This is a list of think tanks in Wales.
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental organizations, but some are semi-autonomous agencies within government, and some are associated with particular political parties, businesses or the military. Think tanks are often funded by individual donations, with many also accepting government grants.
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing, free market think tank registered as a UK charity. Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute" and says that it seeks to "further the dissemination of free-market thinking" by "analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems". The IEA was established to promote free-market responses to economic challenges by targeting influential academics and journalists, as well as students, in order to propagate these ideas widely. Adopting as its credo FA Hayek's view that "yesterday's dissent becomes today's consensus," the IEA says that it prioritises producing work with a focus on economic insights over partisan politics.
The Welsh Centre for International Affairs (WCIA) is a Welsh international affairs and strategy think tank, established in 1973 to promote the exchange of ideas on international issues, build international partnerships connecting Welsh people and organisations with the world, and encourage global action in communities and organisations across Wales. It is based in the Temple of Peace in Cardiff.
Atlas Network, formerly known as Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking, and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups around the world.
Politics in Wales forms a distinctive polity in the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with Wales as one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (UK).
Leighton Andrews is an academic and former Welsh Labour politician. He was the National Assembly for Wales member for Rhondda from 2003 until 2016. He was Minister for Children, Education & Lifelong Learning from 2009 to 2011, then Minister for Education and Skills in the Welsh Government until his resignation on 25 June 2013 after an alleged conflict between his own departmental policy and his active campaigning to save a school in his constituency. In September 2014 he returned to the government as Minister for Public Services.
David Robert Michael Melding is a former Welsh Conservative Party politician, who served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for South Wales Central between 1999 and 2021. He was the Deputy Presiding Officer of the Senedd between 2011 and 2016.
Alun Hugh Cairns is a Welsh Conservative Party politician serving as the member of Parliament (MP) for Vale of Glamorgan since 2010. He served as Secretary of State for Wales from 2016 to 2019.
Jeremy Miles is a Welsh Labour Co-op politician, serving as Minister for Education and Welsh Language in the Welsh Government since 2021. Prior to his present ministerial post, he served in the Welsh Government as Counsel General for Wales from 2017 to 2021, Brexit Minister from 2018 to 2021, and the Minister for coordinating Wales’ recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2021. Miles has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Neath since 2016.
The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party, or in Wales, simply Abolish, is a registered single issue political party in Wales. It campaigns for the abolition of the Senedd, formerly known as the "National Assembly for Wales", the devolved legislature of Wales. Abolish advocates that devolved powers be returned to the Secretary of State for Wales within the UK Central Government and the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster.
Lee Waters is a Welsh Labour and Co-operative politician serving in the Welsh Government as Deputy Minister for Climate Change since 2021. He has served as the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Llanelli since 2016.
Caroline Yvonne Jones is a Welsh politician who was a Member of the Senedd (MS) for South Wales West from 2016 to 2021.
Anna Rhiannon McMorrin is a Welsh politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff North since 2017. A member of Welsh Labour, she has served as Shadow Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean since September 2023. She was previously Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice from 2021 to 2023 and Shadow Minister for International Development from 2020 to 2021.
The Centre for Welsh Studies is a pro-Brexit Welsh think-tank, which advocates "a positive vision for Wales outside the European Union". The group is based in Cardiff.
The Institute of Welsh Affairs (IWA) is an independent charity and membership-based think-tank based Cardiff, Wales, which specialises in public policy and debate around the economy, education, environment and health sectors in Wales.
The Wales Governance Centre (WGC) is a research centre and think-tank based Cardiff, Wales, which specialises in research into the law, politics, government and political economy of Wales, as well the wider territorial governance of the UK and Europe. It was established shortly after the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum, and was founded by Barry Jones in 1999. Its current director is Professor Richard Wyn Jones, and it is a part of Cardiff University.
Adrian Masters is a Welsh journalist, presenter, author and political moderator.
In Welsh politics, the term clear red water refers to the Welsh Labour strategy of distancing itself from the UK Labour Party and adopting both more progressive and more distinctly Welsh policies. The strategy was first formulated in the early 2000s, with the Rhodri Morgan-led Welsh government using it to distinguish itself from Tony Blair's New Labour. The term itself is credited to Mark Drakeford AM.
