Institute of Welsh Affairs

The Institute of Welsh Affairs is a membership-based think-tank and policy research institute aimed at promoting new thinking on Welsh issues. Its activities include the publication of research reports and discussion papers, and the organisation of seminars and conferences throughout Wales covering a range of interests, including the economy, education, health, and the environment.

In the charity's own words, from the register.

In Wales

• Throughout Wales

Area of benefit in its governing document: Wales

The places the charity told the Commission it works in.

In the year ending 31 March 2025, it had income of £202,561 and spent £216,437.

Figures as the charity reported them to the Charity Commission. Staff and volunteer numbers are only asked of charities with income over £10,000. A year with no row was not reported.

Separate measures from the charity's own returns and accounts, each with its year. Read them together: no single measure says how well a charity is run.

Income over time

Down 55%, from £449,722 in the year to 31 March 2021 to £202,561 in the year to 31 March 2025.

Spending against income

It spent 107% of its income in the year to 31 March 2025. It spent more than its income in 2 of the 5 years shown.

From the annual returns the charity filed with the Charity Commission. The largest funder comes from its accounts, read by AI.

Government grants in the year ending 31 March 2025: Not reported. Government contracts: Not reported.

From the charity's annual return to the Charity Commission, which asks every charity with income over £10,000 how much came from government grants and contracts. It does not say which part of government. These totals are separate from the named funders read from its accounts and the grants published on 360Giving, and are not added to them.

Funders that publish to 360Giving list 12 grants to this charity since 2008, worth at least £764,084.

Only funders that publish their grants to 360Giving are included, and many do not. These are amounts funders awarded, which can differ from what the charity received in a given year, so they are shown apart from the accounts figures above.

Senedd and Welsh Government records that name this charity, gathered by OpenSenedd. Newest first.

• 20 October 2026

  Named by Elfyn Llwyd in the Senedd

  …al and international levels in order to understand what is happening around us and our role in it. The expert panel on broadcasting, the Institute of Welsh Affairs and the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales have all acknowledged the need for a stronger voice for Wales on br…

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• 16 September 2026

  Named by Heledd Fychan in the Senedd

  …committee yet the range of evidence that I referred to during my question session with the committee. I referred to the IWA report, the Institute of Welsh Affairs, which was independent and was not commissioned by Government. I referred to academic research that was also not commissioned by Governm…

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• 14 September 2026

  Named by Heledd Fychan in the Senedd

  …e these recommendations, so I'm implementing those recommendations. It comes from other reviews and reports there have been, i.e. by the Institute of Welsh Affairs. In the fifth Senedd, this committee looked at it in terms of the devolution of broadcasting. Therefore, I think it's just a matter of l…

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• 14 September 2026

  Named by Heledd Fychan in the Senedd

  Well, perhaps we could share some of the reports that have been published by the Institute of Welsh Affairs and so on, if the committee would find it helpful to really understand why we're actually listening to experts in this field, why academic research shows that, actually, Wales is missing out i…

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• 23 June 2026

  Named in a registered interest of Anna Nicholl, Member of the Senedd

  Category: Voluntary record of Members’ other interests.

  Information relevant to entry: Institute of Welsh Affairs - Member

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• 3 December 2025

  Named by Sioned Williams in the Senedd

  …ity spaces. They gave, in response, a commitment to explore a community right to buy. The Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, the Institute of Welsh Affairs, the Building Communities Trust and others are concerned about the impact of the decrease in the number of community spaces on social co…

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• 5 November 2025

  Named by Joel James in the Senedd

  So, one of the questions I wanted to ask about community assets is that you may recall, a couple of years ago, the Institute of Welsh Affairs did quite a damning report on the lack of statutory powers we have in Wales for residents to actually look to adopt and bid, especially when compared to what'…

