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The establishment of the IWA came, according to Schofield (2014), amid the 1970s push for devolution, and the subsequent “tug-of-war between a desire for a measure of independence for Wales and concerns about the country’s ability to function under such a system.” She cites the IWA’s 1996 report, The Road to the Referendum: Requirements for an Informed and Fair Debate, which argued that Welsh voters were under informed about the arguments on Welsh devolution due to the excessive focus of London journalists on the parallel Scottish devolution campaign. IWA argued that “the distinctive Welsh case for devolution was never fully understood by the Welsh public”, thus creating the environment which would lead to the Institute’s formation. https://orca.cf.ac.uk/71581/1/Emma%20Schofield%20PhD%20Thesis%20FINAL.pdf

In 1988 the IWA published a report on the South Wales Valleys economy, at a time following the mine closures and increased deindustrialisation across the UK. The report argued that the Valleys “are at a relative disadvantage compared with the coastal plain (of South Wales) in attracting development” due to problems which are “primarily economic”, stating that any “social problems are related to a lack of jobs and investment,” and that “the future must be based on linking into the relative economic prosperity of the coastal plain: the valleys are no longer a separate economic entity.” The report was covered by the Financial Times in 1989, who referred to the Institute’s work when investigating the economic, social, and business challenges in the Valleys, which the paper noted had “among the most deprived parts of Britain, with an average household income under £4,000” https://archive.org/stream/FinancialTimes1989UKEnglish/Apr%2017%201989%2C%20Financial%20Times%2C%20%2330820%2C%20UK%20%28en%29_djvu.txt

In 1996 Reynolds and Bellin wrote a report on Welsh-medium schools, titled “Welsh-medium Schools; why they are Better.” The work was cited by Dylan Jones at The British Educational Research Association Annual Conference in 1997, in a paper titled “The assessment of bilingual pupils: observations from recent Welsh experiences.” Davies states that Welsh-medium schools “have constantly featured among the best in Wales… even (accounting) for possible socio-economic differences.” Davies praised the IWA paper for putting forward a range of credible reasons for this overachievement compared to English medium schools. http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/000000387.htm Reynolds, D and Bellin, W. (1996) Welsh-medium Schools; Why they are Better. Agenda, Summer 1996. Cardiff: The Institute of Welsh Affairs.

The Institute had long argued in the early 1990s for the arts in developments in Wales, particularly during the proposals for the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay. It wrote two reports, Wales 2010 and Cardiff Euro Capital, which had “highlighted a need to project Cardiff's identity and its strength as the "cultural capital of a musical nation.” Yet in 1996, the Millennium Commission refused funding for Zaha Hadid’s Cardiff Bay Opera House, and the project appeared unlikely to succeed. The Independent newspaper however reported the IWA had persisted, having taken “up the reins (of the project) with grim determination.” Backed by Anthony Freud, director of the Welsh National Opera and Michael Trickey, director of policy and planning at the Arts Council of Wales, the Institute began fielding ideas for the project which had been rejected by both the Millennium Commission and the general public during Wales Secretary John Redwood’s unsuccessful consultation. The establishment of an arts centre had been key to the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation’s plans for what was at the time “the biggest such inner- city undertaking in Europe”, and which was forecast to cost £2.75bn in 1997 (£4.9bn adjusted for 2019 inflation). At the time, CDBC Chairman Geoffrey Inkin stated he had “no great hopes for the initiative taken by the Institute of Welsh Affairs”, but the Institute’s then Director John Osmond said at the time that it had “brokered a (public-private) package to bring the lights up again on the project.” The work of the IWA in drawing attention to what it said was “some 83 per cent of arts funding from the Lottery” going to England, as well as its leadership in pushing the new Wales Millennium Centre to seek Millennium Commission,  Arts Council, and Heritage Fund investment, is attributed as being hugely impactful on the later construction of the Centre. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/kicked-into-touch-1307611.html

The Institute were referred to in the House of Commons debates on the Government of Wales Bill in December 1997. Ted_Rowlands,_Baron_Rowlands spoke about the Welsh-British relationship, particularly “the assembly-Whitehall-Secretary of State relationship, and the assembly-Westminster relationship.” Lord Rowlands acknowledged the institute was a “traditionally pro-devolution organisation” but criticised Conservative ministers debating the Bill for not reading the work of the Institute, particularly their “Making the Assembly Work” report. He drew significant importance to the issue of clashes between the Secretary of State for Wales and the Assembly, and queried whether the Secretary would have any meaningful role in Whitehall following devolution on Welsh matters. Rowlands called for the Secretary of State to continue to serve as a catalyst for foreign direct investment and engagement with Wales from London to the rest of the world. https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1997/dec/09/government-of-wales-bill

Institute of Welsh Affairs. An effective National Assembly: key amendments to the Government of Wales Bill; a report by the IWA Constitution Working Party. 1998

The UCL has written about the IWA’s role in the development of Welsh Devolution post 1996, focussing on their work in shaping the Welsh Government away from Welsh voters initial scepticism, towards tax and lawmaking devolution, and debates about the future of the devolved governments. It was also cited by UCL for its arguments in favour of legislative devolution. It would only be 2011 before the arguments were fully fulfilled, however, when the Welsh Assembly gained primary legislative powers. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/political-science/publications/unit-publications/15.pdf

In 2008 the IWA published a book titled Politics in 21st Century Wales. The work involved excerpts from Welsh political figures from a mix of allegiances, including First Minister Rhodri Morgan, Nick Bourne of the Welsh Conservative Party, Kirsty Williams of the Liberal Democrats, and Adam Price of Plaid Cymru. Price’s section was titled ‘Reinventing Radical Wales’, where he asserted that Wales ‘can in many ways still be characterised as a tentative, emerging nation’. Adam Price’s argument that Wales ‘can in many ways still be characterised as a tentative, emerging nation’. Adam Price, ‘Reinventing Radical Wales’ in Politics in 21st Century Wales, Rhodri Morgan, Nick Bourne, Kirsty Williams and Adam Price (Cardiff: Institute of Welsh Affairs, 2008), pp. 66-84 (p. 66).

Directors John Osmond Gerald Holtham - previously also a Managing Partner of Cadwyn Capital LLP, Chief Investment Officer at the investment arm of Aviva PLC, a visiting Professor at Cardiff University Business School, member of the Welsh Government's Economic Research Advisory Panel, and Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research.https://www.brookings.edu/book/can-nations-agree/