Evaluation of the Culture, Heritage and Sport ArWAP Grants Programme: summary

The Welsh Government’s culture, heritage and sport (CHS) Anti-racist Wales Action Plan (ArWAP) grants programme represented a significant investment in anti-racist cultural change. This executive summary presents the findings of an evaluation that explored how the programme was delivered and what it achieved across three strands, spanning national, local and grassroots organisations.

The ArWAP, published in 2022, and updated in 2024, sets out the Welsh Government’s commitment to making Wales an anti-racist nation. Within this, the CHS ArWAP goals aim to ensure equitable access to, and representation in, culture, heritage and sport for Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. The CHS ArWAP grants programme sought to support this ambition by funding activity at national, local and grassroots levels.

The 3 strands of the grant programme

Strand 1

Funding for Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) including the National Library of Wales, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, Amgueddfa Cymru, Sport Wales and Arts Council Wales to support internal and sectoral change.

Strand 2

A competitive grant for local cultural, heritage and sport organisations to deliver projects aligned to ArWAP goals.

Strand 3

A small-grants programme delivered by Diverse Cymru to support grassroots groups and organisations led by and for Black, Asian or minority ethnic communities.

The evaluation was underpinned by a realist evaluation approach (Public Health England), which explored what worked, for whom, in what contexts and why. This included a focus on implementation processes, outcomes achieved, and the contexts shaping delivery and impact. Multiple data collection methods were used, including:

• surveys and interviews with funded project leads across all strands
• surveys with project participants, trainees, and staff involved in delivery
• in person and online visits to projects involving participants in funded activities
• analysis of end-of-project reports and monitoring data
• engagement with a lived-experience Expert Advisory Panel and community mentors to support co-design and interpretation of findings

This summary draws out overarching findings across all three strands, with attention to both how the programme was managed and what changes it contributed to at individual, organisational and sectoral levels.

Grant design and management

Across the three strands, the programme was widely recognised for centring anti-racist values not only in its objectives but also in its structure and delivery. This was particularly evident in the roles of community mentors, flexible reporting arrangements, and support for applicants and project leads.

Strand 1 (Arm’s Length Bodies) benefitted from close engagement with Welsh Government. Projects described the grant management process as largely supportive, with quarterly monitoring meetings that created space for honest discussion and responsive adaptations. The community mentors’ presence in these meetings brought added value, challenging assumptions and embedding lived experience. However, challenges included delays in funding release, misalignment between payment schedules and delivery timelines, and limited provision for pastoral care.

Strand 2 (Local Organisations) followed a more conventional competitive grant process. The process was described as broadly fair and well administered, but time pressures during the assessment stage were noted by Welsh Government staff. Some project leads experienced barriers due to retrospective payment requirements and complex financial monitoring, particularly those from smaller organisations or with limited infrastructure. Despite this, funded organisations found Welsh Government staff approachable and flexible, with contract variations used to accommodate recruitment delays, delivery challenges, or changes in project focus.

Strand 3 (Grassroots Organisations) was delivered by Diverse Cymru, with an explicit emphasis on accessibility. The application process was widely praised by project leads for being more inclusive than previous funding schemes, and many accessed support offered during the application stage. Diverse Cymru introduced pre-payment cards to support micro-organisations lacking bank accounts, though uptake was lower than anticipated. Monitoring requirements were lighter-touch than other strands, and projects valued the trust-based relationships established with programme staff. However, issues around communication, delays in payments, and confusion between revenue and capital funding were reported by some project leads.

Across all strands, the presence of community mentors was cited as a strength. Mentors offered constructive challenge, expertise, and lived experience that enriched programme oversight. However, their time was limited, and both mentors and grantees suggested that their role would benefit from additional resourcing and formalisation.

Monitoring meetings were generally seen as helpful and supportive, though some grantees described reporting templates as repetitive or overly focused on immediate outcomes, rather than on long-term change. The flexibility to adjust delivery through contract variations was welcomed, but clarity around processes and expectations varied across strands.

Outcomes and impact

The evaluation found that the programme made meaningful progress towards its anti-racist aims, with positive impacts at multiple levels; individual, organisational, and sectoral. Impacts varied across strands, but some common outcomes were evident.

