With the advent of devolution, policies and programmes are being developed and delivered to meet the particular needs of the people of Wales. It is recognized that such policies and programmes need to be informed by the best available evidence to identify key issues, assess what has worked elsewhere to address them, and to have monitoring and evaluation activity built in from the start. Health promotion is well placed to meet this need, with its established emphasis on evidence-based practice and on evaluating process and outcomes. This article briefly outlines recent developments in public health policy and the infrastructure for delivery in Wales and considers some of the opportunities and challenges that these might provide for health promotion research.