Aled Blake

(he/him)

BA(Hons), MSc

Research

Thesis

Exploring perceptions and experiences of alternate economy policies through lived experience in low-income communities in the South Wales Valleys

I am interested in the relationships between people, communities, places with policy and governance. How are people responding to and experiencing new approaches to economic development? Are these new approaches working? To what exent are attitudes to power shaped by policy from above?

My thesis will centre on the impact of new ideas around economic regeneration, such as the foundational economy and well-being economics, in the South Wales Valleys – once such an economic powerhouse and now a region which has, rightly or wrongly, become emblematic of the UK's post-industrial challenges.

Funding sources

My research is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Biography

I am a former journalist, policy officer and writer and have had a wide ranging career – from my time as a trainee reporter in the South Wales Valleys, to working as a news editor in an ever-changing and challenging media environment. After a career break so I could take on parenting duties of our then two-year-old child, when I also wrote a book on Cardiff City's promotion to the Premier League in 2018, I worked in policy before going back into education and undertaking a master's in politics and public policy at Cardiff University. Before starting my PhD, I worked as a research assistant with Cardiff University Business School on an international project looking at the impact of Brexit on European Works Councils. I was also policy officer at the charity, Learning Disabilty Wales.

My career in brief:

• Policy and communications officer, Learning Disability Wales (November 2023-September 2024)
• Research Assistant (Brexit on EWC), Cardiff University Business School (January 2024-September 2024)
• Policy officer, Universities Wales (2020-2022)
• Freelance writer/PR professional (2018-2020)
• Deputy head of news, Media Wales/WalesOnline (2012-2018)

Other roles (Media Wales and Western Mail): Senior reporter/news editor (2010-2012); business correspondent (2007-2010); education correspondent (2005-2007); crime reporter (2005-2007); news reporter (2003-2005); trainee reporter, Merthyr Express (2001-2003).

Honours and awards

• PhD (in progress), Cardiff University, 2024-
• MScEcon Politics and Public Policy, Cardiff University, 2022-23
• BA (Hons) Journalism, Cardiff University, 1997-2000

Supervisors

Andrew Williams

Senior Lecturer in Human Geography