Bristol Hub Impact Report 2014/15

Bristol Hub Impact Report 2014/15

Bristol Hub

4th Floor, Richmond Building,

Queen’s Road, BS8 1LN www.bristollhub.org

For the year 14/15 I was the Environment and Sustainability coordinator for Bristol Hub. Being on the committee was an amazing experience and I was very inspired by all the exciting events and opportunities we as Bristol Hub offered. It’s been fantastic to see Bristol Hub develop over the year, reaching now over 5500 students at the university and putting on a range of events and activities to encourage students to get involved in social action.

Through my role I arranged talks from local enterprises such as The Wave UK and Surfers against Sewage to inspire students about different initiatives and I also got involved in co-founding a long term bicycle rental scheme for students. It was also great to collaborate with others on the Bristol Hub committee, for example to put on a series of film showings on environmental and international development issues. I believe Bristol Hub has been great at communicating global issues in an inspiring (rather than gloomy) way, encouraging students to take action.

Overall, Bristol Hub has seen a number of notable successes this year, such as three conferences and the return and growth of our Schools Plus and Social Innovation Programmes along with a fantastic Careers Beyond Profit fair to name but a few.

None of these successes would be possible without the hard work and dedication of student volunteers from across Bristol. It has been really amazing to witness the changing perceptions people have of sustainability and social action, from something that doesn't concern them, to a realisation that social action is part of everyone's daily life.

I am really looking forward to hearing about all the great things the new Bristol Hub committee get up to this year.

Catherine Draper, Bristol Hub Committee

Executive Summary Bristol Hub supports students to take practical action to benefit their local and global communities. As part of a network of 10 Hubs embedded in seven cities, we run double benefit programmes which tackle the challenges that face our communities, whilst simultaneously enabling more students to develop skills to affect change throughout their lives.

We support students to take practical action to benefit their communities, from awareness raising events to engage them with local issues, to volunteering projects, social consultancy and work experience in the not-for-profit sector. The aim is simple: to inspire a new generation of social leaders who have the power and potential to shape a better system. Bristol Hub believes if we empower and inspire more students to become socially active and aware during their formative years at university, then they will create positive social change both now, and in the future.

This year we’ve continued to grow and develop positive relationships with the university and local community, allowing us to act as a catalyst of student-led social change. Our partnership with the University of Bristol’s Sustainability department has gone from strength to strength, and enables us to deliver more initiatives for student engagement as well as coordinate the University’s Green Impact scheme. This year has also seen Bristol become the European Green Capital 2015 providing a unique opportunity to further engage students with sustainability challenges and initiatives.

We’ve enjoyed working closely with Bristol SU this year, collaborating with their Get Green team on a number of projects such as Way to Grow gardening action days, BEAT (Business Environmental Team) and the highly successful Change-Maker Challenge, pioneered this year as a joint venture between Bristol Hub, Bristol SU Get Green and Bristol Basecamp. One of the groups attending the Challenge went on to develop their idea for a student-run bike rental project, Bristol Bicycle Company, into a fully fledged scheme which has won considerable funding. Seeing our student committee explore their talents in self-starter projects like this has been one of the highlights of this year for us.

This report sets out the impact of our work from September 2014 to June 2015.

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have attended an event, conference or training session

community volunteers

students receive our newsletter ‘The Week’

STUDENT-LED ACTIVITIES

Bristol Hub is led by a group of talented and proactive students who are shaping the way that their peers and the university relate to local issues and communities.

This year our dedicated committee was made up of 14 students who organised three conferences, attracting over 360 delegates; ran several successful events and campaigns, and supported their peers to set up new community projects. The committee was supported by two full time staff members with extensive experience of student social action and campaigning. They provide training, guidance and advice, and ensure that the Hub’s activities remain sustainable.

I got involved with the Hub committee in general because it is giving students what they want – focusing on a wide range of issues all of which are very important, from environment to international development, and looking forward into the future. It’s great to see that so much of the student population wants to get involved in the kind of issues that Bristol Hub addresses.

Sophie Payne, Social Impact Careers Coordinator, Bristol Hub Committee

Bristol Hub has had a significant impact on engaging students at the University in a range of ethical and social issues over the last five years. They are innovative in approach, flexible and very much student focused. They are an excellent partner in delivery of student engagement around sustainability issues.

Martin Wiles, Head of Sustainability, University of Bristol

IMPACT Local Action

LOCAL

We have continued to develop and expand our volunteering programmes this year, both by providing new opportunities within the Schools Plus programme, and by developing new projects that have been tailored to the needs and interests of Bristol students. Over the course of the year a total of 134 students volunteered across 17 ongoing projects and 52 students volunteered on one-off opportunities. The increase in numbers from last year shows that more students are engaging with and taking action on social and environmental issues at Bristol.

Schools Plus Schools Plus provides students with the opportunity to tackle educational disadvantage in Bristol through weekly tutoring placements.

Following a successful pilot year in 2014/15, Bristol Hub developed the Schools Plus programme to offer more projects to students and more flexibility. The student committee did a fantastic job of recruiting their fellow students and organising training sessions and events to enhance their experience of the programme overall as well as their impact. As a consequence, the student leaders have also developed their own leadership and communication skills.

Last year 78 student volunteers supported over 150 pupils and 100% of schools stated pupils’ academic confidence increased as a result of the intervention. We’ve also developed relationships with new schools and supplementary schools who we hope to work with for the next academic year enabling us to increase our impact and reach.

I have been so impressed with the tutors..they have been professional, hard working and have really made a big effort to help our students [who] have gained so much from the experience Neil Humphrey, Head of MFL, Fairfield High School

Without a doubt, this project is and has been incredibly rewarding. It's such an amazing feeling to hear my students talk about mathematics and what they know, or what they've recently done, in such an enthusiastic fashion - even though many will still claim that they do not like the subject! It's also given me confirmation that I wish to teach mathematics.

Ross McGovern, Schools Plus, Math Project Coordinator, Fairfield High School

Forest Schools Our Forest Schools project works with a primary school in East Bristol to encourage an appreciation of the outdoors with unique learning opportunities. Ten volunteers regularly assist activities such as crafting, tool-use and animal-rearing to inspire and equip pupils with alternative skills.

Forest Schools is a unique part of our curriculum at Bannerman Road Community Academy as it enables our children to experience the outdoors when many of our children live in small flats with no access to gardens. Without the dedicated volunteers from Bristol Hub we would not be able to do many of the activities that inspire the children such as den building, fire lighting and sawing. All of these activities have a huge impact on the children such learning how to work as a team, risk analysis, independence and knowledge of the world around them.

Samantha Fisher, Assistant Headteacher.

Despite an initial language barrier in communicating with local people at first, volunteering with Forest Schools for the whole year gave me a priceless experience in addition to my academic life here in Bristol. I remember every single moment I spent at the local primary school with enthusiastic teachers, other friendly volunteers and fantastic children!

Norio Moriwaki, postgraduate international student

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be Project Coordinator for the Forest Schools Programme! It has been a fun experience and very rewarding.

Georgina Calver, 4th year Geographer

I volunteered as a Green Impact Project Assistant during my second and third year. I found it was the perfect role for me as it not only appealed to my interest in sustainability but also was a chance to make an active difference around the university.

Emily Worthing

Green Impact is an environmental behaviour change programme for staff at the University of Bristol. 14 students helped deliver Green Impact this year, either helping to audit the final submissions of the participating teams or being actively involved in the teams themselves as Green Impact Project Assistants.

Bristol Environmental Audit Team Partnering with Bristol SU Get Green and Blue Orchid, a business consultancy company, we offered students the opportunity to learn about sustainability within the business world.

Students received in depth training in the delivery of environmental audits within smalland medium-sized enterprises and then went out into local businesses to support them to achieve a basic environmental accreditation.

Skilled Placements Skilled placements enable students to use and practice the skills they are developing through their courses, to benefit local charities and social enterprises. Through their placements students also develop new skills through comprehensive training and hands-on experience.

Social Innovation Programme The Social Innovation Programme (SIP) is an initiative for students to address challenges in the local area through research, ideas generation and project development. Student teams work alongside community partners to address challenges they’re facing. The SIP provides students with the opportunity to have a tangible, positive impact on third sector organisations at the same time as increasing their understanding of how they can apply their skills to benefit the community.

Bristol Hub helps third sector organisations to identify areas of work which Bristol students would be well-placed to support, assists them to provide clear briefs and provides extensive training for the student consultants.

This year 27 Bristol students worked with 7 community organisations to address real challenges they were facing. Projects included conducting a feasibility study for a multi-use sports pitch for Windmill Hill City Farm to conducting research on the need in Bristol for a ‘Move On’ project - to support refugees to integrate and thrive for Bristol Refugee Rights. At the end of the programme, students presented their research and recommendations, suggesting innovative ideas to the challenges. For example, one team came up with a social enterprise vegetarian food delivery service plan for one refugee organisation.

I really think more students should get a chance to get involved with the SIP as its been one of, if not the, most valuable thing I've done at university

The students were a pleasure to work with – flexible, committed, reliable and professional.

James Throup

Bristol Refugee Rights

Taking part in the Social Innovation Programme (SIP) was more than just attending some training sessions, it was an opportunity to work with a local charity and to really make a difference. I was a member of a team that were all just as passionate about taking action in Bristol as I was which transformed what could have been a simple volunteering opportunity into a real challenge to provide for our charity the best report that we could produce.

Like the other teams who took part in the SIP we were given a task that we genuinely felt was contributing to the charity and was not just a CV filler activity. The SIP really provided us with the opportunity to get as much out of the programme as we put into it and to work on a thought-provoking and motivating project.

The SIP truly allows you to feel like you have made a genuine difference and taken action in your local area whilst cultivating skills as a student consultant and team member at the same time. I would definitely recommend it.

Margot Tudor, SIP participant

Social Impact Careers  

Providing opportunities to engage with and gain experience in the third sector is a key way for us to achieve our mission of getting students involved with social and environmental issues for longer.

Our Careers Beyond Profit fair was a great success with over 200 students attending.

Stall holders included City Year, RNLI, the NUS and the University’s Sustainability department. Further to fair, students were also able to attend a panel discussion with advice on how to get into the sector.

Student Hubs’ Social Impact Internship scheme saw 15 Bristol students placed in third sector organisations last summer. This year we received 124 applications to the scheme, highlighting the demand from Bristol students for advice and experience in this field and 27 of our students were accepted onto the scheme for this year.

The feedback from the Careers Fair was overwhelmingly positive. It gave students something they really wanted and something different to what was being offered already.

Organisations were very impressed with the quality of students they met and seeing an event like this happen at all. It has helped those students who attended to move forward feeling more confident about an ethical careers choice.

Sophie Payne, Bristol Hub Committee My internship has been such a rewarding and enjoyable experience, the Student Hubs team really had tried to place me with an organisation that matched the area of charity that I want to go into, I arrived at the Kenyan Orphan Project excited to be getting some experience in a small, development charity Sarah Feldman, part of the 2013/14 Social Impact Scheme cohort.

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This summer we will place

social impact interns in third sector organisations

Conferences & talks

Conferences and speaker events continue to be an important addition to the Bristol Hub calendar, providing inspiration and the tools to take action on social and environmental issues.

Conferences Our conferences act as platforms that allow students to discuss and debate critical issues and evolving trends with leading professionals working in these areas. This year saw the continuation of our three flagship conferences; RISE the social enterprise conference, the Futures Forum on climate change and sustainability and the International Development Conference, which collectively had 361 attendees. With speakers such as Sir Tim Smitt founder of the Eden Project and Gavin Bates (founder of Moving Mountains Trust), and lunchtime ‘marketplaces’ offering a range of volunteering, campaigning and careers opportunities, the days provided the tools and inspiration for students seeking to tackle global issues. They also provided a valuable networking opportunity for students to meet like-minded individuals from a range of different backgrounds.

Speaker Series Our Speaker Series was coordinated by members of the Bristol Hub committee which aimed to bring a broad range of subjects to a Bristol audience. From talks on street sex workers, food waste, to a workshop on upcycling and sustainable fashion the talks provided food for thought and an inspiring force for action.

A fascinating viewpoint, impressive speaker in terms of his moral association, a thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable talk.

Attendee, Jews for Justice Speaker Series

I'd stay and coordinate the Speaker Series all over again next year if I could!

Esme Sprigings, Speaker Series Coordinator 14/15.

361 93% conference attendees

of event attendees feel motivated to engage as a result of attending an event Fantastic, inspirational speakers, great diversity of content, with lots of talks to choose from. Liked the structure with the three streams.

Excellent idea to have a panel format in the plenary.

BIDC 2015 attendee

All really amazing, Really enjoyed the workshops and the speakers I saw were very inspiring... Looking forward to being more involved and maybe even speaking in the future with results of our social project RISE 2014 attendee

Skills & Leadership Providing students with skills and leadership opportunities is key to us

achieving our mission of short and long-term social change. The University of Bristol’s students are the leaders of tomorrow. Through our activities, we show students how to lead effectively, providing them with the skills to become effective change-makers. Our student volunteers develop key leadership and development opportunities by taking on responsibility for our community action programmes, conferences and events.

We delivered 36 training sessions this year, which were received by 553 attendees, a 141% increase on last year’s training sessions. We’ve increased our efforts to provide training as an integral part to our programmes, including our Schools Plus and Social Innovation Programmes. We’ve also continued to support student groups and individuals through our Lunch and Learn series, offering sessions on core skills such as project management, digital communications and public speaking to enhance their potential.

Really well organised, good informative points, wealth of information, really helpful.

Speaker was clear, knowledgeable and friendly ‘Lunch & Learn: Fundraising’ attendee

Great speaker, nicely interactive, very useful, and the work I completed was relevant to future projects ‘Lunch & Learn: Project Management’ attendee

36 553 91%

training sessions that reached out to

student attendees

students felt better equipped to take social and environmental challenges after engaging with Bristol Hub

My role as Environment and Sustainability coordinator was at a very exciting time for Bristol as it was the European Green Capital 2015. This meant I got to attend some really exciting events and got to meet loads of influential people in Bristol's environmental circles. I will be staying in Bristol next year, as I have a place on the Worthwhile Graduate Scheme with a Bristol-based social investment start up. The skills, connections and opportunities gained through my role as Environment and Sustainability coordinator were invaluable to getting this job!”

Catherine Draper, Bristol Hub Committee

Incubation Our incubation works focuses on supporting students to develop and lead their own social action projects, which in themselves create further opportunities to engage more students involved to tackle social and environmental issues. This year we’ve supported 6 social action projects including the Bristol Knititiative, a community project dedicated to helping the Bristol homeless community keep warm by getting students together to knit clothes for them, and Shake Awake, an early morning rave fostering community relations and well-being.

LOOKING FORWARD Bristol Hub has come a long way in the past year, and we hope to continue to build on our successes.

We’ve recruited a new and passionate committee who will bring a fresh perspective to social issues, and we’re confident that their efforts will continue to attract a diverse range of students to get involved and make an even greater social impact.

Working with local community groups this year has been fantastic and we look forward to increasing our commitment to community impact in the coming year as we take on a new Community Projects Manager in August. We’re very excited to expand our staff team and activities, following on from this year’s significant increases in student engagement.

Student Hubs has recently finalised its Strategy 2015-20 along with a new theory of change, informed by behaviour change theory and focusing on the dual impact of our work on both students and their local communities. The transition towards this new theory of change and strategy will pose an exciting challenge for Bristol Hub over the next few months, and will ensure that we’re more closely aligned to charities in the youth social action sector.

The Hub’s large remit has given me a real sense of freedom to pursue any of the issues I feel most passionate about. I look forward especially to forming more close and lasting alliances with other student groups - both within the university and further afield - because now, more than ever, there is a need for all students to organise together to create a united front social and environmental injustice. The Hub provides a framework and resources to kick-start campaigns that can hopefully create plenty of positive change! I’m especially looking forward to bringing in plenty of powerful speakers in for the Speaker Series, and working on awareness-raising regarding sustainable diets.

Adam Barnett, Incoming Speaker Series Coordinator 2015/16.

WITH THANKS… Martin Wiles and the Sustainability Department, Judith Squires, Chris Willmore, Ellen Parkes, Hayley Shaw, Molly Bishop, Fiona Highland, Amanda Woodman-Hardy, Gary Chatwin, Samantha Budd, Clare Prosser, Amy Walsh, Hannah Tweddle, and the team at Bristol SU. The student committee: Catherine Draper, Olivia Compton, Issy Schmidt, Izzy Sheldon, Harriet Clapham, Zoe Cremer, Esme Sprigings, Bethany Reilly, Sophie Payne, Rachit Banger and Jodie Rogers. The Schools Plus Committee: Helen Sears, Tom Whatmore, Sian Edwards, Natalie Steel, Anna Booth-Cibborn, Millie Garnier. The International Development Conference Committee led by Josefine Older-Steffenson. The Futures Forum Committee led by Eleanor Deans. The RISE committee with Inc and all of our wonderful volunteers.

For more details on our activities, or questions about our impact, please contact manager@bristolhub.org