Research

Our research projects are led by experts in their field and explore up-to-date issues and trends affecting Wales.

Our research falls under four main headings:

political economy
politics and government
Wales and Brexit
the law of Wales.

Political economy

The financing of devolved/regional government is a key issue in sub-state territorial governance both in the United Kingdom and the wider world. Through our activities we want to trace and contribute to these key debates.

Current projects

Wales Fiscal Analysis

Wales Fiscal Analysis (WFA) is an ongoing research project seeking to foster and stimulate knowledge of the public finances of Wales. Through rigorous analysis, WFA responds to fiscal events and generates research on all aspects of Government expenditure in Wales.

Politics and government

Devolution has changed the face of government and politics in Wales, creating distinctive political institutions and a specifically Welsh party system. We want to assess the impact of constitutional, institutional and party political developments in Wales, viewing developments in a comparative context.

Current projects

Europe and Devolution – The Wales and the EU Hub

The Hub team examines the implications of Brexit for Wales as a devolved nation.

Welsh Election Study

A study to explore the political dynamics surrounding voting behaviour in Wales.

Wales and Brexit

Researching the process of withdrawing from the European Union is a key priority for us. A range of academic research and public engagement activity is taking place across the Wales Governance Centre.

Current projects

The Wales Civil Society Forum on Brexit

A joint project with the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA), funded by the Legal Education Foundation. We aim to empower and enable the third sector to understand and engage with the Brexit process by providing accessible information and a coordinating role.

The law of Wales

The advent of devolution has led to the further development of Wales as a distinctive legal space characterised not only by differences in public law but also by an increasingly distinctive network of legal institutions. We want to foster expertise in, and critically assess developments in, Welsh law.

Current projects

Justice and Jurisdiction

This is an interdisciplinary project bringing together political scientists, constitutional law experts and criminologists in order to investigate:

the operation of the justice system in Wales
the relationship between non-devolved and devolved policies
the impact of of a single ‘England and Wales’ legal system.

The project will contribute to the work of the Welsh Government’s Commission on Justice in Wales, which was established by the First Minister to review the operation of the country’s justice system.