Schofield cites the IWA’s 1996 report as evidence of the important role the organisation played in shaping the debate on devolution. The paper titled "The Road to the Referendum: Requirements for an Informed and Fair Debate" argued that Welsh voters has been under informed about the arguments on Welsh devolution in the 1979 Welsh devolution referendum due to the excessive focus of London journalists on the parallel Scottish devolution campaign. The IWA at the time had argued that “the distinctive Welsh case for devolution was never fully understood by the Welsh public”, an environment which had in the 1980s lead to the Institute’s formation.