Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research, Data & Methods celebrates another successful annual conference

The sixth Annual Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods Conference took place at Cardiff’s iconic Millennium Stadium at the end of June.

The three day conference brought together practitioners, policy makers and social scientists to discuss and debate a range of themes such as health; social care; wellbeing; education; culture & values; environment; labour markets; devolution; and civil society. 

Established as an important event in the social science calendar, academic and non-academic researchers from a diverse range of disciplines shared their research at the conference, the largest of its kind in Wales.

Over 120 papers, posters and panel sessions were included in the programme, encompassing a wide range of topics including: the UK gender pay-gap; the future of the Welsh language in Wales; palliative care for people with dementia; labour market experiences of young people; and e-cigarette use among young people.

Ann Keane, former HM Chief Inspector at Estyn, opened the conference with reflections on her work in Welsh education.  At a time when there are increasing concerns about social mobility, Anne provided new perspectives on areas of achievement and suggested areas where improvements can still be made. 

Director of Public Policy at the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), Karl Wilding offered fascinating and challenging insights into the research and policy concerns, urging the academic community to think more about working with third sector organisations to produce research.

The final day saw writer and economist Will Hutton deliver a talk based on his new book ‘How Good We Can Be’, combining a forensic critique of government policies with new policy ideas and proposals that offer an alternative to the austerity agenda. 

Professor Ian Rees Jones, centre director, shared his reflections on the event: “The conference has grown year on year and with over 200 delegates a day this year it was a privilege be involved.  I was very impressed by the excellent presentations across a range of substantive research areas and particularly by the work of the PhD students from across the associated Universities.  I am very grateful to the Wales Doctoral Training Centre, the Learned Society of Wales and the Wales Council for Voluntary Action for their continued support.”  

Next year’s conference will be held at Swansea University between Tuesday 5th and Thursday 7th July. Further details will be posted on the Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods website.