WAHWN News

WAHWN announces partnership for creative health review for Wales

WAHWN is thrilled to announce it is a partner of a major new initiative supported by the AHRC Creative Communities Co-Lab Policy Network Awards 2026.

Announced in January 2026, the Co-Lab Policy Network Awards are a set of four new investments designed to strengthen cultural policy-making across the UK’s devolved nations and regions. The Wales-focused award, Cynefin: A Creative Health Review for Wales', places creative health at the centre of this work, recognising the growing role of culture in supporting health, wellbeing and community resilience.

Cynefin: A Creative Health Review for Wales

The Cynefin network will work across sectors to develop a new creative health strategy for Wales, integrating culture more fully into health and social care policy. The project is led by Emily van de Venter of Public Health Wales NHS Trust, in partnership with WAHWN, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Arts Council of Wales and Senedd Cymru colleagues.

The network will ideate, test and co-create policy provocations focused on creative health, with an emphasis on sustainable growth, prevention and community wellbeing.

“WAHWN is proud to be part of this pioneering Co-Lab Policy Network project, which will help us champion arts, health and wellbeing and place it at the heart of policy development in Wales," said Angela Rogers, Executive Director of WAHWN.

"We are delighted to be working with Sally Lewis as Programme Manager, alongside Rob Ashelford of Newydd as consultant. Their leadership will support the development of the Cynefin network and help ensure that arts, health and wellbeing perspectives inform future policy thinking in Wales at a pivotal moment for devolved decision-making. We look forward to meeting with project partners from our peer project awardees across the UK in the coming weeks and months to share learning."

From participation to co-creation

The Co-Lab Policy Network Awards aim to create new spaces for deliberation on complex cultural challenges, including creative health and culture-led regeneration. A key ambition of the programme is to move people from being participants in policy processes to becoming active co-creators of policy, strengthening long-term devolved policy infrastructure.

The Cynefin network will operate throughout 2026, alongside peer projects in Northern Ireland, the West Midlands and Mayoral regions across England, creating opportunities for shared learning across the UK.

The Wales project's plans include a live showcase in the Senedd and a Policy Priority Paper that is due to be published in March 2027. The programme will culminate in a UK-wide devolution and cultural policy summit in December 2026.