Shaping the future of Academic Public Health Research in Wales

Executive summary

A strong Academic Public Health Research (APHR) environment is essential to improve population health, inform policy, drive innovation, and support economic growth in Wales. While Wales has a strong research history and supportive policy context for public health, the APHR environment and capacity is currently constrained by limited funding, fragmented activity, and the absence of a coherent, system-wide vision, strategy, and influence across Wales and UK funders. This threatens growth and sustainability and highlights significant untapped potential to address current and emerging public health challenges through high-quality, impactful research and development.

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Wales (2023), Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW) and Public Health Wales (PHW) identified APHR as an area facing challenging times in Wales, but with the potential to be strengthened for the benefit of the population.

To help inform a future approach, Public Health Wales conducted a comprehensive review of the APHR landscape in Wales, supported by an UK wide steering group. Published in May 2025, the “Optimising Academic Public Health Research in Wales” report evidenced the downward funding trend, workforce challenges, and the strategic risks for Wales. The review set out four key recommendations:

1. Develop a national vision for APHR
2. Focus on Wales’s strategic and innovative research strengths
3. Enhance funding and partnerships through cooperation and collaboration
4. Support the next generation of public health researchers

The report concluded that a unified vision for Wales was needed to improve coherence, strengthen collaboration, and maximise research impact on policy, health outcomes, and inequalities. The report recommended by thinking differently, working collectively, and investing in strategic coordination, capacity building, and career development, Wales can create a thriving APHR environment that delivers measurable benefits for population health, policy, and the economy. While Public Health Wales was considered well placed to support coordination, leadership must be shared and facilitated with partners – across Welsh Government, Health and Care Research Wales, the Chief Medical Officer, higher education institutions, the NHS, social care, local authorities and the third sector.