott Orford talks empty shops in Wales on Radio 4

WISERD’s Dr Scott Orford from Cardiff University was featured in two parts of a three part series on BBC Radio 4’s ‘You and Yours’ programme, exploring why rates of empty shops are higher in Wales than they are in other parts of the UK.   Image credit: Gwydion M. Williams (CC BY 2.0)

Wales’s schools urgently need political participation lessons

Dr Dan Evans uses WISERD research to examine young people’s apathy with the Welsh political process This article was originally published on The Conversation. Click to read the original article. After 20 years of devolved politics, one would assume that Wales’s government and parliament would have solidified its place in the country, and the people of…

WISERD takes civil society research to Indonesia

WISERD has been sharing research on civil society at the International Society for Third Sector Research’s tenth Asia Pacific Regional Conference hosted by CECT Trisakti University, Jakarta, Indonesia. The WISERD stall at the conference did brisk business, attracting interest from many senior academics, students, policy-makers and members of third sector organisations attending the event. Presentations…

WISERD wins at Social Research Awards

Cardiff WISERD Co-Director Professor Chris Taylor won a prestigious Welsh Social Research Association award from an all-WISERD shortlist last night. Prof Taylor was awarded the Research Impact Award for leading a team evaluating the Welsh Government’s Foundation Phase, the school curriculum for 3-7 year olds. As well as direct changes to education policy, @profchristaylor’s research on…

Going the extra mile: women, migrants, and civil society in austere times

Hardly a day goes by without discussion of immigration in the media. Recently, the leaking of a Home Office document outlined plans to limit immigration from the EU after Brexit, and once again, the report and surrounding discussion focused on the perceived shortcomings of immigration. We have interviewed 40 key stakeholders representing 25 organisations run…

Remembering in Aberystwyth: Memorialisation, civil society and the importance of place

Dr Sophie Yarker on the unique shared Remembrance Day practices in Aberystwyth Remembrance Sunday and its parades, wreath-laying and fundraising provides perhaps one of the clearest examples of the coming together of civil society through a shared practice of memorialisation. Although dominated nationally by the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, at a community level there…

WISERD analysis helps determine whether Welsh Government can fulfill childcare commitment

WISERD’s bespoke analytical tools were used in a Welsh Government research project to assess whether the existing supply of childcare in Wales can cope with the increased demand due from a change in Government policy. The research and analysis was conducted by WISERD Co-Director Prof Gary Higgs and Dr Mitchel Langford of the University of…

Rediscovering passion: how my placement at WISERD has helped my future

Josie Phillips has recently graduated from her third year of a sociology degree at Cardiff University. This summer, Josie undertook a research placement at the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD), assisting Dr Esther Muddiman with a project about the passing on of values between family members. As my third year of…

Developing ‘inheritance’ mapping

Louise Taylor is in the second year of her sociology degree at Cardiff University. This summer she took part in a Cardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (CUROP) placement at the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data and Methods (WISERD). Louise has been working with Dr Esther Muddiman on a project about intergenerational values….

Cardiff hub helps UK-wide effort to shape housing policy

Welsh housing experts, including WISERD academics, are set to take a leading role in a new UK-wide effort designed to shape UK policy and tackle chronic housing problems. The Glasgow-based UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) is a joint collaboration between ten universities and three non-higher education organisations. Staff are located at hubs across…

Senedd motion on carbon emissions reduction based on WISERD work

Government evaluation of a scheme developed to reduce carbon emissions was debated at the National Assembly for Wales on Wednesday 4th October 2017. The proposal draws on the work of Martin Burgess, a WISERD researcher at the Behavioural Insights Research Centre located in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University. Sponsored by…

‘Handbook of Education in China’ book launch

Cardiff Confucius Institute welcomed Honorary Professor and Leverhulme Emeritus Professor W. John Morgan and Professor of Education at University of Nottingham, Qing Gu, to introduce their new book, theHandbook of Education in China. The launch event was well attended by Cardiff University staff and students representing a range of academic schools, demonstrating the wide interest…

Civil Society research presented to leading Chinese institutions

Findings from the WISERD Civil Society project, ‘Territoriality and Third Sector Engagement in Policy-making and Welfare Provision’, were recently presented to two of China’s leading institutions. WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney, gave a presentation to the leading Chinese Government Research body, the Beijing-based Institute of Economic Reform. He outlined research findings on the impact of…

