MEAFA is delighted to announce a working link with the newly founded Wales Institute of Social and Economic Data and Methods (WISERD).
WISERD is jointly funded from the Welsh Assembly Government (HEFCW) and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to draw together and build upon the existing expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods and methodologies at Cardiff, Swansea, Aberystwyth, Bangor and Glamorgan Universities. WISERD will embark on an ambitious data integration, primary research and capacity building programme in Wales.
WISERD's aims include:
. Building upon and develop existing expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods and methodologies
. Developing and integrate a coherent set of research data relating to Wales
. Building networks of researchers and research capacity across Wales in the economic and social sciences, as well as contributing to UK wide research capacity building
. Exploring the relationships between research data, research methods and the development and understanding of policy.
. Developing a sustainable increase in the quantitative research base across the social sciences in Wales through academic appointments and training.
. Increasing collaborative interdisciplinary research grant applications and interaction with policy makers and the private sector through consultancy.
MEAFA will be actively involved in designing and delivering PhD research training programs for Data Management and Advanced Quantitative Analysis, through the coordination of Prof Howard Davis, Professor of Social Theory & Institutions at the School of Social Sciences at Bangor University, and Prof Stuart McLeay, Director of Research at Bangor Business School.
The Director of MEAFA, Dr Demetris Christodoulou, is scheduled to fly to Bangor in November 2008 to meet with Prof Stuart McLeay and Prof Howard Davis and discuss the strategic approach to PhD research training for the next 5 years.
One of MEAFA's aims is to widen its international exposure by strengthening existing links and exploring new research opportunities. WISERD is a world-class research institute and MEAFA can only feel privileged to work closely with its contributing universities.