The Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014 provides a legal framework for the social services functions of Local Authorities and Health Boards in Wales. It came into effect in April 2016. It became a Framework for Change, about how the duties, principles and ideals, mechanisms and practices laid out in the Act were guides to certain outcomes, most notably the fulfillment of well-being for people in Wales and sustainability of services. Professor Carolyn Wallace, Director of The Wales School for Social Prescribing Research (WSSPR) in December 2023 was instrumental in the launch of the Welsh Government Publication “The National Framework for Social Prescribing in Wales”. Dr Rogers presents the Current Research Paper relating to the exploration of perceived Critical Success Factors (CFSs) that Service Providers in Wales, UK regard essential for the sustainability of Social Prescribing (SP) Art-on-Prescription (AoP) for Health and Well-being in Wales, UK. AoP is seen as a cost-effective alternative, adopting non-drug, non-health-service interventions, within community settings, to improve and manage the health and well-being for those with usually long-term mental conditions. Professor Wallace, Director of Studies, encouraged a mixed methods methodology implementing Group Concept Mapping (GCM) (Kane and Trochim, 2007), with the application of GroupWisdomTM software as a versatile research tool. During the first four years of the project (2021-2025) ‘low risk’ ethical approval was granted for a sample population of Service Providers i.e. those with already an understanding of SP AoP for health and well-being including members of professional healthcare services, together with members of WSSPR.

The integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches became both meaningful and methodologically sound by:
(i) Using the open-ended ‘Focus Prompt’ . . .“A Critical Success Factor for the sustainability of Social Prescribing Art-on-Prescription in Wales is. . . . for data gathering the views, personal experiences, feelings and ‘voices’, relating to ‘ideas for CSFs’ qualitatively, and
(ii) to ascertain, quantitatively, the ‘importance’ and ‘effectiveness of the emerging data (i.e. potential CSFs) for the long-term sustainability of SP AoP in Wales. GCM allows participants to think more effectively as a group without losing their individuality.

It manages, without trivializing them or losing detail, the complexity of their ideas, that can be represented visually, automatically in a series of interrelated maps. Five customized demographic questions were completed before Participants were invited to three controlled access online exercises via Group WisdomTM (GCM) software as:
(i) a brainstorming activity – to generate a list of statements (ideas) relating to the focus prompt
(ii) a sorting/individual activity within the group – to facilitate understanding of perceived CSFs for the sustainability of SP AoP and
(iii) Rating tasks – to provide an understanding of the relative:
(a) ‘importance’ of each statement and
(b) degree of effectiveness for sustainability in the SP AoP process.

Whilst the research, so far, highlights the perceptions from Service Providers relating to a range of CSFs to meet the needs of the Service Users, further research will explore expectations/desires/perceptions of Service Users themselves. Work-in-Progress may then triangulate the data to see whether the perceptions of Service Users match those of Service Providers.

Keywords: Social Prescribing, Art-on-Prescription, UK, Wales, Group Concept Mapping, Service Providers, Service Users, Critical Success Factor, Mental Health, Well-Being, Research Methodology, Group WisdomTM.