Investigating resilience in Welsh communities - survey

Aberystwyth University academics are surveying community and town councils to explore how resilient and adaptive Welsh communities are.

The study will consider key influences in people’s lives on a day-to-day basis and in times of crises – such as infrastructure, democracy, community services, local buildings and support for culture and Welsh language.

The research is being carried out by the Cymru Wledig Local Policy and Innovation Partnership (LPIP) for Rural Wales, which is led by Aberystwyth University and funded by UKRI. 

Dr Lucy Baker from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University and an LPIP researcher, explains:

“Communities are currently facing multiple major challenges, with public spending cuts, increased responsibility at a community level as a consequence of asset transfers bringing increased responsibilities to the smallest geographical scale, and the public struggling through the cost-of-living crisis.

“We hope that the survey will shine a light upon some of these challenges, to help other stakeholders like authorities, government, third sector organisations, businesses, and community groups help address some of these issues. We’re also hoping to see some inspiring examples of what has been happening within our communities to build a resilient future.”

Researchers at Aberystwyth University have teamed up with One Voice Wales to distribute the survey to community and town councils across Wales.

Lyn Cadwallader, Chief Executive of One Voice Wales, explains:

“Community and town councils are incredibly important in being the democratically elected first point of contact and playing a big role in people’s everyday lives through doing things like managing community assets, providing contact with local authorities and organising key events.

“We need to expand our knowledge of the diverse activities and challenges of community and town councils across Wales. This survey will give us an opportunity to get up-to-date information about resilience and assets within our communities.”

While the research will collate publicly available information about services such as access to health and education, the survey element will focus on where there are gaps in data in key areas of community resilience and wellbeing.

This includes how councils are thinking about climate change adaptations, what activities take place in community buildings, how community life has changed since the COVID19 pandemic, and access to local food and small businesses in the communities.

Clerks of community and town councils throughout Wales have been sent links to the bilingual online survey, which is intended to be completed by members, staff or volunteers of community and town councils, or councilors.  The survey is open until the end of January 2025.  Any questions about the survey can be sent to: Lucy Baker (lub59@aber.ac.uk), or Ellen Hjort (elh103@aber.ac.uk), Cymru Wledig LPIP Researchers. 

The Cymru Wledig LPIP for Rural Wales involves several Welsh universities, third sector organisations, communities and policymakers.  It is working to develop an inclusive, sustainable rural economy by giving local government, business and communities the evidence they need to make decisions that build prosperity and reduce inequality.