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Evaluation of the ‘Welsh Food: Added Value’ project

The Food Technology Centre (FTC) at Coleg Menai was set up in 1999 with the objective of helping the long-term development of food processing and manufacturing capacity in North Wales and across the UK. Funded by the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 the ‘Welsh Food: Added Value’ project aims to increase the level of innovation along the food supply chain by providing support to primary producers who are seeking to diversify. The evaluation will review the delivery of the project and the socio-economic impact on the primary producers supported.

The Rural Development Plan (RDP) for Wales 2007-2013 is part of a joint Welsh Assembly Government and European Union (EU) strategy.  The measures within the RDP focused on diversifying the local economy, improving quality of life and promoting locally based rural development are delivered via 18 local partnerships. The aim of this evaluation is to establish the effectiveness of those local partnerships by reviewing: (a) the range of models being used at a local level and identifying examples of good practice; (b) assessing the impact and ‘added-value’ of the structures; and (c) assessing the effectiveness of the guidance and training support provided.   

Interim evaluation of the Celtic Wave Project 

‘Celtic Wave’ is a Welsh Irish project collaborative partnership project funded by the Interreg 4A Programme. Three Welsh ports (Anglesey, Milford Haven and Swansea) have joined forces with three ports on the south and east coast of Ireland (Dublin, Cork and Waterford) for the project which is aiming to facilitate the development and growth of the cruise ship industry in the Irish Sea. Wavehill’s evaluation will review the progress that has been made to date with a view to identifying good practice and areas for further development as the project progresses.

Learning from the Ynni’r Fro Project 

The Welsh Assembly Government’s Ynni’r Fro Programme uses European Structural Funds to provide support and funding to encourage the development of community scale renewable energy schemes across Wales. A network of locally-based technical Development Officers is in place across Wales to help groups develop their projects and access the Ynni’r Fro funding streams. The Development Officers have a pool of knowledge about the communities they have worked with and the purpose of this research was to capture that information. The research included in-depth interviews with the Development Officers followed by a workshop which drew them together to discuss their experiences.

Worklessness Research Project

Wavehill were commissioned in January 2011 to conduct a research review of the impact of the new Welfare to Work policy on workless households in Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, and Rhondda Cynon Taff.  The work aims to identify existing service provision for workless and vulnerable families in the three areas, identify details of the services and support provided, assess good practice and service gaps, identify what proportion of workless / vulnerable families are currently looking for work, and provide costed examples of future practice for the area.  Using interviews with strategic stakeholders, support providers and beneficiaries the work aims to provide a detailed strategy for future delivery and costed options for the extension of existing services and support.

Review of Good Practice from Previous Rural Programmes

Wavehill have been commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government to collect and review documents which contain examples of good practice from previous rural programmes within and outside Wales. The research will underpin the work of the Wales Rural Network in supporting the development of existing and future rural project activity. The ultimate aim for this review is to provide the content for a searchable document library which those developing projects can access.

Active Lifestyles Impact Evaluation

Wavehill is leading the evaluation of Active Lifestyles which is being undertaken for the Youth Sports Trust, an exciting new project aiming to help tackle the nation’s obesity problem through increasing the amount of sport and physical activity our least active young people undertake on a weekly basis. We will interview young people taking part in the activities, their trainers and the schools too. The study runs until January 2011.

Evaluation of the COASTAL project

Wavehill have been appointed by the City and County of Swansea to undertake an ongoing independent evaluation of COASTAL; a £54m project aimed at the promotion of vocational guidance, employment, skills training and lifelong learning opportunities for individuals who are currently economically inactive. COASTAL is funded by the European Commission's Convergence Programme and is a regional project which covers the local authority areas of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthen, Pembroke, Bridgend and Ceredigion

Evaluation of the Communities and Nature Project 

Communities and Nature (CAN) is a £14.5 million project part funded by the European Union’s Convergence Programme. The underlying ambition of CAN is to generate increased economic growth and sustainable jobs by capitalising on Wales’ environmental qualities, particularly its landscape and wildlife. The evaluation will be undertaken over a 3 year period alongside the delivery of the project and the initiatives it funds. The evaluation will measure the socio-economic impact of CAN interventions on volunteers, participants, delivery agents and the communities who ‘host’ initiatives funded by the project.
 

Ongoing evaluation of the Life Skills project

Life Skills is a £14million European funded (ESF) project that supports the delivery of services throughout Wales that will mainly support targeted groups of economically inactive people to engage or re-engage with education, learning, volunteering and employment. It is a focussed project targeting the following specific participant groups: ‘care leavers’, ‘carers and former carers returning to work’, ‘economically inactive families’ and ‘older people’. The evaluation, being undertaken over a 4 year period, is focused on assessing whether the project is achieving its objectives and how those objectives are being achieved. Identifying and sharing good practice and lessons learnt is an important part of the evaluation  

 Evaluation of the ILM Project

Wavehill is evaluating the Intermediate Labour Market (ILM) project funded under Priority 2 Theme 1 of the Convergence and Regional Competitiveness and Employment (RCE) programme for the Welsh Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA). The aim of the ILM project is to reduce economic inactivity in North and East Wales by offering contracts to organisations providing personal development to people facing barriers to employment through a period of supported employment and training. As part of the evaluation we will assess whether the project is successfully reaching individuals furthest from the labour market.
 

Ongoing Evaluation of the Rural Development Plan for Wales

Wavehill, in partnership with EKOS and The Rural Development Company, have recently been awarded this contract on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. The research objectives for this commission include a revision of the current data collection procedures for input and output indicators and to provide expert advice on evaluation activity on an ad-hoc basis.

Evaluation of the Improving and Adding Value in the Welsh Supply Chain project

Originally set up in 1996, Food Centre Wales is an advice and consultancy facility offering technical services to business start-ups, SME’s and existing food manufacturers. The Centre includes fully equipped process areas and manufacturing facilities and provides a “launch pad” for new and innovative ideas in the Welsh Agri-Food Industry. The ‘Improving and Adding Value in the Welsh Supply Chain’ project is funded by the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013. The evaluation is being undertaken over a 2 year period alongside the delivery of the project and will review its delivery and the impact of the support provided on the businesses and individuals it works with.