Welsh Government’s Well-being of Future Generations continuous learning and improvement plan for 2023 to 2025

The Welsh Government’s Well-being of Future Generations continuous learning and improvement plan for 2023 to 2025 (WFG CLIP) brings together our existing and future actions that are designed to deepen the understanding and application of the sustainable development principle in Welsh Government.

Embedding the sustainable development principle helps ensure that an organisation’s governance best meets its well-being objectives and maximises the impact of those objectives on the well-being of Wales now and in the future. This is achieved by applying 5 ways of working: long-term thinking, taking an integrated approach, involvement, collaboration, and taking preventative action.

Through our continued work to embed the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (WFG Act) in how Welsh Government works we have identified 6 themes that reflect the roles national governments should play in advancing the sustainable development agenda. This includes the role of Welsh Ministers, the role of the civil service in supporting ministers to deliver for Wales, our role in understanding Wales now and in the future, our enabling role with others, and how we change the culture of our organisation so that the well-being of current and future generations is at the centre of our decision making.

The WFG CLIP also serves as the Welsh Government’s substantive response to the recommendation in the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales’ section 20 review report. The review by the Commissioner provides a timely and welcome opportunity for us to take stock, reflect on what we have achieved so far, and to help us seize new opportunities in the years ahead. The development and the delivery of the WFG CLIP has been based on partnership and engagement, and I would like to thank everyone who has so far contributed to its development.

The WFG Act has proved an enduring and useful framework for sustainable development that has permeated all aspects of the way we work. The framework also plays a crucial role in the development of the Welsh Government as an organisation. The WFG CLIP is a reminder that continuous learning and improvement are part of a journey that requires commitment, deliberate effort, and sustained leadership to succeed. Through our WFG CLIP and the annual updates we have committed to provide, we are strengthening our sustainable working culture to deliver better outcomes for the people of Wales now and in the future. 

Jane Hutt, MS
Minister for Social Justice

Dr Andrew Goodall,
Permanent Secretary, Welsh Government

The Welsh Government is committed to using the Well-being of Future Generations Act to continue to shape what it does and how it works to maximise its contribution to the achievement of Wales’ long-term well-being goals.

The Well-being of Future Generations Act

Wales faces a number of complex challenges. Many of these are a legacy from the past, but it is important that this generation does not leave them as challenges for the next generations. That is why Wales has made a unique commitment to the well-being of future generations. Through the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (from here on referred to as the ‘WFG Act’) we have a law that helps us all work together to improve our environment, our economy, our society, and our culture. For people, for our planet. For now, and for our future.

Wales is the first country in the world to legislate for the well-being of current and future generations in a way that aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The WFG Act provides us with 7 well-being goals which aim to build a more equal, prosperous, healthier, resilient, and globally responsible Wales with more cohesive communities and a vibrant culture and Welsh language. The WFG Act ensures that the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

The vision behind the WFG Act is that across Wales we will have acted for the long term, worked better together, taken early action and engaged with people and communities on this journey.

Across Wales, organisations, people, and communities are working towards the 7 national well-being goals that provide a shared vision for the sustainable Wales we want to see now and in the future. Our WFG Act provides the blueprint to make this happen.

Welsh Government

The Welsh Government has a long history of promoting sustainable development and a longstanding commitment to making sustainable development the central organising principle of government. This means that sustainable development (as defined in the WFG Act) changes what we do and how we work so that we meet the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

We are the only administration in the world to have such a comprehensive duty to promote and carry out sustainable development, and since the WFG Act came into force in 2016 the sustainable development principle and well-being duty has affected every aspect of our organisation, from our policy-making framework to our performance management, our leadership expectations to our financial and auditing processes.

The legislation is designed to make sustainable development the central organising principle of government and public bodies, and it follows that the operation, governance, and mechanics of government, and how we develop policy should continually improve to respond to these requirements.

