ADR Wales

Looking ahead, ADR Wales enters the coming year with a clear vision centred on the development and delivery of a new programme of work shaped around the priorities of the new Welsh Government. These plans have been developed through extensive collaboration between our academic team and policy teams across Welsh Government, facilitated by our embedded ADR Wales colleagues.

The programme represents a significant step forward in ensuring our research is strategically aligned with policy priorities, maximising the value of available administrative data and drawing on the thematic expertise of our academic partners to generate timely, relevant and actionable insights for decision-makers. The programme will be formally launched at a stakeholder event at the end of 2026, bringing together partners from government, academia and beyond to showcase our shared ambitions and priorities. 

We will also build on recent progress in data acquisition and access, advancing research opportunities presented by refreshed education datasets and PAYE data, while continuing discussions to secure new and innovative data sources that can strengthen the evidence available to researchers and policymakers.

Collaboration across the ADR UK partnership will remain an important part of this work. We will work with colleagues across the four nations to develop research on issues of shared importance, share learning and maximise the collective value of administrative data research across the UK. Together, these activities will strengthen the contribution of innovative, data-driven research to policy and public good in Wales and beyond.