Evaluation of Wales Rural Network Support Unit Evaluation
Miller Research was commissioned to complete an evaluation of the Wales Rural Network Support Unit (WRNSU) in August 2020.
The Wales Rural Network (WRN) is funded by the EAFRD and Welsh Government and supports the delivery of the Rural Development Programme (RDP) in Wales. It does this by increasing the involvement of rural stakeholders, improving the quality of programmes, informing the broader public and potential beneficiaries of policy and funding opportunities, and fostering innovation in agriculture, food production, forestry, and rural areas. The Support Unit for the Wales Rural Network is the body that administers this network.
Our Evaluation of the WRNSU involved interviews and workshops with stakeholders across Wales and the UK, including Local Actions Groups (LAGs), beneficiaries of Rural Development Programme Funding, key policy stakeholders, and residents of rural communities. We also conducted research into activities of other National Rural Networks across Europe.
The evaluation came at an important time for the Wales Rural Network, as they transition away from the European Rural Development Programme funding and framework of support and guidance into alternative post-Brexit arrangements. As a result, a key focus of our evaluation was to determine the value the network and support unit have had, in order to highlight key benefits and services that might be safeguarded in any ongoing RDP programme or future iterations and organisation of rural development in Wales.
The second part of our evaluation was a look to the future, where we identified upcoming challenges and opportunities on the horizon, based on potential post Brexit scenarios, as well as the impact of Covid-19, and offered a series of recommendations on how best a Wales Rural Network and Support unit (or any future iterations), might play a valuable role.
We hope that this might help inform future decision making in the Welsh Government when determining how best to support sustainable and productive development in the sectors of agriculture, forestry, tourism, food and drink, and the environment in rural areas.
There might be uncertainty in the future arrangements of RDP in Wales, but what is clear is that there is a role for organisations that can inspire, instruct and inform action and coordinate resources and separate factions across the network, in order to achieve a common goal of greater prosperity and wellbeing for rural people and places in Wales