News Tackling Inequalities Research and Impact Findings of WCPP Policy Fellowship Involving experts-by-experience in knowledge mobilisation can help to enhance impact on policy and practice, and support equality, diversity and inclusion. But it also creates risks and challenges that need to be considered and addressed. These are some of the takeaways from an 18-month UKRI-funded Fellowship embedded at WCPP to support What Works Centres and other […] Read more Topics: Diversity and inclusion Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs September 30, 2025
Report Tackling Inequalities Research and Impact Involving experts-by-experience in knowledge mobilisation WCPP Policy Fellowship finds benefits - and risks - of involving experts-by-experience in knowledge mobilisation Read more Topics: Diversity and inclusion Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs September 25, 2025
Project Research and Impact Practices of effective knowledge mobilisation The Wales Centre for Public Policy is a knowledge brokering organisation that mobilises evidence to inform policy and public service practice. While the benefits of evidence-informed policy making and practice are persuasive, the extent to which they have been achieved is contested. Both require effective approaches to knowledge mobilisation, particularly at the local level where […] Read more Research and Impact: The role of KBOs August 5, 2025
Project Research and Impact Leading evidence mobilisation We conducted a literature review on the factors which determine the effectiveness of evidence centres. This highlighted leadership as a key influence on their success but revealed that there has been very little empirical analysis of what leaders of evidence centres actually do, the skills they need, and how they acquire them. To help address […] Read more Research and Impact: The role of KBOs August 5, 2025
Project Research and Impact Impact of UK university policy engagement bodies Over the last decade, a plethora of bodies have emerged within universities in the UK and beyond that seek to broker evidence produced by their respective organisation to decision-makers. This phenomenon is linked with both the research impact agenda (for instance the Research Excellence Framework in the UK) and universities’ emphasis on civic missing and […] Read more Research and Impact: The role of KBOs August 5, 2025
Blog Post Research and Impact What does it take to lead an evidence intermediary organisation? Professor Steve Martin, Director of the Wales Centre for Public Policy for the centre’s first ten years, sheds some early light on his research into what it takes to lead these organisations – and how this learning could be used to help future leaders of academic-policy engagement initiatives. There is growing recognition of the key […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs December 16, 2024
News Research and Impact Steve Martin retires as WCPP Director: “The Centre is in good hands” Professor Steve Martin will be stepping down as Director of the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) at the end of November after more than a decade at its helm, with current Acting Director, Professor James Downe continuing in that role until Steve’s permanent successor is appointed. Steve will continue to support the Centre in […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs October 9, 2024
Blog Post Research and Impact Understanding impact across the UK's What Works Network All What Works Centres (WWCs) aim to have impact by getting evidence into policy and/or practice. However, because every Centre has different aims, practices, audiences, funding models, staffing levels and size, their understanding of impact, and how they measure and communicate their impact, can differ. Our preliminary research based on interviews with WWCs and their […] Read more Research and Impact: Impact Methods and approaches The role of KBOs October 7, 2024
Project Research and Impact WCPP ESRC Policy Fellowship – Involving experts-by-experience in knowledge mobilisation Since November 2023, the ESRC has funded a Policy Fellow to be seconded to the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) to enhance the understanding, capabilities, and skills of knowledge brokering organisations in involving people with lived experience in our work. The Fellowship is an 18-month collaboration between the Fellow (Dr Rounaq Nayak), WCPP, and […] Read more Topics: Lived experience Promoting Equality Research and Impact: The role of KBOs August 13, 2024
News Research and Impact A new 12-month role for Steve Martin Over the next 12 months our Director, Professor Steve Martin, will take a step back from day-to-day leadership of the WCPP to enable him to work with colleagues to advance understanding of successful approaches to supporting evidence-informed policy making. With the support of our funders - the Welsh Government, ESRC and Cardiff University - Steve […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs November 17, 2023
