MS/AS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet
Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs: The
Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales
published their final report in 2024. The Welsh Government
accepted the Commission's recommendations in full, and they were
endorsed by the Senedd.
Creation of the Innovating Democracy Advisory
Group
The Final Report recommended that an expert panel is created, to
advise Welsh Government and partners on expanding the use of
democratic innovation and enhance civic engagement in public
life. To progress this work, I have appointed Dr Anwen Elias as
chair of a new Innovating Democracy Advisory Group, the wider
membership for which will be appointed in due course through open
competition. Dr Anwen Elias was a Commissioner on the Independent
Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales. In that role,
she contributed specific expertise in civic engagement,
particularly in establishing the citizens panels and designing
the Community Engagement Fund. Through her experience as a
Commissioner, she will ensure that the Commission's findings will
continue to inform the work of the Group.
Dr Elias is a Reader in Politics at the Department of
International Politics, Aberystwyth University. Educated at Ysgol
Dyffryn Teifi, Llandysul, she is a graduate of Cambridge
University and the European University Institute, Florence, where
she completed a PhD in Political and Social Science. Her research
interests include comparative territorial and constitutional
politics, political parties, and citizens' involvement in
democratic politics. Dr Elias has an extensive knowledge of
democratic innovations around the world and has a particular
expertise in using creative methods to support citizen
participation and deliberation.
I will provide a further update to Senedd Members in due course
on the full membership of the new Advisory Group and its work
programme.