Purpose of this continuous learning and improvement plan

This plan has the following purposes:

• Reaffirms sustainable development as the central organising principle of the Welsh Government and the actions we will take under our sustainable development and well-being duties to deepen this into how government works.
• Describes how Welsh Government will continue to lead the way in embedding sustainable development in how it works. 
• Responds to the section 20 review into the machinery of Welsh Government carried out by the Future Generations Commissioner in 2022.
• Sets out our ‘Sustainable Governance’ approach to acting in accordance with the sustainable development principle across key areas of government. This covers the role of Welsh Ministers, the Welsh Government civil service, our role in enabling others and in improving the understanding of Wales and Wales’ future. This is underpinned by action to drive the sustainable behaviours and culture change needed.
• Sets out how the relevant actions will be embedded into the 3-year programme for organisational development and platform for conversations with staff (WG2025)
• Outlines the areas that we will prioritise between 2023 and 2025 to strengthen and deepen how we act in accordance with the Sustainable Development Principle.
• Sets out how we will monitor and report on these changes, including sharing our learning with others subject to the well-being duty.
• Describes how these changes will help Welsh Government continue to maximize its contribution to the achievement of the 7 well-being goals, and deliver a greener, stronger, and fairer Wales.

The plan does not:

• Set out changes to the policy objectives of government or make any commitments to change policies or strategies (the ‘what’). These will be found in the relevant policy and strategy documents published by Welsh Ministers. The starting place for this work is the well-being objectives contained in the Programme for Government.
• Include detail on the steps we are taking to achieve our well-being objectives, which is outlined in the Welsh Government Annual Report.

Our approach

The plan is structured around the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Governance Framework (see below):

Welsh Government Sustainable Governance Framework

The central organising principle of the framework is the 5 ways of working:

• Long-term
• Integration
• Involvement
• Collaboration
• Prevention

Welsh Ministers

Maximising Government’s contribution to the well-being goals by setting and delivering well-being objectives

• Understanding government’s contribution to the goals
• Programme for government (well-being objectives)
• Delivery
• Reviewing objectives annually
• Communicating (annual report)
• Promoting sustainable development

Enabling others

Enabling, leading and influencing others to contribute to the well-being goals:

• Our relationship with delivery partners / WGSBs
• Influencing others
• Third sector
• Business
• Public sector
• Statutory guidance
• Communications
• International promotion

Understanding Wales

Enabling more sustainable decisions and policies through better insight into Wales now and Wales’ future:

• Tracking national progress against the goals (50 national Indicators)
• Deciding on the scale of change (National Milestones)
• Annual Well-being of Wales Report
• Future Trends Report (every term)
• National Survey of Wales
• Knowledge & Analytical Services

Civil Service

Improving the support and advice to Welsh Ministers by embedding the 5 ways of working.

Welsh Government assurance domains:

1. Corporate planning and review
2. Operational delivery (including grant/procurement)
3. Financial asset management
4. People and culture
5. Information management and security
6. Risk and regularity compliance
7. Integrated policy making

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Input

The nature of sustainable development as a central organising principle means that we strive to continually improve and deepen how we apply the WFG Act and draw on the latest best practice and suggestions.

Since the WFG Act commenced in 2016, stakeholders have constructively challenged Welsh Ministers and the Welsh Government civil service about the pace of change in embedding the WFG Act and the culture change it requires. This has included:

• A ‘game-changer’ for future generations? (WWF Cymru and Netherwood Sustainable Futures, 2017)
• ‘All Together’ – Pointers for action from the Wellbeing of Future Generations New Year Workshops (Welsh Government and WWF Cymru, 2018)
• Implementing the Sustainable Development Principle – Lessons from a Literature Review on implementing the five ways of working (Kingston University London and Public Health Wales, 2019)
• Self-reflection feedback to Welsh Government (Future Generations Commissioner  (2018-9)
• Welsh Government – implementing the Well-being of Future Generations Act (Auditor General, 2019)
• Future Generations Report 2020 (Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, 2020)
• Findings from the Auditor General’s Sustainable Development Principle Examinations (2020)
• Future Generations Commissioner section 20 review into Procurement (2020)
• Barriers to the successful Implementation of the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (Public Accounts Committee, 2021)
• Report into the Annual Scrutiny of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales (Equality and Social Justice Committee, 2022)

The Welsh Government response to some of these reports can be found at Welsh Government responses to reports on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act on GOV.WALES.