News Environment and Net Zero Research and Impact WCPP to support Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group The Wales Centre for Public Policy will support the work of the new Wales Net Zero 2035 Challenge Group, bringing together evidence and expertise to explore how Wales can speed up its transition to net zero. The Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru have jointly invited an independent group, chaired by former Environment Minister Jane Davidson, […] Read more Topics: Net Zero Research and Impact: The role of KBOs April 27, 2023
News Research and Impact Wales Centre for Public Policy awarded funding to study the impact of the What Works Network The Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) has been awarded ESRC funding to continue examining and developing the impact of the What Works Network. The project will focus on two key aspects of WCPP’s work: implementation and impact. This will involve analysing how these markers of success look to WWC’s stakeholders and how other organisations […] Read more Research and Impact: Impact Methods and approaches The role of KBOs April 4, 2023
Project Research and Impact Examining the Impact of the What Works Network The Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) has been awarded ESRC funding to continue examining and developing the impact of the What Works Network. This work builds on previous Centre projects such as on implementation and on impact. This new project focuses on the following research questions: What counts as impact and what are the […] Read more Research and Impact: Impact The role of KBOs April 4, 2023
Report Research and Impact What counts as evidence for policy? During the Covid-19 pandemic, the refrain of ‘following the science’ became commonplace. But what is meant by evidence can vary according to who is asked, the context, and other factors. We conducted research to analyse the perceptions of Welsh policy actors towards evidence. These perceptions matter because they will impact why evidence is used or […] Read more Research and Impact: The role of KBOs January 26, 2023
News Research and Impact The Wales Centre for Public Policy receives £9 million investment to support its on-going work in tackling major policy challenges We are delighted to announce that we have been awarded £9 million over the next five years to continue our work providing policy makers and public service leaders in Wales with authoritative independent evidence that helps improve policy making and delivery. We are funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, Welsh Government and Cardiff […] Read more Research and Impact: Impact Methods and approaches The role of KBOs November 29, 2022
Blog Post Research and Impact Understanding organisations that provide evidence for policy This blog post is based on the Evidence & Policy article, ‘Knowledge brokering organisations: a new way of governing evidence’. New organisations have emerged in different countries to help inform policymaking. Different from think tanks and academic research centres, these Knowledge Brokering Organisations (KBOs) attempt to influence policy by mobilising evidence. Our research examines how […] Read more Research and Impact: The role of KBOs November 1, 2022
Blog Post Research and Impact What might implementation science and knowledge mobilisation mean for What Works Centres? Implementation science (IS) and knowledge mobilisation (KMb) are just two concepts in the plethora of ideas and terms developed over the last decades in narrowing the gap between knowledge being produced and knowledge being used in policy and practice. Other terms include knowledge brokering, knowledge transfer, co-production, dissemination science, and knowledge exchange. Most of them […] Read more Research and Impact: The role of KBOs December 8, 2020
News Research and Impact WCPP joins £2m International Public Policy Observatory The Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) is part of a major new initiative that will bring together researchers and policy makers to tackle the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic and accelerate the UK’s recovery. The International Public Policy Observatory (IPPO) is a collaboration between University College London, Cardiff University, Queen’s University Belfast, the University of […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs December 3, 2020
Blog Post Research and Impact Increasing the reach of the What Works network At Wales Centre for Public Policy we’re part of the UK’s What Works network. It’s a group of 13 (and counting) Centres aiming to improve the use of evidence in decision-making in various policy areas from education, to policing, to wellbeing. We think we’ve got a lot to share with the rest of the What […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs March 10, 2020
Blog Post Research and Impact Mobilising Meaningful Connections between Evidence and Practice At the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP), we are continually reflecting upon our role as a ‘knowledge brokerage organisation’ (KBO). We see ‘knowledge brokerage’ as the practice of connecting researchers and decision makers to help inform public policy and professional practice. Although knowledge brokerage has great potential, we also recognise the complexity inherent in […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs November 29, 2019
