News and Blog

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…