Abstract

This paper provides an account of the origins, development and evaluation of the Welsh Education Research Network (WERN) during its pilot year. The paper begins by describing the context of Welsh educational research which can be characterised by decline and loss of capacity in most institutions. WERN's response to this challenge has been to employ an approach to capacity building based on a social practices model, and an overview of its methods is then outlined. A summary of internal and external evaluation evidence of the effectiveness of these methods and their impact for individuals, institutions and inter-institutional collaboration follows. A conclusion is then reached that the WERN initiative has been successful but a broader based strategy with commitments from all stakeholders is needed if change is to sustained in the longer term.

How to Cite:

Salisbury, J. & Davies, S. M., (2009) “Building educational research capacity through inter-institutional collaboration: An evaluation of the first year of the Welsh Education Research Network (WERN)”, Wales Journal of Education 14(2), 78-94.