Public Health Wales Research and Evaluation Strategy 2023-2026 - Section 4 Our Goal
Our main aim is to make a measurable improvement to the health of the population in Wales by leading and supporting population-level health research and evaluation.
To achieve this, we will:
- Identify public health research and evaluation priorities to shape the research agenda, work with partners to lead a valuable research and evaluation portfolio, and generate and use evidence to improve the health of the population and reduce health disparities in Wales.
- Help researchers and evaluators in Public Health Wales to develop, set-up and conduct research and evaluation that is rigorous, meaningful, and focused on important public health research and evaluation gaps. We will do this by providing a streamlined and effective model to help manage and support research and evaluation.
- Promote leadership in public health research and evaluation throughout Wales and the UK. We will work to influence the research funding environment and foster a culture that encourages impactful research and ensures that evaluations measure the impact on health outcomes.
To support the growth of research and evaluation within Public Health Wales we will use our strengths and assets to inform our work.
Our strengths
- The knowledge and expertise of our staff
- Collaborative partnerships with our wide range of partners including academics, practitioners and policy makers; both nationally and internationally
- The identification of applied research priorities, programmes and policies for evaluation
- Our ability to translate new knowledge to inform policy and practice decisions
Our assets
- Specialist microbiology services and reference laboratories
- Pathogen Genomics Unit (PenGU) and sequencing capabilities
- Health surveillance and vaccine uptake data
- National public health programmes and population-level datasets
- Population-based national screening programmes
- A dedicated evaluation team
The way we will work
We will deliver accessible, transparent, and reproducible research and evaluation to support decision-making by being:
Open by default
Our research and evaluation will be accessible, transparent, and reproducible.
We will be open about our priorities, and encourage and facilitate access to, and the use of our routinely collected datasets to generate evidence to improve public health.
Inclusive
We will build a research and evaluation culture with an enabling infrastructure to support successful implementation.
We will conduct our research and evaluation collaboratively with those likely to be affected by the research, including the public.
Multi-disciplinary
We will work to ensure that research and evaluation is cross-cutting.
Pulls together the skills we need and the diverse expertise across Public Health Wales and externally.
Focusing on research and evaluation gaps when these are Identified.
Joined up
We will work collaboratively to deliver research and evaluation priorities.
We will foster collaboration internally and externally across a wide range of organisations, disciplines and partnerships, working with academics, policy makers and practitioners.
Influential
We are a leader for public health research and evaluation, and we will work with partners to set the agenda.
We want to understand the impact and value of our research and evaluation, informing future action with a focus on “what works, for whom, and why”.
Page last reviewed: 18th June 2026