News and Blog

WISERD Annual Conference 2025

On the 30 June and 1 July, the 15th WISERD Annual Conference took place at Aberystwyth University, welcoming over 130 delegates. The agenda comprised 14 paper sessions, two panels, and three symposia and workshops under the theme of ‘Participation and partnership in a time of precarity and polarisation’. For the first time, this year’s agenda…

Quantitative Methods Bootcamp

From 8 to 11 July 2025, the WISERD Politics and Governance Research Network held a four-day Quantitative Methods Bootcamp at Swansea University. This intensive course was led by Dr Kevin Fahey, Assistant Professor in Politics at Nottingham University and included lectures, practical demonstrations, hands-on practice and group work. Its aim was to provide essential training…

WISERD Annual Conference 2025 – gallery

The WISERD Annual Conference 2025 took place at Aberystwyth University on Monday 30 June and Tuesday 1 July. Scroll through the gallery below to see some of our favourite moments from the event.        

Keynote speaker for WISERD Annual Conference 2025 is Professor Irene Hardill from Northumbria University

We are delighted to announce that the keynote speaker for the WISERD Annual Conference 2025 is Professor Irene Hardill from Northumbria University. Professor Hardill’s keynote address will explore how the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the crucial role of civil society and charities in addressing inequality and unmet needs. It will also explore research examining voluntary action…

Register for the WISERD Annual Conference

We are pleased to announce that the website for booking your free tickets for the WISERD Annual Conference 2025 is now LIVE! The conference is taking place on Monday 30 June – Tuesday 1 July at Aberystwyth University. Book here: WISERD Annual Conference | Prifysgol Aberystwyth University Please select the ticket option ‘2025 Attendees’ –…

Tackling society’s most urgent challenges

Research explores how communities can work together to bring about positive change. Academics will investigate how citizens, civil society organisations and policymakers are collaborating to tackle some of society’s most pressing problems. WISERD has secured £1.6m of funding from the UKRI Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for the three-year research programme, ‘People, Places, and…

Nomination for 2025 Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize

The monograph, Cultural Cold Wars and UNESCO in the Twentieth Century, by W. John Morgan, Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow at WISERD, Cardiff University, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Nottingham, has been nominated for the 2025 Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize in the United States. Established in 1983, the Wayne S. Vucinich Book Prize is…

Written evidence published by House of Lords Committee on Home Based Working in the UK

Based on his previous research on working at home – some of which has been published by WISERD – Professor Alan Felstead has submitted written evidence to the House of Lords  Committee on Home Based Working. This follows Professor Felstead’s invitation to give oral evidence to the first session of the Committee in early March….

Horserace Politics: gamifying political engagement

Horserace Politics (HRP) offers a pioneering platform that enables users to predict the outcomes of political events in a competitive, gamified environment. HRP is led by WISERD academics Drs Matthew Wall and Louis Bromfield (both at Swansea University’s Department of Politics, Philosophy and International Relations) in collaboration with Focus Games Ltd. – a commercial partner…