About us
Cymru Wledig LPIP Rural Wales is the Local Policy and Innovation Partnership for Rural Wales. It connects academic researchers, public bodies, third and private sector organisations and communities, with the aim of enhancing the use of research and innovation to support effective policy-making, sustainable regional development, and the wellbeing of people and places across rural Wales.
Led by Aberystwyth University, the LPIP is a collaboration between four leading academic institutions – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff universities, and the Countryside and Community Research Institute at the University of Gloucestershire – working with partners including the Centre for Alternative Technology, Together for Change, Antur Cymru Enterprise, Datblygiadau Egni Gwledig (DEG), Rural Health and Care Wales, Represent Us Rural, and Sgema.
The work of Cymru Wledig LPIP Rural Wales focuses on the ten predominantly rural local authority areas in Wales – Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, Powys and the Vale of Glamorgan – and extends to rural communities within other parts of Wales. This is a diverse region, but there are shared challenges around economic restructuring, limited employment opportunities, out-migration, housing affordability, loss of local services, adapting to environmental change and new demands on rural land and resources, and the sustainability of majority Welsh-speaking communities.
Our detailed work programme is shaped by evidence needs and policy problems identified by our partners and stakeholders in national and local government, public agencies, businesses, the third sector, and local communities. We employ several approaches including innovation labs, community-led action research projects, targeted studies, surveys, and data analysis, integration and mapping.
Funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Cymru Wledig LPIP Rural Wales is one of four Local Policy Innovation Partnerships established across the UK to connect researchers with local policymakers and communities to address regional challenges and drive sustainable and inclusive growth.
Contact us
If you would like to collaborate or receive more information, please contact Professor Michael Woods, Director, Cymru Wledig LPIP Rural Wales lpip@aber.ac.uk