News and Blog

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…

WISERD presents at Hay Festival 2019

On Tuesday 28th May, Dr Jean Jenkins presented her research on employment rights at one of the world’s best-known literature festivals. Her talk, ‘Fashion – an Industry of Gross Exploitation’ explored the history of an industry that was long ago described as a ‘parasite industry’ as a result of the shocking mistreatment of its workers….

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…

Creating space for co-production

It is recognised across many different spheres of public services, research, health and community work that working in co-production with stakeholders and the public can bring benefits to all, and produce more meaningful outcomes. While the concept of co-production is well evidenced, the difficulty lies in actually doing this work properly, as different actors bring…

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…