OB3 Research, in collaboration with Cwmpas, was commissioned by the Welsh Government to undertake an evaluation of the refreshed Economic Contract, introduced in January 2022.
The aim of the evaluation is to provide an independent assessment of the impact of the Economic Contract by ascertaining to what extent any behavioural changes amongst businesses can be directly attributed to the Economic Contract.
It is expected that the evaluation:
assesses the efficacy of the refreshed Economic Contract template
assesses the refreshed Economic Contract assessment, implementation, and review processes
assesses the refreshed Economic Contract’s use of ‘pledges’ as a policy tool for influencing tangible changes in business behaviours so that they become aligned to Welsh Government ambitions over the course of the two-year contract
conducts an international comparison of what other similar governments are doing to encourage responsible business practices and how successful these have been
undertakes primary research with successful recipients of the Economic Contract to establish what business behaviours were before, or at the start of, their agreeing to an Economic Contract and to determine how and why such behaviours changed over the course of their relationship with Welsh Government.
