Research projects

This project utilised a range of econometric approaches to analyse entrepreneurial activity, the growth in Social enterprise and the changing role of the third sector. Research focused on the early stages of entrepreneurial activity and also on the survival and performance of small businesses in Wales (and beyond) as a means to contribute to economic growth…

Funding: £343,384.25 This Engagement project will build on a legacy of social science informed community-based research over the last 10 years in two of the Welsh Government’s Communities First Clusters.  The aim is to build on these past and current research projects and programmes to develop and pilot a sustainable model of collaborative research, education, engagement,…

The overall aim of the project was to provide an analytical review of the research literature on graduate employability and skills, with due attention to the diversity of the approaches that have been adopted. In particular, the review was designed to draw out the implications of the general literature for the specific circumstances of Wales. It also…

‘The Global Countryside: Rural Change and Development in Globalization (GLOBAL-RURAL)’ was a major research project funded by the European Research Council. The study aimed to advance our understanding of the workings and impact of globalization in rural regions through the development and application of new conceptual and methodological approaches. Globalization has a pervasive influence in transforming…

The Centre for Welsh Politics and Society / WISERD@Aberystwyth aims to use research on Welsh politics and society, comparative studies of Wales and other nations and regions, and analyses of Wales’s global connections, to make internationally-significant cutting-edge contributions to social science theories, debates and literature. Our research is organized around three key themes: Global Connections…

Overview Supporting children in their early years is seen as central to reforms to improve educational standards and raise the educational achievement of children in Wales, particularly amongst children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The distinct and novel approach of the Welsh Government has led to major policies such as Flying Start, the creation of a…

Overview ‘The Global Countryside: Rural Change and Development in Globalization (GLOBAL-RURAL)’ is a major research project funded by the European Research Council. The study aims to advance our understanding of the workings and impact of globalization in rural regions through the development and application of new conceptual and methodological approaches. Globalization has a pervasive influence in…

Overview: This longitudinal cohort study, using a mixed methods approach, focuses on the potential for living well with dementia from the perspective of people with dementia and their primary carers. By living well, we mean maximising life satisfaction, reaching one’s potential for well-being, and experiencing the best possible quality of life in the context of…

The aim of the project was to provide an analysis of the current state of education in Wales, based upon a critical review of the available evidence. This analysis provided the basis for the development of a future programme of educational research. More specifically, the objectives were: To construct a robust ‘political arithmetic’ of the performance…

About the Centre The main aim of ADRC WALES was to create a world-class administrative data research centre, known for its ability to access, link and make safe use of data for high quality research. Our work was underpinned by a robust Governance framework. ADRC Wales objectives were to: Provide powerful, robust, state-of-the art data linkage and data…

Funding: £1.5 million The Project is funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Communities, Cultures, Health and Wellbeing Research Grant. The aim of this project was to establish how community representations produced through creative arts practices (e.g. story-telling, performance, visual art) can be used as forms of evidence to inform health-related policy and service development….

The WISERD DataPortal is a web application that enhances a researcher’s ability to search, discover, map and download socio-economic research data related to Wales. The aim is to encourage the re-use and re-purposing of existing data. Who developed it? The WISERD DataPortal has been developed by the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and…

Overview The Pupil Deprivation Grant was introduced in 2012-13 and provides schools with additional resource to raise levels of achievement of a particular group of economically disadvantaged learners. This two-year evaluation looked at how schools have used this new grant and what impact this additional resource has had on these children and young people. In…

Overview Community engagement needs radical re-design. All too often decision-making is top-down and decision makers do not adequately engage, deeming ‘community engagement’ a passive exercise. Communities are often only invited to comment on decisions which have already been made. This leaves isolated and excluded communities feeling even more powerless, adding to the dislocation between politicians…

QUANT@C is an innovative group within the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. The aim of the group is to research and develop new pedagogic strategies for student engagement with quantitative methods in the social sciences. The ESRC Research Development Initiative (RDI) project aimed to train quantitative social science teachers, increasing the number of…

The Welsh Housing Research Network brings together researchers and research organisations in Wales in the field of housing. Researchers are exploring housing issues via a multitude of disciplines ranging from the social sciences and economics to architecture and health. Moreover, network members are drawn from academia, government, the voluntary sector and the private sector. This…

Overview The Assisted Places Scheme was introduced in 1980 by the Conservative Government in order to provide a ‘ladder of opportunity’ for academically able students from poor homes. Over the next 17 years, more than 75,000 pupils received means-tested assistance from public funds to attend the most selective and prestigious private schools in England and…

The overall aim of the proposed research was to demonstrate the effectiveness of the secondary analysis of administrative data-sets to delineate patterns of participation in higher education (HE) and, thereby, to contribute to the development of policy and professional practice in widening access in Wales (and more widely). The project was based upon a collaboration between the…

Overview: This was an evaluation of Pori Drwy Stori, a bilingual reading intervention designed to raise educational outcomes for young children by increasing the quality and quantity of adult-child interactions around reading in the home learning environment (HLE). This evaluation hoped to explore how the Pori Drwy Stori resources and support materials are adopted by parents and…

Established in 2013, the WISERD Education Multi Cohort Study (WMCS) is a longitudinal study of young people in Wales. The WMCS was created to provide a rich data source for education researchers, particularly those working in Wales for whom there were limited resources available for data collection. The WMCS was funded by the Higher Education…