New funding to strengthen public trust in policing across Wales
The All-Wales Policing Academic Collaboration (AWPAC), facilitated by the Wales Innovation Network (WIN), has launched its 2026 call for applications to support new collaborative research between academics and policing partners across Wales.
9 October 2025
The collaboration brings together Welsh universities and all four Welsh police forces, encouraging evidence-based research that improves policing practice. This year’s call focuses on the priority theme of increasing public trust and confidence in policing, inviting proposals that can deliver practical, evidence-based impact across Wales.
AWPAC has committed £80,000 to support up to four two-year collaborative projects, each receiving £20,000 in total (£10,000 per year). The funding is intended for small-scale projects that can deliver meaningful, practical impact, and must demonstrate a clear plan for how findings will be translated into practice. Projects must also show an all-Wales collaborative approach, with benefits that reach beyond a single institution or police force.
The 2026 call builds on the momentum of AWPAC’s current research portfolio, which already includes three projects addressing the theme of public trust and confidence in policing.
One project, Public perceptions and experience of Section 1 stop and search in Wales, brings together Bangor University, Dyfed-Powys Police, Gwent Police and OPCC, North Wales OPCC, South Wales Police and OPCC, Public Health Wales, and Peer Action Collective Cymru. This project explores public attitudes and experiences of stop and search in Wales and how these influence trust and confidence in policing.
Enhancing police trauma-informed practice, led by Swansea University, in partnership with South Wales Police, the University of South Wales, and The Include Hub, focuses on improving how policing engages with people affected by trauma and adverse childhood experiences.
Another project, Declining trust and confidence in the police: Exploring the generational gap, is led by the University of South Wales in collaboration with Dyfed-Powys Police, Gwent Police, South Wales Police, North Wales Police, Youth Voice Team Wales, and the Welsh Youth Parliament. It aims to identify practical, evidence-based strategies to rebuild trust in policing among young people and inform future policy and practice across Wales.
Applications for 2026-2028 are now open and must be submitted by Friday 30 January 2026. Successful projects will begin on 1 April 2026 and run until 31 March 2028.
Application forms can be downloaded here and emailed to innovation.network@uniswales.ac.uk by the deadline.