Foreward from Dr Holly Taylor-Dunn: Our evaluation of the Culture, Heritage and Sport, Anti-racist Wales Grants Programme for Welsh Government
This was an important, yet complex evaluation. We knew that in order to design an evaluation that would provide Welsh Government with the insight they needed to plan future grant funding programmes, it was vital that we work closely with people in Wales who had lived experience of racism. Our Senior Evaluation Manager, Emily Preston-Jones, led on embedding lived experience into the design and delivery of the evaluation and below she shares her reflections of that journey.
Our evaluation found that the grants programme made meaningful progress toward fostering anti-racist change across Wales’ cultural sectors. Delivered through three strands—national institutions, local organisations, and grassroots groups—the programme was praised for its inclusive design, flexible management, and emphasis on lived experience. Community mentors and co-production approaches enriched delivery, while funding enabled increased engagement, capacity-building, and representation for Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Our report recommends scaling inclusive practices, strengthening support structures, embedding lived experience, and investing in legacy infrastructure to build on the programme’s strong foundation and support long-term systemic change.
Emily’s key takeaways: How to be flexible in group‑based evaluations
When M·E·L Research was commissioned to evaluate the Welsh Government’s Culture, Heritage, and Sports Anti‑racist Wales Action Plan grant programme last year, I knew our success would hinge on more than just well‑crafted research materials. It required being present, listening deeply (and perhaps most importantly) leaving ego at the door and knowing we weren’t the experts.
Emily Preston-Jones, Senior Evaluation Manager at M·E·L Research
Co-designing with sensibility from day one
Before setting foot in Wales, we convened an expert advisory panel made up of individuals with lived experience of racism and the very barriers the programme aims to dismantle. Over several workshops, the advisory group co‑designed our evaluation approach—reviewing draft questions, suggesting culturally appropriate approaches, and flagging potential sensitivities. Their input was invaluable and greatly reinforced the importance of listening not to respond, but to understand. For example, we heard from the panel that the limited time we had with them was best used absorbing their intel, and any minutes spent reassuring that we’d already considered a suggestion were minutes wasted. Fragility or desire for acknowledgement was not the priority – and from that pointon, we spent the time listening, not explaining.
Embedding trauma‑informed research
At M·E·L Research, we recognise that many participants carry the weight of past traumas—whether from violence, discrimination, loss, or something completely unanticipated—and that traditional data collection can inadvertently re‑traumatise. To safeguard well‑being, we:
Prioritise Safety: We set up welcoming spaces, shared privacy notices in advance, and ensured participants knew how to pause or withdraw at any point.
Foster Trust & Transparency: From sending discussion questions in advance, explaining our role clearly, to sharing how insights will be used, we build rapport before diving into the topic at hand.
Offer Peer Support: Whenever possible, community advocates join sessions to provide familiar faces and follow‑up support.
Empower Choice: Participants decide how they’d prefer to contribute; whether to speak, write anonymously, ‘thumbs up’ or second another’s response in an open group setting or simply observe, and can opt in or out of each exercise.
Respect Cultural & Historical Context: Our materials and prompts are co‑created with local experts to reflect Welsh heritage and community norms. We collaborated with a local Welsh speaking researcher during our visits, ensuring that people felt respected and could show up authentically.
By training our team on these principles, providing researcher debriefs, and designing protocols that minimise triggers, we honour participants’ dignity and gather richer, more authentic data without exploiting or extracting their very real and important experiences.
Varied and accessible data collection
Between February 2025, I led field visits across eight culture, heritage, and sports initiatives, from weaving workshops to dance rehearsals. In total, we met over 100 community members, of whom 67 provided feedback. To accommodate different communication styles and comfort levels, we:
Reflection with post‑it note exercise
Supported space for reflection with post‑it note exercises enabling participants to express their thoughts in writing, at their own pace and without engaging with us if that was preferred. For those who were less inclined to write their own notes, we scribed on their behalf, sense-checking as we went to ensure accuracy and authenticity.
Offered group conversations with groups with established relationships, which transitioned into vibrant and rich discussions with members building on whoever had just spoken and enhancing it with even more insight.
Offered anonymous response options, letting those who preferred privacy share one-to-one feedback, in a separate space.
Allowed drop‑in participation alongside existing community activities so that people could join when it suited them, without enforcing participation or disrupting the core activity.
This mixed‑method and agile approach ensured we captured both the warmth of real‑time dialogue and the considered reflections of quieter voices.
Championing seldom‑sought and minoritised voices
Our research often focuses on giving a platform to communities whose perspectives are too frequently overlooked. In Wales, we worked closely with grassroots organisations serving ethnically minoritised groups, refugees, young people and older adults, adapting our materials to multiple languages and engagement styles. By co‑facilitating sessions with trusted local partners, we created spaces where seldom‑sought voices felt safe to share their experiences, challenges, and aspirations.
Being there: The power of in‑person presence
Remote surveys can be efficient but they lack the immediacy of face‑to‑face engagement. By sitting alongside participants during sessions, we could:
Clarify ambiguous answers on the spot, instantly sense‑check interpretations, and probe deeper when a comment piqued our interest.
Read nonverbal cues, such as body language and group dynamics, which enriched our qualitative analysis. Again these were sense checked and reviewed with the group to limit risk of misinterpretation, as well as giving people permission over what was captured from them
This real‑time interaction was invaluable, especially when participants described how the funded projects had broadened access to sports facilities or deepened their connection to their heritage within the rich cultural backdrop of Wales.
Minimising disruption, maximising insight
Our philosophy was simple: data collection should never feel intrusive. Through advance sharing of information posters and clear privacy notices, everyone knew why we were there. We positioned ourselves in the background, allowing the workshops, games, and cultural performances to continue in full flow. When people did choose to pause and chat, it was on their terms, often leading to the most heartfelt insights about how the grants had tangibly improved lives.
Witnessing impact on the ground
Perhaps the greatest reward of this flexible, participant‑led approach was capturing community resilience and creativity firsthand. Witnessing the community groups for myself underscored the social value of the Welsh Government’s investment. We heard of the immense safety and restorative impact that trusted cultural spaces provide, the desire of so many communities to continue sharing, learning and celebrating theirs and others’ cultures, and the long-lasting, positive impact that access and opportunity within culture, heritage and sport can create.
By adapting our evaluation methods to the nuances of each group—guided every step of the way by those with lived experience—we gathered rich, authentic insights. And as we compile our final report, it’s clear: flexibility in group‑based evaluation isn’t just a logistical choice; it’s the cornerstone of respectful, impactful, and truly inclusive research.
About the Author Emily Preston-Jones
Emily joined M·E·L Research in 2024 as a Senior Evaluation Manager, bringing extensive experience in programme evaluation and social research. She specialises in areas such as youth employment, the care system, working with people facing multiple barriers such as poverty and disadvantage, and the aging population. Emily is passionate about DEI and integrating participatory design into research and is motivated to advance M·E·L Research’s empowerment-focused approach to evaluation.
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