Blog Post Research and Impact What works in getting evidence used? One of the Early Intervention Foundation's (EIF) core functions is to see that evidence on early intervention is actually being used in policy, decision-making and practice. Jo Casebourne and Donna Molloy summarise some of the varied approaches we have taken to tackling this particular challenge, and our commitment to making ongoing improvements in how we […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs November 26, 2019
Blog Post Research and Impact Researching the Use of Evidence in Policy Making What does it mean to be a ‘knowledge broker’? What impact does knowledge brokerage have on government policymaking? Why might evidence use at the local level require different approaches, and how would this be implemented? Here at the Wales Centre for Public Policy we recognise that the relationship between evidence and policy is complex and […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs November 18, 2019
Project Research and Impact What are Knowledge Brokering Organisations? There has been a significant growth in the number of evidence intermediaries or knowledge brokering organisations sitting between research and government and seeking to bridge the perceived 'gap' between evidence and policy. Their proliferation has been fuelled by the key assumption of the evidence-informed policymaking (EIPM) movement: that more evidence will lead to better policy. […] Read more Research and Impact: The role of KBOs November 1, 2019
News Research and Impact Wales Centre for Public Policy acclaimed for outstanding impact on policy in Wales The Wales Centre for Public Policy, based at Cardiff University, has been acclaimed by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through its annual Celebrating Impact prize scheme. The Centre was named as one of the two finalists in the category for Outstanding Public Policy Impact at a ceremony at the Royal Society in London […] Read more Research and Impact: Impact The role of KBOs July 16, 2019
Blog Post Environment and Net Zero Research and Impact Evidence, practice and philosophy: How can we undertake effective evidence-informed practice in Wales? Wales is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of educational reform. Along with a distinctive approach to curriculum development comes an emphasis on transforming schools into professional learning organisations (PLOs). This results in stakeholders not only debating curricular concerns about what knowledge pupils need to know and how, but also what teachers need to know and […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs June 6, 2019
Blog Post Research and Impact Introducing our Advisory Board Members The group brings together a stellar cast of more than 20 eminent individuals with experience of having worked at the highest levels in government, public services, academia, think tanks and independent research organisations. It includes members with experience as national and local politicians, political advisers, senior civil servants, senior managers in local government, health, the […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs May 15, 2019
News Research and Impact WCPP selected as a finalist for ESRC Celebrating Impact Prize We are delighted to announce that the Centre has been selected as a finalist for this year’s ESRC’s Celebrating Impact Prize in recognition of the way in which it has enabled Ministers to use evidence to inform policy decisions. The prestigious prize, now in its seventh year, celebrates ESRC-funded teams who have achieved outstanding economic […] Read more Research and Impact: Impact The role of KBOs May 8, 2019
Blog Post Research and Impact Evidence-informed policymaking: does knowledge brokering work? Sarah Quarmby takes a look inside the Wales Centre for Public Policy to see how its day-to-day workings tally with the body of knowledge about evidence use in policymaking. This article originally appeared on the LSE British Politics and Policy blog. There’s widespread and sustained interest in the role of evidence in policymaking. But because policymaking […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs June 18, 2018
News Research and Impact WCPP clinches Impact on Policy Award The work of the predecessor to the Wales Centre for Public Policy in championing collaboration between academics and the Welsh Government has been awarded a Cardiff University innovation award. The partnership between what was the Public Policy Institute for Wales (PPIW) and the Welsh Government has won the Impact on Policy Award at Cardiff University’s […] Read more Research and Impact: Impact The role of KBOs June 1, 2018
Blog Post Research and Impact Strengthening the Links Between Academic Research and the National Assembly for Wales It is widely accepted that academic research has an important role to play in policy formation and scrutiny, but there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ way of making this happen. The National Assembly for Wales (aka the Welsh Assembly) is involved with some exciting initiatives to make sure that evidence gets to the politicians who need it […] Read more Research and Impact: Methods and approaches The role of KBOs May 16, 2018