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• 15 October 2025

  Named by Peredur Owen Griffiths in the Senedd

  …one of the answers is evident: our communities need a voice. We must ensure that communities have a strong say in their local area. The Institute of Welsh Affairs have asserted that Welsh communities are the least empowered in Britain, with a right to buy existing in Scotland and a right to bid in…

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• 1 October 2025

  Named by Peredur Owen Griffiths in the Senedd

  …story, communities in Wales are the least empowered in the UK to protect land and assets, according to a landmark report produced by the Institute of Welsh Affairs. One of those reasons is the failure of successive Governments in Wales to implement community right-to-buy legislation that was introdu…

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• 14 May 2025

  Named by Sarah Rees in the Senedd

  …stn't come at the expense of exacerbating existing inequalities in our partner countries. Work that Oxfam Cymru have been doing with the Institute of Welsh Affairs, for example, and looking at a Wales that cares for people and planet, underscores the need for a values-led, justice-focused approach t…

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• 12 May 2025

  Named by Jenny Rathbone in the Senedd

  …. We recently had evidence from—I'll come back to you—the well-being of future generations commissioner, who commissions research by the Institute of Welsh Affairs on how public bodies are embracing the well-being objectives. The analysis shows that, of all five ways of working, involvement was the…

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• 28 April 2025

  Named by Jenny Rathbone in the Senedd

  …s at the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University, who's joining us online; Joe Rossiter, who's co-director of the Institute of Welsh Affairs; and Professor Matt Ryan from Southampton University, and I believe you're involved in the Wales Centre for Public Policy. Thank you ver…

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• 28 April 2025

  Named by Joe Rossiter in the Senedd

  …when we do deliver these things. In my view, deliberative democratic methods, and those democratic innovations that are laid out in the Institute of Welsh Affairs report that Anwen did for us, is a good place to start.

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• 19 March 2025

  Named by Lee Waters in the Senedd

  …our policies? The Welsh Government's progress on local energy plans is fantastic and deserves significant credit, and also credit to the Institute of Welsh Affairs that started this work back in 2019 with its report where it set out a practical road map and started the work in Swansea on local area…

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• 29 January 2025

  Named by Peredur Owen Griffiths in the Senedd

  …England when it comes to the right to buy those community assets. No adequate explanation has ever been given for this. It's led to the Institute of Welsh Affairs producing a report in 2022 that found Welsh communities to be the least empowered in Britain. Successive Labour Governments have dropped…

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• 23 October 2024

  Named by Tom Giffard in the Senedd

  …s smaller local institutions, which many communities not only are a part of, but thrive upon many of these local organisations. A recent Institute of Welsh Affairs report from August found that funding for the arts has dropped by 30 per cent in Wales in real terms since 2017. That’s the biggest drop…

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• 2 October 2024

  Named by Peredur Owen Griffiths in the Senedd

  …cade and a half, and the SNP Government has also introduced similar but much stronger legislation in Scotland. Is it any wonder that the Institute of Welsh Affairs think tank has described Welsh communities as the least empowered in Britain when it comes to the protection of land and assets? This is…

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• 17 July 2024

  Named by Jenny Rathbone in the Senedd

  …and partnership has to be the way forward. How good are we at delegating budgets to one body on behalf of the others? This came up at an Institute of Welsh Affairs round-table with private, public and voluntary sector bodies that I attended today. We are brilliant policy makers and legislators. We a…

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• 10 July 2024

  Named by Lee Waters in the Senedd

  Okay. Because in a past life at the Institute of Welsh Affairs, I used to run the media policy, which did the initial studies, and that was done for hundreds of pounds not £250,000. So, I'd urge caution about how much money is put into that for the outputs that you're likely to get. It would be usef…

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• 26 June 2024

  Named by Lee Waters in the Senedd

  …lier, to maximise that. Of course, the practical reality of that is incredibly complex. I was pleased to kick off a piece of work in the Institute of Welsh Affairs on setting out a route-map for making Wales entirely dependent on renewable energy, and also, some two years ago, to lead the deep-dive…

