Crowd Cymru - WinnerARA Archive Volunteering Award 2026
Crowd Cymru
Crowd Cymru is transforming access to Welsh archives through a digital volunteer crowdsourcing project, currently funded by Welsh Government.
This is a collaborative project between Bangor University, Cardiff University, Carmarthenshire Archives, Conwy Culture, Glamorgan Archives, Gwent Archives, The National Library of Wales, Swansea University, University of Wales Trinity Saint David and People’s Collection Wales. Launched in 2022, the project was initially funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with further extension funding from The National Library of Wales. It is currently funded by Welsh Government until October 2026.
Project website: https://www.gwentarchives.gov.uk/en/partnership-and-projects/crowdcymru/
Project email: CrowdCymru@gwentarchives.gov.uk
About the project
Crowd Cymru is a digital volunteering project that brings together local authority and university archives across Wales along with a global team of volunteers to make archives digitally accessible, better described and more inclusive.
Beginning as a national partnership between Cardiff University, Glamorgan Archives, Gwent Archives and The National Library of Wales, we are now a team of 10 Welsh partners, and over 120 remote volunteers. Our goal is to modernise and broaden access to heritage by enriching the descriptions and digital discoverability of archival collections significant to Wales.
Our digital crowdsourcing platform
We built a bilingual online crowdsourcing platform where volunteers across Wales and the world tag, index, and transcribe digitised documents - including letters, diaries, photographs - to improve metadata, surface hidden stories and collections, and ignite future research.
Volunteers have already transcribed and tagged over 6000 pages of material from 15 collections including wartime letters by First World War poet Edward Thomas, early Women’s Institute minute books from Llanwenarth, diaries of Spanish Civil War nurse Priscilla Scott-Ellis, a collection of posters and ephemera from the Gwent Gay and Lesbian Group, and photographic archives of Cardiff’s Dockland community – one of the most vibrant and diverse communities in Wales, and an important record of our Global Majority heritage.
Visit our platform at: Crowd Cymru
Connecting communities with Welsh heritage
In short: Crowd Cymru is the UK’s first national, connected digital archives crowdsourcing initiative, enabling people across Wales and the world to interact with, enjoy, preserve, interpret and enrich the nation’s documented memory as a connected team.
The project is designed to reach a wide and diverse range of people, particularly those who may not usually be able to engage with archive services. Target audiences include remote volunteers across Wales and beyond - people who may need flexible and accessible opportunities due to work, study, health, mobility or geographical barriers. It also specifically aims to involve under‑represented groups such as LGBTQIA+ communities, Welsh speakers, disabled people, students, and people from Global Majority backgrounds.
The project also supports existing users of heritage, including researchers, educators, community historians and cultural organisations who may benefit from richer, more discoverable archival descriptions. Our volunteers bring specialist and local knowledge which adds depth, accuracy and context that archivists alone cannot achieve. This democratises the creation of knowledge, ensuring Wales’s national memory is shaped by the diverse communities it represents. More broadly, it seeks to engage members of the public who may not have previously interacted with archives but have an interest in Welsh heritage, ensuring that the nation’s stories are shaped and enriched by a wide range of voices and experiences.
What makes the project distinctive is that volunteers are not working on routine or superficial tasks - they make skilled and knowledgeable contributions that directly enrich national archival memory.
At May 2026 we have 120 volunteers registered to participate in Crowd Cymru from across Wales, the UK, the USA, Australia, Canada, South Korea and Denmark.
The key aims of the project are:
Stronger engagement with local heritage: Volunteers and communities gain a deeper connection with local archives and national collections, fostering a stronger sense of belonging, place and shared history.
Greater accessibility and inclusion: Our innovate remote volunteering model is flexible and adaptive. Volunteers contribute at home, in their own time. This helps remove some of the barriers associated with geography, travel, cost, mobility, inflexible work schedules or caring responsibilities, allowing more people of all ages, backgrounds and circumstances to participate.
Improve digital literacy and archival skills: The project contributes to Welsh Government’s Digital Strategy of Wales, by giving community members opportunities to develop new digital skills, archival knowledge and confidence using online platforms - skills that are valuable both personally and professionally.
Broader representation in heritage work: Communities with diverse identities, languages, cultures and experiences can contribute knowledge, making heritage collections richer, more inclusive and more accurate.
Establish new community networks: Volunteers, archive staff and local groups become part of a wider community of people with shared interests, expanding social networks and collaboration across Wales and beyond.
Improve access to heritage: Enriched catalogues and better‑described collections mean more people can discover, research and use archives that are relevant to their identities, histories and interests.
Pilot a scalable model: We are building the foundations for a unique scalable digital volunteer crowdsourcing model, both technical and methodological - to establish a connected and sustainable model for national digital participation.
How the project is run:
The project hub is a bilingual crowdsourcing platform where anybody with access to the internet can register to tag and transcribe digitised archival material held by archive services across Wales. This platform is developed and hosted by The National Library of Wales, drawing on their extensive experience and track-record of digitising national collections.
Individual partners digitise and upload items of national significance to the platform. Our volunteers are notified of any new uploads, and then begin the work of transcribing, tagging, or describing the items. Once the collection is complete, the enhanced metadata will be made publicly available through People’s Collection Wales.
The project is co-ordinated by two part-time Project Officers, jointly supported by Cardiff University and Gwent Archives, who recruit, train and support our community of volunteers with one-to-one inductions, regular newsletters, and online catch-ups. Most of this work happens online, but is augmented by in-person talks and community workshops which broaden our reach and local connections. A monthly Project Board of representatives from all project partners has general oversight of the project, keeps everything on track, sets strategic direction and addresses any challenges or new opportunities.
