News and Blog

In early November 2022, we were delighted to welcome Professor Charles Sabel from Columbia Law School as WISERD international visiting scholar. Professor Sabel joined us in sparcIspark for a week of events and discussions about his work on experimental governance. The visit kicked off with an intensive workshop addressing “Industrial Policy for Climate Change and…

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…

A new book edited by Paul Chaney and Ian Rees Jones presents original findings and brings together core strands of theory to highlight some of the pressing challenges facing civil society. It is the latest edited volume to be published as part of the Civil Society and Social Change book series with Policy Press and highlights…

Dr Amy Sanders of Aberystwyth University has created a series of bitesize videos aimed at practitioners that share her research on the relationship between the voluntary sector and Welsh Government in the time that is takes to have mug of tea. Amy’s background in the third sector has always been important to her during her…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Three Aberystwyth University academics have written chapters in a new book that celebrates Professor Colin Williams’ contribution to the field of language policy and planning. Language, Policy and Territory contains 18 chapters by Williams’ former students, colleagues and collaborators. These include Professor Rhys Jones, Dr Huw Lewis and Dr Elin Royles, who are based at…

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…