At the individual level, the programme supported a wide range of people to engage with culture, heritage and sport in new and affirming ways. Participants in strand 3 projects reported increased confidence, access to new spaces, and a sense of cultural visibility. For those employed or commissioned through funded projects (particularly in strands 1 and 2), the experience often strengthened professional skills, networks, and future employability.

At the organisational level, grantees across all strands reported increased capacity to engage with anti-racist practice. In strand 1, some ALBs demonstrated significant internal shifts, such as reviewing collections and public narratives, improving staff diversity, and embedding co-creation in their programming. In strands 2 and 3, projects often helped organisations build relationships with new communities, adopt more inclusive approaches, and develop leadership pipelines for ethnic minority people. However, organisational learning was not always embedded, and some changes remained tied to specific individuals or temporary funding.

At the sectoral level, the programme contributed to wider shifts in how culture, heritage and sport are conceived and delivered. The grants enabled new collaborations between grassroots and established institutions, and created space for community-led storytelling, events, and spaces that reflected the diversity of Wales. Programme design innovations, including the use of Diverse Cymru, pre-payment mechanisms, and co-designed evaluation, have provided a model for more inclusive funding practice. However, sustainability remains a challenge, with many organisations expressing uncertainty about how to maintain momentum without continued investment.

Notably, the programme supported representation and inclusion across a range of identities and communities, including targeted engagement with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups in strand 3. While this was an important step, stakeholders noted the need for deeper consideration of intersectionality, particularly how race intersects with disability, gender, and class in access to cultural life.

In sum, the programme has made tangible contributions to the CHS ArWAP goals. While limitations around timeframe, funding cycles and legacy remain, the evaluation found clear evidence of positive change, and a strong appetite from organisations and communities to build on this foundation.

The Culture, Heritage and Sport ArWAP Grants Programme successfully demonstrated how a targeted funding initiative can begin to address structural barriers and foster anti-racist change within the cultural sector in Wales. By resourcing activity at multiple levels, national institutions, local organisations, and grassroots groups, the programme created opportunities for engagement, experimentation, and transformation across a diverse range of settings.

The evaluation found that the programme’s design and delivery approach was a key enabler of its impact. In particular, the involvement of community mentors, commitment to co-production, and flexible grant management were repeatedly cited as positive and distinctive features. The use of Diverse Cymru to administer strand 3 also enabled meaningful engagement with organisations that have traditionally been excluded from mainstream funding streams.

However, some challenges limited the programme’s reach and sustainability. These included: late disbursement of funds, limited timeframes for delivery, burdensome financial monitoring requirements, and insufficient provision for pastoral care. Furthermore, while many organisations demonstrated strong progress towards embedding anti-racist values, longer-term change will require continued support and capacity-building.

Based on the evaluation findings, the report outlines more than 30 recommendations, grouped into thematic areas e.g., grant management, communications, co-production, legacy, and the responsibilities of Welsh Government as a funder.

Summary of the recommendations

• Sustain and scale inclusive grant-making practices, including simplified processes, flexible payment mechanisms, and pre-application support, particularly for grassroots organisations.
• Strengthen support structures for grantees, including dedicated time and funding for pastoral care, peer learning, and networking across projects.
• Embed lived experience meaningfully across all levels of programme design and delivery, including in grant assessment, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Review and streamline monitoring and reporting, to ensure accountability while enabling grantees to tell the full story of their work, including qualitative and community-defined outcomes.
• Ensure adequate lead-in times and multi-year funding, to enable projects to plan, recruit and deliver effectively, and to support sustained organisational change.
• Invest in legacy and learning infrastructure, such as communities of practice, case study libraries, and follow-on funding pathways that support the continuation of impactful work.
• Taken together, these findings suggest that the CHS ArWAP Grants Programme has made a valuable contribution to the Welsh Government’s vision for an anti-racist Wales. With continued investment and commitment, its foundations can support systemic change across the culture, heritage and sport sectors in Wales.

Report author: Dr Holly Taylor-Dunn, Emily Preston-Jones, Caroline White, Sophi Ducie and Sarah Bristol-Abbott

Views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and not necessarily those of the Welsh Government.

For further information please contact:
Culture Division
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Email: culture@gov.wales

Social research number: 86/2025
Digital ISBN: 978-1-80633-386-8