A scoping study to map the research capacity of health social welfare voluntary organisations in Wales, with a focus on BME organisations and equalities agencies - Final Report

Despite the growing importance of the third sector, and the need for public sector services and programmes to be underpinned by an evidence base, there remains in Wales a paucity of data on the role the BME voluntary organisations are playing in the development of a rigorous, readily accessible research evidence base. Although some work has been done in this area, the nature, extent and impact of the research conducted by community and voluntary organisations, especially research on health and social care needs, has yet to be adequately collated, archived and made readily available (Williams et al. 2007). Moreover, the type of research taking place, the role that clients and members of the public are playing, and the lessons that can be learned and transferred to other sectors regarding participatory methodologies in operation, has yet to be mapped. In order to build this evidence base, this study sought to explore the perceived need for, the possible barriers to, and the opportunities for developing the research capacity of VOs working on behalf of minoritised people in Wales. As a scoping study, the aim was to also to develop and test a conceptual framework that could be used in larger future studies in this area.