Project impact and outcomes
When our core partners - Cardiff University, Glamorgan Archives, and Gwent Archives - came together in 2022 for the National Lottery Heritage Fund application, we took a step into the unknown. Our aim was to collaborate to modernise and future‑proof our services in response to the rapidly shifting landscape shaped by COVID‑19. The results exceeded all expectations.
We have seen transformative effects on individuals, including people who had never engaged with archives before, significantly diversifying our audiences and strengthening community connection. The project has also generated meaningful benefits for the wider archives sector and has captured the attention of Welsh Government decision‑makers as evidenced by follow-on funding.
A survey of volunteers (23 responses) in February 2026 indicates that Crowd Cymru is a supportive, engaging and rewarding volunteer initiative. It evidences a thriving, motivated and connected volunteer community with local and global impacts. The project also clearly strengthens skills development, builds digital confidence and improves overall wellbeing.
100% feel supported by the Project Officer.
83% rate their experience as 'Very good'.
91% would recommend the project to friends.
96% have learnt new skills.
91% report increased IT confidence.
96% report improved general wellbeing benefits.
Crowd Cymru also has far-reaching impacts across the archives and heritage sector:
We have built the UK’s first connected digital heritage volunteering network, which highlights exemplary cross-sector collaboration between regional archives, universities and national institutions.
We provide a scalable model for an all‑Wales sustainable infrastructure for remote volunteering with more partners and services joining as we grow.
By building digital skills and offering unexpected wellbeing benefits, we have broadened the social impact, visibility and relevancy of archives, and extended engagement with archives to new audiences across Wales and the world.
We demonstrate how the sector can work together to adapt to change with confidence.
We have piloted innovative methodologies and we visibly support wider Welsh Government priorities at local, national and international level.
Since our launch in 2022, our network has grown, with additional archive services joining the partnership and more approaching us to take part - clear evidence of the project’s appeal and sector‑wide value.
Lessons learned
One of the most unexpected and powerful lessons has been not to underestimate the impact projects like this can have on volunteer wellbeing. 96% of participants feel happier in their lives because they are part of our global team, working on a project that is intellectually stimulating and directly affects how Welsh heritage is recorded, remembered, and made available. Our volunteers also mention increased social connection, improved cognitive health and positive mental health impacts. Any future work we do with Crowd Cymru will look to build on this.
Quotes from volunteer survey (February 2026)
“I have been able to maintain my IT skills acquired during my working career.”
“I came to IT relatively late in life; learning and using new systems feels like an accomplishment.”
“It feels like we are building a tangible team with strong leadership who listens to feedback.”
“I have improved hand eye coordination.”
“The project has helped me feel more connected.”
“Knowing I am part of a team of likeminded people. It is like a hobby club of people interested in preserving history.”
“Jen and the team are lovely, helpful, and great at communicating.”
“The flexibility that is provided has been excellent.”
“I love having the dual aspect of assisting with transcribing and browsing the archives for personal enjoyment.”
“Satisfaction of taking part, interaction with Jen, subjects of the archives that mainly aren’t mundane, that I can take part anytime, anywhere.”
“The insight the project provides is invaluable.”
“Very easy to take part wherever I am, whenever I can.”
We listen to the feedback we receive from volunteers and try to shape the project to meet their needs. We are currently investing resources into getting more collections uploaded to the digital platform (demand has been overwhelming and unexpected); fixing bugs and usability glitches on the digital platform to improve the volunteer experience; and creating more opportunities for in-person connection between the volunteers, Project Officers and partner staff.
“Increased choice of archive material to work on is always welcome.”
“Website improvements in line with recent group discussions.”
“More records to transcribe and tag would be welcome.”
“Website improvements in line with recent group discussions.”
“In person gatherings, perhaps some behind the scenes visits to the various County/University Archives.”
Tips for others thinking about similar projects
Be prepared for unexpected demand and build appropriate capacity (for us, digitising more archives than the anticipated appetite of volunteers).
Build in capacity for a dedicated, friendly and approachable project support officer whose role is solely to support the volunteers. Human connection is especially important within a remote and distributed volunteering model (perhaps more so than in-person volunteering opportunities).
Provide clear and regular communication, which is adaptable and flexible to suit different volunteer needs and learning styles (e.g. newsletters, one-to-one meetings, clear and accessible task guidelines).
Give remote volunteers different opportunities to be visible and celebrate their achievements.
Allocate appropriate resources to build a fit-for-purpose scalable digital platform, piloting new functionality and accessibility with actual users, with ongoing capacity and expertise to fix technical bugs and adapt.
If you’re working bilingually, build in sufficient budget and staff capacity and resource to ensure both languages are treated equitably, and that volunteers can engage with the project in whatever language they choose.
The Future
The project is currently funded by Welsh Government until October 2026, and we are pro-actively seeking future funding and support. The future of Crowd Cymru will focus on expanding its reach, strengthening its support structures and digital platform functioning, and deepening its contribution to the heritage sector across Wales. We will continue to grow our volunteer community by engaging even more people from diverse backgrounds across Wales and the world. To support this increased activity, a second Project Officer has recently been appointed, ensuring our volunteers continue to receive tailored support.
We also intend to work with academics at Cardiff University’s new Centre for Digital Humanities and Cultures Research to investigate a collaborative grant application to analyse and evaluate both the volunteer model and the project’s wider impact.
Looking ahead, we plan to extend participation beyond our current partners by working with community groups and museums, further embedding the project across the cultural landscape in Wales; and maximising the potential of the project to support individual and community wellbeing. In addition, our new partnership with People’s Collection Wales will allow us to publish and share volunteer‑generated outputs more widely, ensuring the enriched archive descriptions reach national and global audiences.