Mapping Economic and Social Impact: Assessing the Value of Galeri Caernarfon

Wavehill
May 12
2 min read

There is a growing desire among organisations across the UK to better understand and demonstrate the impact that they generate. This impact can come different ways, such as their economic contribution, their social impact and their place-based value. Within each of these broad themes, there are several pathways through which organisations can create impact. Wavehill’s approach is centred around scoping the different routes through which economic and social impact is generated, then developing a catered approach which produces evidence that is both credible and transparent in its sources, assumptions and limitations.

Galeri Caernarfon recently commissioned Wavehill to undertake an impact assessment of their activities over the 2024/25 financial year. Since establishing in 1992, Galeri has made a substantial contribution to the vitality of Caernarfon town centre, renovating and managing over 60 commercial and residential properties including the recent Cei Llechi redevelopment. In terms of its social contribution, Galeri’s Creative Enterprise Centre serves as a community and cultural hub for the town.

We began our impact assessment by mapping out Galeri’s different impact pathways, looking both at the direct and indirect ways in which they support economic activity in their local area.

Diagram outlining the ways in which Galeri Caernarfon generates economic impact. This includes their spend on their staff, their sales, their spend in the supply chain, the impact of their tenant businesses and the tourism spend of visitors to Galeri.

Quantifying and mapping these impacts has involved an analysis of Galeri’s staffing, expenditure and ticket sales data combined with Welsh Government datasets to calculate the wider effect on local supply chains. This has enabled us to geographically map how much of Galeri’s impact is retained in Gwynedd and Anglesey and how much spreads wider to the rest of Wales and the UK.

Our study also sought to quantify some of the social impacts generated by Galeri Caernarfon. Our study focussed on their larger consistent community events: Sbarc, Cain and Côr Lleisiau Llawen. Using a combination of monitoring data, testimony from the event attendees and financial proxies, we have estimated the monetary value of their social impact.

The infographic below summarises the key findings from our research.

An infographic highlighting the main conclusions of our research including that Galeri's has support 3.39 million pounds in GVA and 100 jobs. This equates to a return of £1.62 for every £1 spent.

At Wavehill, we continue to develop an extensive portfolio of economic and social impact assessments, enabling organisations to better understand how they generate impact using a consistent and transparent approach, enabling comparisons and benchmarking for the future.

If you would like more information about Wavehill’s research work, including our bespoke socio-economic impact assessments, please contact Rhys Maher or Michael Pang.

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