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• 26 June 2024

  Named by Adam Price in the Senedd

  …have had for many, many years, since 2009, for—at least, in their case, I believe—20 per cent to be offered in local ownership, and the Institute of Welsh Affairs has recently produced a report arguing for a similar threshold of around 15 per cent as a minimum. There are other aspects of the motion…

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• 20 June 2024

  Named by Debbie Thomas in the Senedd

  …er things that we would want the community asset commission to look at, and I'm sure Casey is well over all of this as well—. We saw the Institute of Welsh Affairs research on this and the barriers that people are facing absolutely chimed with what we hear: difficulties around the complexity of the…

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• 3 June 2024

  Named by Vikki Howells in the Senedd

  …vidence session on our inquiry into individual Member accountability, and I'm really pleased to be able to welcome Joe Rossiter from the Institute of Welsh Affairs to our first evidence session this morning. So, Joe, if you would like to start by giving us some of your ideas around recall and disqua…

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• 8 May 2024

  Named by Lee Waters in the Senedd

  …h, and David's formative years were spent in the city, and he chose to spend his final ones in Penarth. He was a strong supporter of the Institute of Welsh Affairs, and both he and his equally brilliant wife, Judith, became honorary professors at Cardiff University well into their 80s. He was in pol…

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• 19 March 2024

  Named by Delyth Jewell in the Senedd

  …ting policy guidance and the approach relating to community ownership and local ownership. Now, there is a suggestion put forward by the Institute of Welsh Affairs that between 5 per cent and 33 per cent community or local ownership should be attained for these projects. There is currently a target…

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Showing the 25 most recent of 75 mentions.

We count a mention only when the record gives the charity's full registered name or its charity number. A mention shows the charity was named in that record. Follow the link to read it in full.

8 trustees run the charity.

• Gwendolyn Helena SterkChairAppointed 11 December 2024
• Anthony PicklesAppointed 24 May 2018
• Ben Gordon JoakimAppointed 18 May 2023
• Dr Elizabeth Zaidee HaywoodAppointed 18 May 2023
• Helen Francis Mortlock PearceAppointed 16 December 2016
• Kelly-Marie Huxley-RobertsAppointed 18 May 2023
• Lauren Maeve McEvattAppointed 11 December 2024
• Shayoni Sarkar LynnAppointed 11 December 2024

Trustees are responsible in law for the charity. Names are as they appear on the public register.

Of the last 5 annual returns that were due, 5 arrived by the deadline.

Charities with income over £10,000 send an annual return within 10 months of their year end, and those over £25,000 also send their accounts. Smaller charities only update their income and spending on the register. The dates are when the Commission received each document.

Charity number

1078435

Status

Registered

Registered with the Commission

1 December 1999

Governing document

MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED 22 JULY 1987 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION DATED 20 JUNE 1999AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION(S) DATED 06 DEC 2006 as amended on 25 Nov 2020

Company number

02151006This company on OpenEconomyThis company on Companies House

Website

www.iwa.walesAs the charity gave it on the register.

Council area of its contact address

Cardiff

• Register details, income, spending, trustees and filing dates: Charity Commission for England and Wales, register of charities. Loaded by OpenEconomy on 2 November 2026.
• Grants awarded: 360Giving open grants data, from funders that publish there. Loaded by OpenEconomy on 2 November 2026.
• In the Senedd and Welsh Government: records gathered by OpenSenedd and matched to the charity by OpenEconomy on 5 November 2026.

• This charity on the Charity Commission register
• 360Giving open grants data
• This charity on OpenEconomy

• OpenSenedd: Senedd records that name this charity
• OpenCouncil: Cardiff Council's meetings and decisions
• OpenEconomy: Cardiff's economy in figures
• OpenSenedd: the Members of the Senedd for Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf
• OpenSenedd: the Members of the Senedd for Caerdydd Penarth