Strong WISERD presence at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Annual Research Conference

Work from WISERD’s Civil Society Research Programme featured prominently at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) Annual Conference in Nottingham, September 7-8. The WISERD stand (pictured) did brisk business with high levels of interest from conference-goers. Dr David Dalimore (WISERD, Bangor University) gave a paper on ‘Place, Belonging and the Determinants of Volunteering’. This presented…

Social Media & Society Conference 2017

The 28-30th July marked the 8th annual Social Media & Society Conference. The conference is organised by the Social Media Lab at Ryerson University in Toronto and this year it returned home to Canada after last year’s excursion to Goldsmiths in London. WISERD Research Associate, Dr Wil Chivers presented at both of these conferences and in his latest blog he reveals his highlights…

Are Welsh-medium schools in south-east Wales ‘middle class’?

Are pupils who attend Welsh-medium schools in south-east Wales mostly from middle-class backgrounds and does it matter? Siôn Llewelyn Jones, from Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences, will examine these questions in a presentation at Cardiff University’s tent at the National Eisteddfod on Anglesey on Thursday 10th August at 4pm. Mr Jones recently presented his…

WISERD hosts Cardiff University summer placement students

WISERD has been delighted to host five undergraduate students this summer, four of whom were part of the Cardiff Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme (CUROP). The CUROP programme is now considered to be one of the largest undergraduate research schemes in the UK and it aims to offer students paid experience of working in a research…

Digital sexuality: the Internet as an intermediary and mediator of sex

As part of the WISERD Cardiff lunchtime seminar series, Dr Ian Thomas reported recent findings from his exploration into the Internet’s effects on sexuality. He questions whether the Internet is an intermediary and/or a mediator, and whether it is altering our understanding of sexuality. In my WISERD lunchtime seminar, I began by drawing on the…

What would a Cultural Participation Research Network look like, and why should we have one?

Dr Eva Elliott and Dr Ellie Byrne introduce The Cultural Participation Research Network, which was established in June 2017 with help from Cardiff University’s Strong Communities, Healthier People Flagship Engagement Project. The network aims to bring a range of individuals and organisations together in Wales to develop a programme of research around cultural participation and what it…

Seed corn funding opportunity from the Cultural Participation Research Network

As part of WISERD’s Cultural Participation Research Network (CPRN) there is a small fund available for activities and projects to support the development of the network. The aim of the network is to develop a programme of research and impact activities in the field of cultural participation[1], with a focus on collaboration between academics, decision makers,…

‘The North Wales Economy: Thoughts from the Assembly Commission’s first Academic Fellowship’ – Welsh Assembly Research Service Blog

Dr Alexandra Plows’ report on the north Wales economy is covered in an article about the Assembly Commission’s first Academic Fellowship. A link to the article can be found below: https://seneddresearch.blog/2017/07/04/the-north-wales-economy-thoughts-from-the-assembly-commissions-first-academic-fellowship/

Professor Paul Chaney presents civil society research findings at National Assembly for Wales seminar

On 27th June, WISERD Co-director, Professor Paul Chaney discussed the third sector’s relationship with the state with a mixed audience of assembly members, policy-makers, practitioners and members of the public, at the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay, as part of the National Assembly for Wales’s Exchanging Ideas seminar. He argued that issues of voluntary sector…

‘It’s bringing new life in’ Teenage parents and inter-generational values of family life

WISERD was joined by Dr Sally Brown from Edinburgh Napier University for the latest Civil Society Seminar, which looked at teenage pregnancy and intergenerational relations. Read her blog to discover more about the findings from her qualitative interviews with teenage mothers and mothers-to-be from different generations. The paper I gave recently at WISERD stems from my…

“Discussions about how to engage young people in politics must continue”

Grant Denton, a Politics and Sociology undergraduate at Cardiff University, worked as an Event Assistant at WISERD’s ‘Young People and Brexit: One Year On’ conference at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) building in London on 22nd June 2017. The event brought together academics, third-sector organisations, policymakers and young people for presentations and a…

WISERD Co-Director named ‘Man of the Year’

WISERD Co-Director, Professor Paul Chaney has been named Chwarae Teg’s ‘Man of the Year’. The organisation recognised Professor Chaney “as a true advocate for gender equality through his writing and policy influence, which has had an impact on the lives of women in Wales and beyond.” Chwarae Teg is Wales’ leading gender equality charity and…