Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership
Lead Research Organisation:
Aberystwyth University
Department Name: Inst of Geography and Earth Sciences
Abstract
Rural Wales is a diverse region that faces many challenges in pursuing inclusive, sustainable growth. Long-term disadvantages of a dispersed population, poor accessibility, limited infrastructure and a low wage economy have been intensified by the impacts of Brexit and Covid-19. Communities are confronted by the loss of services, youth out-migration, unaffordable housing and a drop in Welsh-speakers. Both new opportunities and new challenges arise from the climate crisis and commitments to a net zero transition. Investments such as the growth deals provide a framework for development, however its widely acknowledged that the evidence base for policy and practice in rural Wales is fragmented and dated, with notable gaps.
The proposed Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership will bring together academics, local government, development agencies, community groups and other stakeholders to find effective solutions. It will combine, analyse and map data from different sources to create a shared evidence hub, supplemented by new research; it will test and evaluate innovative ideas; and it will enable communities to better understand local issues through community-led research that can create the knowledge required for effective local action. The partnership's activities will focus on the four priorities of 'Building a Regenerative Economy', 'Supporting the New Zero Transition', 'Empowering Communities for Cultural Recovery' and 'Enhancing Wellbeing in Place'.
Phase 1 of the project will concentrate on the further development of the full work programme through principles of co-design, working with stakeholders and communities to shape to priorities and methods. In particular, we will engage with communities in five pilot areas around Corwen, Newtown, Trawsfynydd, northern Ceredigion and north-west Pembrokeshire, to identify topics for initial community-led research studies in Phase 2, and to learn from previous community engagement, co-design and community research projects. Other aspects of Phase 1 will focus on reviewing existing data and on consolidating the partnership.
The Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership is led by Aberystwyth University with researchers at Bangor, Cardiff and Gloucestershire universities, and stakeholders including Antur Cymru, Datblygiadau Egni Gwledig (DEG), Rural Health and Care Wales and Sgema. The LPIP is supported by collaborating partners including Ambition North Wales, Growing Mid Wales, Natural Resources Wales, One Voice Wales, Severn Wye Energy, and the Welsh Local Government Association. There will opportunities for wider researchers, stakeholders and community representatives to be involved with the LPIP as members of four Thematic Groups linked to the priority areas.
The proposed Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership will bring together academics, local government, development agencies, community groups and other stakeholders to find effective solutions. It will combine, analyse and map data from different sources to create a shared evidence hub, supplemented by new research; it will test and evaluate innovative ideas; and it will enable communities to better understand local issues through community-led research that can create the knowledge required for effective local action. The partnership's activities will focus on the four priorities of 'Building a Regenerative Economy', 'Supporting the New Zero Transition', 'Empowering Communities for Cultural Recovery' and 'Enhancing Wellbeing in Place'.
Phase 1 of the project will concentrate on the further development of the full work programme through principles of co-design, working with stakeholders and communities to shape to priorities and methods. In particular, we will engage with communities in five pilot areas around Corwen, Newtown, Trawsfynydd, northern Ceredigion and north-west Pembrokeshire, to identify topics for initial community-led research studies in Phase 2, and to learn from previous community engagement, co-design and community research projects. Other aspects of Phase 1 will focus on reviewing existing data and on consolidating the partnership.
The Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership is led by Aberystwyth University with researchers at Bangor, Cardiff and Gloucestershire universities, and stakeholders including Antur Cymru, Datblygiadau Egni Gwledig (DEG), Rural Health and Care Wales and Sgema. The LPIP is supported by collaborating partners including Ambition North Wales, Growing Mid Wales, Natural Resources Wales, One Voice Wales, Severn Wye Energy, and the Welsh Local Government Association. There will opportunities for wider researchers, stakeholders and community representatives to be involved with the LPIP as members of four Thematic Groups linked to the priority areas.
