The Cardiff Institute for Co-operative Studies (CICS), formerly The Wales Institute for Research into Co-operatives (WIRC), was established in 2002 as in interdisciplinary research centre.
Working under the auspices of Cardiff School of Management and is a member of the School’s umbrella research organisation the Institute for Social Innovation. WIRC was the first Wales-based research centre working to focus primarily on exploring and developing knowledge about co-operatives, credit unions, mutuals and member-based organisations in the region.
Since 2002, the Institute has developed its reputation and remit and has a national and international presence.
It comprises academic and research staff within the school, together with a broader network of practitioners and academics from across Wales and the UK and is part of various international networks of academics who are engaged in complementary work.
Through collaborations and networks, members of the Institute are actively involved in the promotion and development of the co-operative organisations and applied research through umbrella organisations such as the UK Society for Co-operative Studies, Co-operativesUK and Co-operatives and Mutuals Wales.
Key areas of expertise include critical management, applied economics, regeneration policy and practice, social, environmental and economic aspects of sustainability, quantitative and qualitative methods of social research, and practical experience of developing and supporting a wide range of Co-operatives, Mutuals, Credit Unions and other Social Enterprises in a variety of settings.
As a research institute within a higher education teaching establishment we aim to raise the profile of social economic theory, social entrepreneurship and co-operative enterprise among academic colleagues and into mainstream management and business education.
We also work with colleagues in other disciplines to contribute to curriculum development and delivery.
Currently, we offer an opportunity for students to specialise in social entrepreneurship through masters level degrees and PhD degrees
