Citizens Advice offices operate with the “twin aims” of providing free, confidential advice to individuals in need, and, to improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives. While daily advisory work addresses immediate, individual problems, the Research and Campaigns (R&C) work of trying to improve policies and practices focuses on tackling the root causes of those problems.
Why we do R&C work
Every day, people come to us for help with issues ranging from housing disputes and debt to unfair employment practices and welfare delays. By analyzing the data we collect from these thousands of appointments, our R&C work helps to identify widespread trends and systemic failures.
The primary purpose of this work is to use ground-level evidence to give a powerful voice to the community. It ensures that individual complaints are not viewed in isolation, but are instead used as examples of where local or national systems are failing ordinary people.
Why it’s important
While helping one person resolve an energy bill error or an employment issue is vital, fixing a faulty billing system or campaigning to change a workplace policy that affects thousands of others can be transformative. The importance of R&C work lies in this preventative, long-term impact. It allows local us and other local offices to:
- Influence Decision-Makers: Provide local councils, politicians, and businesses with evidence of how their policies impact real people, encouraging them to change unfair practices.
- Prevent Future Harm: By addressing the source of systemic issues, R&C work aims to stop problems before they start, reducing the future burden on both individual people and support services.
- Social Justice: It helps to hold institutions accountable, and highlights hidden inequalities within the community which might not otherwise be identified
Research and Campaigns work helps to ensure that Cyngor ar Bopeth Conwy-Gwynedd Citizens Advice is not just a temporary safety net, but an active force working to build a fairer, more just community for everyone.