How was this plan prepared?

This plan was prepared through engagement with colleagues across Welsh Government leading on key functions.

The plan draws on the outputs of the section 20 review into how the machinery of Welsh Government is carrying out sustainable development and safeguarding the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

This plan is our formal response to the Commissioner’s section 20 review report published in December 2022. We have accepted the single recommendation from this report and have provided a supplementary document outlining how this plan addresses the areas of improvement identified in the report.

The plan

This continuous improvement and learning plan sets out 52 actions that we will take between 2023-2025 which we believe will deepen the sustainable development principle within government and deliver the outcomes below.

How we will monitor progress

We will report annually on the implementation of this plan. This work will be led by the Sustainable Futures Division in collaboration with lead teams from across Welsh Government. Our approach will build on the changes we have made to existing reporting arrangements to ensure the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act remains embedded into how we work. Lead divisions have been identified and will be responsible for the identification, implementation and monitoring of actions relevant to their department.

We will use the existing Well-being of Future Generations Oversight and Enabling Group to monitor progress.

Theme: Welsh Ministers

Outcome

Maximising government’s contribution to the well-being goals by setting and delivering well-being objectives.

Monitor and measure

The Programme for Government sets out the 10 well-being objectives which we believe will make the greatest contribution towards the well-being goals. There are specific steps against each of the 10 well-being objectives – these are set out in the Programme for Government, and we will report on our progress annually as required by the WFG Act.

Output (strategic)

Annual Report on WFG Continuous Improvement and Learning Plan 2023-2025

Existing outputs

Welsh Government Annual Report

Theme: Welsh Government civil service

Outcome

Improving the support and advice to Welsh Ministers by embedding the 5 ways of working in everything we do.

Monitor and measure

We will continue to use, develop and embed performance in applying the sustainable development principle within the Welsh Government Performance Framework.

The Welsh Government Performance Framework was adopted as the approach for monitoring the performance of the Welsh Government Civil Service in 2019. The framework is based on the International Civil Service Effectiveness Index (InCiSE) and has been adapted to align with Welsh Government’s strategies, priorities and objectives through consultation with the Board, senior managers and researchers. It currently consists of 19 themes that are divided into 2 groups – functions (‘what we do’) and attributes (‘how we do it’). Performance against the framework is reported biannually to the Welsh Government Board.

Output (strategic)

Annual Report on WFG Continuous Improvement and Learning Plan 2023-2025

Existing outputs

Welsh Government Consolidated Accounts

Theme: Enabling others

Outcome

Enabling, leading, and influencing others to contribute to the well-being goals.

Monitor and measure

We will use the Well-being of Future Generations Oversight and Enabling Group to monitor progress.

The Well-being of Future Generations National Stakeholder Forum also plays a role here.

Output (strategic)

Annual Report on WFG Continuous Improvement and Learning Plan 2023-2025.

Theme: Understanding Wales

Outcome

Enabling more sustainable decisions and policies through better insight into Wales now and Wales’ future.

Monitor and measure

We will use the Well-being of Future Generations Oversight and Enabling Group to monitor progress.

Output (strategic)

Annual Report on WFG Continuous Improvement and Learning Plan 2023-2025

Existing outputs

Wellbeing of Wales report
Future Trends: 2021

Theme: Culture change

Outcome

Making working sustainably an ingrained and visible part of our behaviours.

Monitor and measure

We will use the Well-being of Future Generations Oversight and Enabling Group to monitor progress.

Output (strategic)

Annual Report on WFG Continuous Improvement and Learning Plan 2023-2025

Theme: Making it happen

Outcome

Continually driving the improvements in acting in accordance with the sustainable development principle with the buy-in and oversight of a diverse range of officials.

Monitor and measure

We will use the Well-being of Future Generations Oversight and Enabling Group to monitor progress.

Output (strategic)

Annual Report on WFG Continuous Improvement and Learning Plan 2023-2025

Outcome

Maximising Government’s contribution to the well-being goals by setting and delivering well-being objectives.

What have we done this term?

• Published the Programme for Government (June 2021) which sets out the ambitious commitments we will deliver over this Senedd term and contains 10 well-being objectives that the government will use to maximise its contribution to Wales’ 7 well-being goals and the steps we will take to deliver them.
• Published alongside the Programme for Government the Well-being Statement (2021) sets out how we have set our well-being objectives in accordance with the sustainable development principle.
• Published an annual report on the delivery of our well-being objectives (annual report June 2022).
• Established the Well-being of Future Generations National Stakeholder Forum to gather stakeholder perspectives on key issues, opportunities, and barriers to the implementation of the WFG Act and share innovative practice from across Wales and beyond.

What will we do 2023 to 2025?

1.1 We will continue to embed the well-being objectives into our annual reporting on the Programme for Government. Lead: Cabinet Office.

1.2 We will continue to assist the Executive Committee in applying the sustainable development principle to their role in supporting the Permanent Secretary as Principal Policy Adviser to the First Minister. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division.

1.3 We will continue to engage with our international networks to share and learn from other governments across the world – this will focus on our membership of Regions4 and the Well-being Economy Government partnership (WEGo). Lead: Sustainable Futures Division, International Relations.

1.4 We will continue to engage the Well-being of Future Generations National Stakeholder forum to drive forward the next phase of embedding the Well-being of Future Generations approach across Wales. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division.

1.5 We will consider ways to improve awareness of the well-being objectives of public bodies across Wales, drawing on the monitoring work of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division.

1.6 We will increase awareness of the Future Trends Report with Ministers and senior leaders. Lead : Sustainable Futures Division.

1.7 We will carry out an exercise on the scope and nature of an evaluation of the WFG Act. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division.

Outcome

Improving the support and advice to Welsh Ministers by embedding the 5 ways of working.

Policy making

What have we done?

• Updated our guidance on policy making to fully address the implications and opportunities for policy making arising from the WFG Act.
• Integrated our approach to impact assessments using the 4 dimensions of well-being in the WFG Act and embedding the ways of working.
• Outlined our ambition for the policy profession and developed a series of work steams to foster a skilled, engaged and innovative policy profession to create better policy.
• Re-engaged our Welsh Government policy community to create a network that connects policy makers together.
• Developed a Policy Capability Framework which designs-in the WFG agenda by identifying the relevant knowledge, skills and behaviours needed by policymakers in Welsh Government to be effective and support Welsh Ministers. 
• Mobilised a network of senior policy champions across the organisation to promote and help develop innovative effective policy initiatives in Wales.
• Established a Policy Seminar Series featuring case studies and real experiences to draws out lessons for policy officials in navigating policymaking challenges.
• Delivered a WG2025 deep dive webinar to engage the organisation with our plans for the future of the policy profession and policy capability – reinforcing the role the WFG Act plays in good policy making.
• Highlighted good practice in policy making through WG Awards and internationally as part of our Globally Responsible Wales commitments.
• Developed research profession-specific training to introduce the Act to new researchers and demonstrate how and where it may apply in their role in supporting the policy-making process.

What will we do 2023 to 2025?

2.1 We will introduce development pathways for policy makers to mature and enhance their skills, knowledge, behaviours in applying the sustainable development principle. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division and Organisational Development and Engagement

2.2 We will update the support for policy makers through formal and informal activities, including a series of focused exercises on each of the 5 ways of working in the sustainable development principle. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division

2.3 We will continue to review and update our approach to assessing the impact of policy in an integrated way, supported by our Integrated Impact Assessment approach. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division and leads for individual impact assessments

2.4 We will continue to review and update internal resources to support policy teams as they involve, engage and consult with citizens in policy formulation and delivery. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division and others.

People

What have we done?

• We developed a new core policy learning and development offer that aligns to the WFG Act.
• We incorporated the WFG Act into our corporate induction programme available to all new joiners, including our senior leaders.
• We replaced our personal performance management system with one based on strength based coaching and regular check-ins (Let’s Talk Check Ins).
• Used the People Survey to find out the understanding and awareness of staff on the 5 ways of working.
• Developed and delivered a 2-day training package to upskill and build the policy capability of the Civil Service on futures thinking.
• We are developing a futures community within Welsh Government, linked to the Policy Community.

What will we do 2023 to 2025?

2.5 We will continue to embed the WFG Act in our broader organisation-wide internal capability plan and Learning and Development programme. Lead: Organisational Development and Engagement and Sustainable Futures

2.6 We will raise awareness of the WFG Act with corporate teams and with colleagues to developthrough a tailored approach reflecting their respective roles (this is areas of improvement arising from the internal audit exercise conducted in 2021). Lead: Sustainable Futures Division and Corporate Services

2.7 We will continue to draw on information from our robust system of internal control to provide assurance to the Permanent Secretary, including updating the questions on an annual basis. Lead: Corporate Finance

2.8 We will establish a Living Sustainably staff network to help us learn more about how we can make more sustainable choices and help reduce our carbon footprint both at home and in the office. Lead: Chief Operating Officer’s Group

2.9 We will run series of seminars and tailored sessions for directorates on the WFG Act to re-fresh, re-engage and re-energise. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division

Budget

What have we done?

• We reformed the Budget Advisory Group for Equality (BAGE) and set up the new Budget Improvement Impact Advisory Group (BIIAG). BIIAG has been reviewing our approach to assessing the impact of budget decisions and the Strategic Integrated Impact Assessment.
• During the 2022-23 Budget process and Welsh Spending review a collaborative approach was taken to align funding with delivering of the Programme for Government which contain the Welsh Government’s well-being objectives. 
• We made a range of progress in various areas of the Budget Improvement Plan, as reported within the plan, including on carbon and nature impacts, gender budgeting, distributional impacts.
• We published an update to our Tax Policy Framework.
• We published our Tax Policy Work Plan for 2021-2026.
• We held a virtual annual tax conference to help to promote the Welsh tax agenda.
• We published the Wales Infrastructure Investment Strategy (WIIS) underpinned by a zero-based approach to capital expenditure to address the climate and nature emergency as part of the 2022-25 Welsh Spending Review.

What will we do 2023 to 2025?

2.10 We will annually publish the Budget Improvement Plan to show progress over the last 12 months, alongside our short and medium-term ambitions over a 5-year rolling period, using the Well-being of Future Generations Act and the 5 ways of working to drive continuous improvement to budget and tax processes. Prevention is an area that will be considered by BIIAG during 2023, see the Budget Improvement Plan for further details. Lead: Budget and Government Business

2.11 The Wales Infrastructure Investment Strategy (WIIS) supports the delivery of a zero-carbon economy, built around the 4 sustainable development principles of the Well-being of Future Generations Act to improve the economic, environmental, social and cultural well-being of Wales. Please see the Budget Improvement Plan for further details. Lead: Budget and Government Business

Outcome

Enabling, leading, and influencing others to contribute to the well-being goals.

What have we done?

• Developed with stakeholders a comprehensive set of statutory guidance to assist public bodies in discharging their well-being duties under the WFG Act.
• Worked collaboratively with stakeholders to forge a common understanding of how recognizable progress in Welsh Government’s implementation of the WFG Act can be achieved and clearly shown (All Together! Pointers for action from the Wellbeing of Future Generations New Year Workshops WWF 2018).
• Embedded the approach to the well-being duty in the process of preparing Integrated Medium-Term Plans (IMTP) by health bodies in Wales.
• We amended Remit Letters for public bodies, and recently moved to Term of Government Remit letters which include a requirement to meet the well-being duty.
• Developed the WFG Act into the One Welsh Public Service approach
• Delivered 2 Future Generations Xchange events focusing on sharing best practice between Public Services Boards (PSBs) and learning from young people and the pandemic.
• Through the Welsh Government representatives on PSBs, we made connections across Welsh Government to better connect national policy and local delivery. Established a regular meeting between the Permanent Secretary and Welsh Government representatives on PSBs
• Supported Public Services Boards through a regional support grant, network events, bespoke evidence and policy seminars to support development of local assessments of well-being and local well-being plans and having senior civil servants all PSBs.

What will we do 2023 to 2025?

3.1 We will work with the Well-being of Future Generations National Stakeholder Forum to co-design and develop the next series of Future Generations Xchange events. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division

3.2 We will work with the Future Generations Commissioner, Wales Council for Voluntary Action and Co-production Wales on the National Principles for Public Participation. Lead: Communities Division, Sustainable Futures Division

3.3 We will engage with the activities organised by the Commissioner and Auditor General to share and encourage good practice between public bodies. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division

3.4 We will clarify the role of PSB representatives through reviewing their terms of reference and a rolling briefing programme. Lead: Local Government Performance and Partnerships

3.5 We will support PSBs to reach their potential through reviewing how they can use funding and providing a Welsh Government-led support package. We will review statutory guidance in due course. Lead: Local Government Performance and Partnerships

3.6 We are taking forward the recommendations made in the Third Sector Partnership Council’s Covid Recovery Plan around relationships, support and volunteering. We will be reviewing the Welsh Government’s funding code of practice and Welsh Government’s volunteering policy. Lead: Voluntary Sector

3.7 We will explore training and support possibilities for Relationship Managers to help them strengthen delivering of the Economic Contract. The Economic Contract aims to leverage more sustainable business practices and wider social value outcomes from our support to the business community. Lead: Economic Policy – Business and Regions 

3.8  We will work in collaboration with the Future Generations Commissioner to develop an online future proofing Toolkit for SMEs that will provide guidance concerning the business benefits of the Well-being of Future Generations Act in order to support sustainable business decisions. Lead: SMART Innovation team

3.9 We will design and prototype methods for exchanging staff between organisations that support collaborative policy development and delivery and deepen our understanding of the 5 ways of working. Lead: One Welsh Public Service and Academi Wales, Organisational Development and Engagement

3.10 We are reviewing regional partnership arrangements to develop actions to simplify these. Lead: Local Government Performance and Partnerships

3.11 We will map out the existing sources of expertise that exists in Wales on the well-being goals to assist understanding of the goals. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division

Outcome

Enabling more sustainable decisions and policies through better insight into Wales now and Wales’ future.

What have we done?

• Delivered the first national well-being indicators measuring progress in achieving the well-being goals (2016), consulted and revised the indicators to reflect the experience of the pandemic (2022).
• Published the annual Well-being of Wales Report highlighting areas of change in the national indicators, supported by contextual information. The report has been independently assessed as achieving National Statistics status, meaning it meets the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and value.
• Brought together our work on national milestones, national indicators and Future Trends Report into a single programme – Shaping Wales’ Future.
• Established the Shaping Wales’ Future blog platform to communicate, engage and involve people in this work.
• Delivered the first and second statutory Future Trends Report for Wales (2017, 2021), which brings the key social, economic, environmental and cultural trends that could affect Wales in the future, as well as some of the factors that could influence the direction of those trends.
• Established a Future Trends Steering stakeholder group to oversee and shared practice in futures thinking.
• Shared our learning with UK government and others.
• Successfully bid for an Economic and Social Research Council policy fellow who will develop a piece of research to help strengthen the Welsh Government’s approach to futures and foresight.

What will we do 2023 to 2025?