| Description | Phase 1 of the Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership sought to understand the challenges for delivering inclusive, sustainable growth in a rural context, including limitations in existing data and evidence, through workshops and meetings with stakeholders, community workshops, and reviews of policy documents and datasets. It primarily aimed to inform the development of a work programme for Phase 2 of the Local Policy and Innovation Partnership, with commenced in January 2024. The key findings were: 1) Many conventional models for stimulating economic growth are not readily transferable into a rural context, such as Rural Wales, where there are distinctive obstacles including the absence of a sizeable urban centre, the dispersed population and labour force, the typically small size of businesses, limited endogenous capital for investment, uneven or inadequate infrastructure, and significant out-migration of skilled workers and young people. 2) The social, economic and environmental challenges facing the region are intertwined. For example, efforts by businesses to recruit skilled workers may be affected by limited appropriate, affordable, housing, while schemes to train school-leavers in-house have been compromised by the erosion of public transport meaning that trainees are unable to access specialist day courses that there is not sufficient demand to provide locally. 3) Initiatives to promote innovation in the rural economy are hindered by incomplete knowledge about how rural micro-enterprises and small businesses understand 'innovation' and evaluate the cost-benefits of investment in innovation. 4) The net zero transition raises a number of potential challenges for inclusive, sustainable development in Rural Wales, including around land use, transport, and energy. There are concerns that policies with substantial impacts for business viability and individual livelihoods are being made without sufficient detailed evidence. 5) More broadly, there are several notable gaps in the availability of up-to-date data and evidence at appropriate scales to support policy-making and implementation in areas including rural poverty and the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis, career progression and youth migration, the dynamics of the tourism economy, effects of service rationalisation on social isolation, community assets, and links between the environment and determinants of physical and mental health. There are data gaps in relation to several policy areas required to develop and evaluate Local Wellbeing Plans under the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act in Wales. 6) The capacity of local authorities and other public bodies to address evidence gaps and to undertake their own data analysis to inform decision-making has been eroded by cuts in funding over several years, amplified in a rural context by the fragmentation of the governance landscape and often small size of public bodies. 7) There are strong benefits from engaging local communities in co-producing research and evidence to support local policy-making, especially around contentious issues, but also a wariness on the part of communities about uneven collaboration. Effective action needs to build capacity within communities and respond to locally-defined priorities and measures of success. |
| Exploitation Route | The outcomes of Phase 1 have informed the development of the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 2 programme, which started in January 2024. The key findings however have broader relevance and might inform wider approaches to policy-making, economic regeneration and community development programmes, and the engagement of communities in research. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Communities and Social Services/Policy Environment Government Democracy and Justice Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Other |
| Description | Initial findings from the Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership Phase 1 have been used by the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee in their inquiry on the impact of population change in Wales. The inquiry is ongoing but feedback from the committee indicates that evidence from this project will partially inform their report, conclusions and recommendations. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | RWIF Funding - Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership |
| Amount | £15,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Aberystwyth University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2023 |
| End | 07/2023 |
| Description | Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership Phase 2 |
| Amount | £4,108,790 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/Y502376/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2024 |
| End | 12/2026 |
| Description | Additional partners for Rural Wales LPIP Phase 2 |
| Organisation | Centre for Alternative Technology |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Professor Michael Woods and colleagues recruited the Centre for Alternative Technology and Together for Change as core partners for Phase 2 of the Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnership through engagement activity in the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 1. Professor Woods and colleagues led the overall design and elaboration of the Phase 2 proposal. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Centre for Alternative Technology contributed to the design of the Innovation Lab Work Stream for the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 2. Together for Change has led the design of the Community-led Action Research Work Stream for the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 2 and contributed to preliminary research and engagement for a pilot project in North Pembrokshire. |
| Impact | The collaboration has led directly to the successful award of the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 2. The collaboration with Together for Change also led to the organisation of a panel on community research at the Health and Care Research Wales Conference, reported under Engagement Activities. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Community Workshop in Dyfi Biosphere (Michael Woods, Lowri Cunnington Wynn) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop with community members in the Dyfi Biosphere to identify potential locally-defined issues for community-led action research in the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 2. Plans for research on the impacts of sea level rise were built into the proposal for Phase 2 and contacts identified for engaging community researchers in the study. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Community Workshop in Newtown (Michael Woods) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop with community members in Newtown to identify potential locally-defined issues for community-led action research in the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 2. Plans for research around prospective topics of town centre regeneration, healthcare, heritage and/or young people, were added to the Phase 2 proposal, and contacts identified for engaging community researchers in the study. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Community Workshop in Trawsfynydd (Eifiona Thomas Lane, Lowri Cunnington Wynn) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Workshop with community members in Trawsfynydd to identify potential locally-defined issues for community-led action research in the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 2. Plans for research around the provisional topics of community participation, housing, employment and/or young people were incorporated into the Phase 2 proposal, and contacts identified for engaging community researchers in the study. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Oral Evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee (Michael Woods) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Invited oral evidence was given to the House of Commons Welsh Affairs Select Committee for their inquiry into population change in Wales, December 2023. The material presented included evidence gathered through interviews, meetings and workshops in Phase 1 of the Rural Wales LPIP, and expanded on two submissions of written evidence by LPIP team members. The session was live-streamed to a wider but unverifiable wider audience, with the recording available on the Parliament website. The Committee chair noted that it was "an excellent session and will help us greatly going forward in our inquiry into population change in Wales" and requested further information on several items to support the Committee's deliberations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://parliamenttvlive.tv/event/index/1ba134d2-cfea-4e72-8b36-306146bd15e9 |
| Description | Presentation to Ambition North Wales (Michael Woods) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on plans for the Rural Wales LPIP and emerging outcomes from Phase 1 to the Ambition North Wales Innovation in High Value Manufacturing Programme Board, including representatives from industry, HE and FE providers, and local government. The presentation led to confirmation of Ambition North Wales's support for the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 2 application, particularly identifying areas of research and analysis that could benefit ANW's economic development work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation to Building Rural Businesses Conference (Sophie Bennett-Gillison) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on the aims of the Rural Wales Local Policy and Innovation Partnerships to business representatives and professional practitioners at the the 'Building Rural Businesses: Growth, Resilience and Sustainability' conference, November 2023. Several participants indicated an interest in engaging with the LPIP and discussing potential applications of its research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation to Social Innovation Conference (Sophie Bennett-Gillison) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on findings and themes from the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 1 and implications for social innovation at the Social Innovation Conference, Aberystwyth, January 2024. Several participants requested further information and expressed an interest in engaging with Phase 2 of the LPIP. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation to WLGA Rural Forum (Michael Woods) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation to council leaders, cabinet members, and senior officers from the ten predominantly rural local authorities in Wales in the Welsh Local Government Association Rural Forum, September 2023. Several participants expressed interest in supporting the Rural Wales LPIP and requested follow-up meetings to discuss priorities and collaboration and how the Rural Wales LPIP work can feed into policy and practice in local authorities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentations to Health and Care Research Wales Conference (Michael Woods, Scott Orford) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentations using Rural Wales LPIP Phase 1 research were given by Michael Woods and Scott Orford to an audience of health practitioners, researchers, policy-makers and third sector organisations at the Health and Care Wales Research Conference in October 2023, as part of a panel on Community Power: the Role of Research and Evaluation in Strengthening Communities organised by Together for Change. The panel aimed to promote community-focused research and evaluation in health policy-making and implementation. The panel prompted discussion and interest in developing the approach from audience members, including Welsh Government. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.tfcpembrokeshire.org/en_gb/work/health-care-research-wales-conference-2023/ |
| Description | Workshop at Royal Welsh Show (Michael Woods) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The workshop, held at the Royal Welsh agricultural show in July 2023, engaged participants from farming, environmental and rural organisations, farmers, researchers and policy officials in discussing evidence and research needs for net zero policy. A range of ideas were elicited, some of which were incorporated into the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 2 proposal and/or other research proposals, and several participants expressed interest in being involved in the Phase 2 work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Workshop with Dyfi Biosphere and Tir Canol (Michael Woods) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Material from Rural Wales LPIP Phase 1 activities and proposals for Phase 2 were presented as part of a workshop to strengthen knowledge exchange between research at Aberystwyth University and local organisations Tir Canol and the UNESCO Dyfi Biosphere Partnership. The workshop focused on matching research and evidence needs for sustainable management of the Dyfi estuary area with research expertise and opportunities. Plans were made for follow-up activities, including regular meetings, and participation by Tir Canol and the Dyfi Biosphere Partnership in supporting a pilot community-led research project in the area as part of the Rural Wales LPIP Phase 2. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Workshop with Local Government Officers (Michael Woods and Scott Orford) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The online workshop engaged members of policy and evidence teams in Welsh local authorities to present plans for the proposed Rural Wales LPIP, and to collect information about data gaps and limitations and challenges in using evidence to support local policy-making and delivery. Outcomes of the workshop included sharing of data and follow-up meetings and correspondence with participants expressing interest in supporting and using the LPIP work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |