The University of South Wales has been praised for being at the centre of a project which has addressed inequalities in and around Newport. 

The support for USW’s ‘pivotal role in shaping the strategy’ comes as the University launches its new Newport Engagement Hub, which aims to connect community groups and businesses to one-stop support from USW expertise.  

USW is a founding partner in the Business in the Community Place Programme in Newport, which aims to connect residents, stakeholders, and businesses, to address inequalities. 

As part of the project, USW has hosted a number of events, including a Business and Community Connections Day, Cost of Living support sessions, and provided access to campus facilities to support activities such as volunteer training.

USW colleagues also supported Enterprise Days and World of Work Weeks at schools across Newport and engaged with organisations such as Eden Gate homeless outreach, Newport Yemini Community Association, and KidCare4U.  

Further benefits of the programme, supported by the wider Newport Place Programme partners including Newport Council, KLA, Alacrity Foundation, The Celtic Collection, GAVO and OVO Energy, have included the collection of £5,000 to provide Christmas presents to children who would otherwise have gone without, the establishment of a Food Collection Point which has seen 1,000 nutritious meals distributed each  month, energy-saving advice events, and the donation of kitchen hardware to Eden Gate homeless outreach in Newport.  

The Newport Programme has already reached more than1,500 individuals; provided non-financial support to 29 organisations, and supported 20 events in the community. 

Tracy Rees, Wales director of the BITC, praised the university’s support for the project. 

She said: “We are delighted to have USW as a founding partner of the Newport and RCT Place programme. USW plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategy and direction of the education and skills work that we undertake in deprived communities.   

“Through our partnership we are helping everyone to achieve their potential, we’re influencing the work and life chances of more than 400,000 people that live in Newport and RCT and building a fairer world.” 

As part of its commitment to further build strong relationships across Newport, USW is launching a new business and community Engagement Hub this month, which is designed to offer assistance to a variety of organisations seeking to grow their business and collaborate with USW’s staff and student expertise. 

The new Engagement Hub will be home to Start-up Stiwdio Sefydlu, USW Exchange and Events teams - providing access to one-to-one advice and signposting on collaborating with USW’s academic expertise; business support and guidance for graduate entrepreneurs and business start-ups; access to free-to-use meeting spaces, and event facilities.  

Chris Wright, head of engagement services at USW, said: "By co-locating our business and community engagement services within our new Engagement Hub, we are creating an easier-to-access approach to supporting our business and community partners across Newport and Gwent.

“The bringing together of our engagement services into this one location will create a vibrant and diverse community to collaborate and build future partnerships and growth in the region.”   

Newport City Homes is one of the organisations which has already used the Newport Campus facilities, and they have proved to be a major asset for housing association staff who have been undergoing the specially developed STRIVE management training. This was created by USW’s Professional Development team alongside NCH specialists to support the housing association’s managers in improving their skills and knowledge. 

It was so successful, it was shortlisted in the Best Learning and Development Initiative Award category at the CIPD Wales Awards. 

Lisa Smallwood, learning and development lead at Newport City Homes, said: “STRIVE has been a huge success for us and this is in large part due to the location and facilities - our managers were excited to get off site and into a new environment.

"This provides them with distance from the day job and gives them time and space to focus on themselves and their own development. The boardroom at USW’s Newport Campus, where we hold of the majority of the sessions, has offered us a fantastic learning space.” 

Since undertaking STRIVE, NCH has also started using more rooms as USW’s Newport Campus  for other meetings and away days.  

“The close location to the NCH offices means that it is easily accessible for colleagues. The USW staff are always on hand to help and support us when needed allowing us to have assurance that any events we hold there will run smoothly,” Lisa said.