4.1 We will raise the profile, awareness and understanding of the national indicators, milestones and future trends report within Welsh Government via direct engagement with teams and all staff seminars and outside Welsh Government via the Shaping Wales Future blog. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division, Cabinet Office, Knowledge and Analytical Services

4.2 We will provide more opportunities for officials working and leading on futures and foresight to connect together and become part of a network within Welsh Government and wider Wales. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division

4.3 We will provide more in-depth insight on well-being through themed Wellbeing of Wales reports, building on the 2022 report on children and young people’s well-being. Lead: Knowledge and Analytical Services

4.4 We will commission research to better understand how the Welsh Government can apply long-term thinking in a crisis. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division, ESRC Policy Fellow

4.5 We will continue to work with the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales’ office who leads on the futures and foresight agenda in Wales, in order to upskill and develop capacity and capability in decision making in Wales using futures. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division

4.6 The National Survey for Wales will continue to collect robust data to measure 15 of the national well-being indicators. New questions will be developed for the survey to measure 2 new national indicators (47 and 50). Lead: Knowledge and Analytical Services

4.7 We will develop guidelines that describe how and when co-production can be used in research and evidence gathering in order to involve people with protected and associated characteristics in research development and improve outputs and subsequent policy decisions. Lead: Knowledge and Analytical Services

4.8 We will prototype coproduction of research on how information can be collected to reflect the social model of disability. Lead: Equality, Poverty and Children’s Evidence and Support Units

4.9 We will develop research profession- specific guidance and update the Welsh Government research quality assurance framework to enable a clear conceptual and practical understanding of Government Social Research obligations under the WFG Act and how they can be implemented through the research process. Lead: Knowledge and Analytical Services

Outcome

To make working sustainably a visible part of our behaviours.

What have we done?

• We continued to evaluate and develop our internal sustainable behaviour change programme. Back in 2012, we were the first government to set up an evidence and practice-based programme of this type.
• Created an evidence-based change architecture (sustainable futures architecture) to support the development of the sustainable behaviour change, enabling staff to review and update processes and procedures and challenge out-dated practices.
• Created with stakeholders an online behaviour change manual.
• We established the Strategic Foresight Group and the Behaviour Insight/Science Network, both communities of practice that enable us to increase comprehension and improve delivery of the WFG Act.
• We worked to make sustainability a more visible part of our behaviours through the Future Proofing Initiative, People Survey to gather insight, behaviour change services and communities of practice.

What will we do 2023 to 2025?

5.1 WG2025 is our 3-year programme for organisational development and a platform for the conversation with everyone who works in Welsh Government about the changes and improvements we need to make. Lead: Chief Operating Officer’s Group

5.2 We will improve accessibility to the behaviour change manual, by designing a Starter Pack and seeking feedback on these both internally and externally. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division

5.3 People Survey and other internal staff surveys will continue to be used to gather insight on embedding the 5 ways of working in our organisation’s culture. Lead: Knowledge and Analytical Services

5.4 We will develop Communities of Practice to support the work of Welsh Government officials and others as they apply the WFG Act. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division

5.5 We will continue to raise the profile, awareness and understanding of the WFG Act through our Internal Communications Strategy, highlighting good practice through case studies, in the Welsh Government Awards and staff events. Embedding the 5 ways of working in our values and behaviours framework so that they become part of the fabric of the organisation. Lead: Organisational Development and Engagement

Outcome

We are continually driving the improvements in acting in accordance with the sustainable development principle with the buy in and oversight of a diverse range of officials and can confidently tell our story of improvement and learning.

What have we done?

• Established an internal Well-being of Future Generations Oversight and Enabling Group to support, enable and act as a catalyst for the leadership and direction of internal Welsh Government work streams contributing to the implementation of the WFG Act.
• Established a Board Champion for the WFG Act.
• Reviewed our approach to embedding the WFG Act and developed an improved strategic implementation framework to guide actions to improve how we are acting in accordance with the sustainable development principle.
• Commissioned an internal audit of arrangements by groups within Welsh Government to understand actions to embed the sustainable development principle (2020).
• Ensured that the Well-being of Future Generations Act was embedded into the Welsh Government Performance Framework including specific consideration of how we would develop performance data on the 5 ways of working.
• Changed our internal assurance processes (internal control questionnaire) to gather information from directors on how they are embedding the ways of working and discharging the obligations under the WFG Act.
• Reported on our actions undertaken each year to further embed the sustainable development principle within the Welsh Government Consolidated Accounts, this have been the case since 2017.
• We introduced the Business Information Reporting Tool (BIRT) to replace our previous reporting mechanism. We have increased senior buy in, provided a less clunky and more intuitive user interface.

