The UK’s innovation agency Nesta has moved into an ‘innovation hub’ in Cardiff as it develops ideas to improve the lives of tens of thousands of people in Wales.

Nesta, an independent endowment-funded charity, works with partners across academia and the public, private and third sectors to design, test and scale new ideas to address society's biggest problems. Its three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet.

The team in Wales has co-located alongside up to 400 social science researchers in sbarc|spark, a Cardiff University hub.

Previously, Nesta worked in Wales with Cardiff University to establish Y Lab for public services innovation and continues to run two ongoing programmes. With the Arts Council of Wales, it is looking at how arts and creativity can be used to improve the health and wellbeing of people and the health system. The second explores how to build skills and capacity for innovative future public services, run through Infuse which is funded by the Welsh European Funding Office.

The team is now developing and delivering mission-focused work unique to Wales, finding places where devolution allows the organisation to go further and faster in achieving its aims.

Over the next 12 months the team of experts will work with partners on innovations around:

• decarbonising homes in Wales and increasing access to heat pumps
• working with children and parents to reduce equality gaps that emerge by the age of 5; and
• improving the nutritional value of school meals and availability of healthy food options in both urban and rural areas.

The move to sbarc|spark enables the Nesta Cymru team to continue to research and develop solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges in a collaborative and creative space. The space lends itself to informal networking with like-minded organisations as well as having capacity for more formal roundtable discussions and events.

Nesta was among the first organisations to move into the new building, which has been built around collaboration, with a lobby for events, auditorium seating and inspirational views across the city. At the new space, Nesta staff have already met with many external stakeholders on site, including MPs and industry leaders.

Rob Ashelford, Head of Nesta Cymru, explains,

“In Wales we are in a unique position to shape policy and work with industry to tackle societal issues that affect almost every household.

“Reducing the carbon emissions from our homes, creating healthier food environments and ensuring all children have a fair start in life benefits us all and we’re excited about how we can make a difference in Wales.

“Our work is rooted in innovation - looking for the spaces where we need new ideas, and approaching them with creativity and rigour, bringing cutting edge methods to bear.

“Moving into this collaborative and inspirational space as we pick up speed on our missions is perfect timing. Over the next year we’ll be exploring more opportunities to design and test solutions in our areas of focus, working with partners to shape policies and create opportunities to scale new ideas that are proven to work.”