Institute of Welsh Affairs

The Institute of Welsh Affairs (also known by the acronym IWA) is an independent, membership-based think-tank based in Wales, owing no allegiance to any political or economic interest group. It focuses its research on politics, culture, economy, education, environment, science and technology in Wales, with the aim of developing proposals for "policy innovation and improvement" [ [http://www.iwa.org.uk/about_us/about_us.htm Institute of Welsh Affairs 'About Us' page, October 2007] ] and promoting new thinking on Welsh issues. The IWA publishes numerous reports on the research it carries out, and organises public seminars and conferences to encourage discussion and debate. It is highly regarded for the quality of its work and its commitment to informed public discussion.

Foundation of the IWA

The Institute of Welsh Affairs was incorporated on 22 July 1987 (Company No: 02151006). It was founded on the strength of a paper written in 1985 by Geraint Talfan Davies, a broadcaster, and Keith James, a Cardiff lawyer. The IWA became registered as a charity on 1 December 1990 (Charity No: 1078435).

Mission

The IWA has a fourfold mission:

# To help raise the level of public debate on issues affecting Wales, by placing quality information in the public domain.
# To influence policy-making through the dissemination of innovative new policy ideas.
# To provide networking opportunities for the IWA membership.
# To contribute to building the civic capacity of the country.

Organisation

The IWA is a membership based organisation, it has approximately 1,200 individual and 150 corporate members, and more than 100 Fellows. It is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity.

The corporate members include the Arts Council of Wales, BBC Wales, British Gas, Cardiff County Council, Corus Steel, Deloitte, Eversheds, Julian Hodge Bank, HSBC Bank, ITV Wales, KPMG, the
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, S4C, Welsh Water, Wrexham Borough Council and the University of Wales. Corporate members are encouraged to have an input into the research agenda of the IWA.

The Institute is governed by a Board of Trustees. Its first chairman was Henry Kroch, then chairman of AB Electronics. Since 1992, the chairman has been Geraint Talfan Davies, and since 1996 the director of the organisation has been former journalist and television producer, John Osmond.

As at December 2007, the Board members were Lyn Arnold, Denis Balsom, Gillian Bristow, Guy Clarke, Geraint Talfan Davies (Chairman), Peter Davies, Gerald Holtham, Keith James, Chris Jones, Ruth Marks, Professor Teresa Rees, Professor John Tucker, Sir Donald Walters, Felicity Williams, Ruth Williams and Nonna Woodward.

The IWA has four branches across Wales – North Wales, West Wales, Swansea and Gwent. Steps are currently being taken to establish a Cardiff branch [ [http://www.iwa.org.uk/publications/pdfs/Oct07.pdf October 2007 Newsletter] ] . The IWA also has an affiliated organisation, Wales in London, which came into being in 1994 with the merger the London branch of the IWA and the London Welsh Publicity Society.

Approximately one third of the IWA's income is derived from membership subscriptions, the remainder coming mainly from the funding of specific research projects by trusts and foundations, and other public and private organisationsFact|date=December 2007.

Publications

The IWA publishes a journal three times a year (in spring, summer and winter), called "Agenda". First published in 1994, Agenda contains numerous articles on current issues in Wales, written by experts in their field, including academics, politicians and business people, and a wide range of participants from Welsh civil society.

During the first two terms of the National Assembly of Wales (1999-2003 and 2003-2007) the IWA produced quarterly "monitoring reports" which examined the work of the devolved departments (such as health and education) as well as political and constitutional developments in general. It also examined the new institution's relations with Westminster and with the European Union. These reports can be downloaded free of charge from the IWA website.

It now publishes a regular bulletin on developments in the Assembly, "Assembly Bwletin Cynulliad", published in association with Grayling Wales. In addition, the IWA has published a multitude of research reports, discussion papers and books.

Research

In November 2006 the IWA published a report entitled "Time to Deliver: The Third Term and Beyond". This looked at policy options for the Assembly’s third term, and was the result of work by eight study groups in individual policy areas. A full list of the IWA's research outputs is available on its [http://www.iwa.org.uk/research/research.htm website] .

The IWA's priority areas for its future work include economic development, the environment and climate change, education, health and culture, governance and civil society.

Key themes

Devolution

In the late 1990s, issues relating to devolution formed a major part in the IWA's agenda. It produced reports on the conduct of the referendum, prior to the 1997 referendum and a working group suggested many amendments to the Government of Wales BillFact|date=December 2007. It also published reports on the relationship between devolution and economic development, and on the issue of housing the Assembly.

Welsh Baccalaureate

As early as 1993, in a report entitled "Wales 2010", the IWA proposed the idea of a Welsh Baccalaureate. In a later report by Colin Jenkins and John David it recommended that the Welsh Baccalaureate be based on the International Baccalaureate. Following the establishment of the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition in October 2000, the Assembly Government decided to pilot a Welsh Baccalaureate, although it chose not to adopt the IWA's detailed proposals and to ally the pilot instead to the existing A level and GCSE qualifications.

References

ources

* Public record filed at [http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ Companies House] , (Company No: 02151006), October 2007.
* Public record filed at [http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/showcharity.asp?regno=1078435&submit=Run+Search Charity Commission] , (Charity No: 1078435), October 2007.
* [http://www.bath.ac.uk/ceic/documents/WBQ%20IE%20Report%20-%20Responses%20&%20Recognition.pdf Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification Internal Evaluation] , University of Bath.
*
* [http://www.iwa.org.uk/publications/pdfs/welshbac_nov06.pdf A 'Quarter-Way House'] , John Osmond, November 2006.

ee also

*List of UK think tanks
*List of think tanks

External links

* [http://www.iwa.org.uk/ IWA Website]