What will we do 2023 to 2025?

6.1 We will report annually on the implementation of this plan. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division

6.2 We will hold an annual agenda item on the implementation of this plan and the WFG agenda at Board and Executive Committee. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division, Board Secretariat

6.3 We will continue to embed the Well-being of Future Generations agenda into the Welsh Government's Performance Framework. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division, Knowledge and Analytical Services

6.4 We will continue to provide information on how we are meeting our WFG obligations in the statement of Annual Accounts and Annual Governance Statement. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division, Corporate Governance

6.5 We will review the Terms of Reference and working arrangements of WFG Oversight and Enabling Group. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division

6.6 We will develop a refreshed prototype for the role of Board Champion. Lead: Sustainable Futures Division and Future Generations Leadership Academi Alumni

6.7 We will engage with all directors to support them in completing the WFG questions within the Internal Control Questionnaire and explore ways of analysing these returns to give a high level assurance statement on embedding the WFG Act within the arrangements within directorates (addresses an area of improvement identified in the internal audit exercise in 2021). Lead: Sustainable Futures Division, Corporate Governance Centre of Excellence

6.8 We will undertake a formative evaluation of our business information reporting system (BIRT) to evaluate user experience and effectiveness since its introduction. Lead and partners: Business Information Reporting Team

We would like to acknowledge the help, support and contributions of over one hundred people who have helped us pull this plan together. Whether you are an action owner, an interested observer or change maker, we are immensely grateful.

If you have any feedback, suggestions or observations on this document, please send these to Sustainable.Futures@gov.wales.

Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 (WFG Act) aims to improve the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of Wales.

Sustainable development

Sustainable development means the process of improving the economic, social, environmental, and cultural well-being of Wales by taking action, in accordance with the sustainable development principle, aimed at achieving the well-being goals.

Well-being goals

The 7 well-being goals show the kind of Wales we want to be. Together they provide a shared vision, and describe the economic, social, environmental, and cultural well-being outcomes that will make Wales a more sustainable nation. The 7 well-being goals are:

• A prosperous Wales
• A resilient Wales
• A healthier Wales
• A more equal Wales
• A Wales of more cohesive communities
• A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
• A globally responsible Wales

Sustainable Development Principle

The sustainable development principle means acting in a manner which seeks to ensure that the needs of the present are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This means thinking about the future in what we do now.

The principle includes 5 ways of working that public bodies must take into account when applying sustainable development. These are:

• Looking to the long term so that we do not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
• Taking an integrated approach so that public bodies look at all the well-being goals in deciding on their well-being objectives
• Involving a diversity of the population in the decisions that affect them
• Working with others in a collaborative way to find shared sustainable solutions
• Understanding the root causes of issues to prevent them from occurring

Individual Well-being Duty on public bodies

Certain public bodies in Wales have a legal duty to carry out sustainable development; this is the well-being duty in the WFG Act. In carrying out this duty public bodies must set and publish objectives designed to maximise their contribution to achieving each of the well-being goals and take all reasonable steps in meeting their objectives.

Welsh Ministers’ duties under the WFG Act

The Welsh Ministers are listed as one of the public bodies subject to the WFG Act. They are therefore under the same well-being duty as the other specified public bodies. They also have other responsibilities under the WFG Act, namely the duty to publish statutory guidance to the Act, national indicators and milestones and to publish a periodic Future Trends Report, which will provide evidence of progress and future pressures to assist decision makers. They must also publish an annual Well-being of Wales report on the progress made towards the achievement of the wellbeing goals by reference to the national indicators and milestones.