Matthew Quinn presents at Centre for Welsh Politics and Society event

Sustainable Places’ Distinguished Visiting Fellow Matthew Quinn presented at “Shaping the future of rural Wales: What are the evidence needs of rural civil society?”, an event hosted by the Centre for Welsh Politics and Society at Aberystwyth University.

Rural policy in Wales is facing its most significant reforms in decades as the Welsh Government considers options for rural development policy and funding after Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.

Matthew delivered a presentation examining the policy context of how Departure from the Common Agricultural Policy and European regional development and cohesion policies presents both threats and opportunities.

There are fears that political pressures could lead to support for rural development and rural communities being squeezed and opportunities for new approaches missed. There have been concerns that the voices of rural communities are not being sufficiently heard in policy debates, with recent moves to form a rural network to strengthen the representation of rural civil society in Wales.

This event explored how researchers studying rural Wales can contribute to this process by working with civil society groups to identify problems, develop responses and provide evidence for policymaking.