Social networking brought to life

Empowering students to lead social change is the core of the Social Impact Lab’s work. Here in Southampton, the Lab’s work is making a lasting impact on neighbourhoods in the city.

Established five years ago to support both undergraduates and postgraduates to lead social change, the Social Impact Lab has addressed social challenges around the world.

But with its roots in Southampton, the Lab is driving positive change in one corner of the city where it is most needed.

The Social Impact Lab’s local project, launched in 2021, is called Home/grown SO14 – and is focused on the neighbourhoods of Northam, Newtown, and St Mary’s.

The initiative, which was a flagship project in Southampton’s City of Culture bid earlier this year, has received five years’ worth of funding from the National Institute for Health Research Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.

SO14 residents and the Home/grown SO14 team and partners

Dr Pathik Pathak, Founding Director of the Social Impact Lab, explained: “The project is focused on data-driven approaches to enable residents in the SO14 area to make their neighbourhoods healthy, creative and sustainable. We want to create research impact pathways into the area to inform neighbourhood projects, but also student engagement pathways.

“We often hear that students feel that they do not belong in Southampton, or that they do not really know the areas in which they live. Increasingly, the University has a big footprint in SO14. We now have the Sir James Matthews Building and the John Hansard Gallery, and we have student accommodation in the area, as well as many student houses. We want to help create a sense of connection between student communities and local communities.”

A trio of projects

Three community projects are running under the Home/grown SO14 banner. The first is Ropewalk Community Garden, in Derby Road.

“Every month, student volunteers visit and work with local residents to help maintain this garden and grow vegetables, and at the end of the day everyone shares a meal together,” said Pathik.

In October 2022, former MasterChef winner and Southampton restaurateur Shelina Permalloo visited and cooked at the garden, using vegetables grown on-site to make dishes including pesto with mint and coriander, and beetroot patties.

Shelina Permalloo at Ropewalk Community Garden

The second is That’s Not Fly, a project addressing the issue of fly-tipping. Pathik outlined: “In Newtown in particular, fly-tipping is a scourge. Social Impact Lab fellows are working with schoolchildren at Mount Pleasant Junior School to map fly-tipping hotspots in the area, which they intend to report to Southampton City Council with an aim to influence policy change concerning fly-tipping.”

The third is the Living Murals project, to create a living mural in Newtown. Textile workshops have taken place with children and adults to create the mural, which will be displayed in Ropewalk Community Garden.

Ropewalk Community Garden

Mutual benefits

As well as being a fantastic vehicle for University students to make a social impact and connect with the city they’re living in, Home/grown SO14 is bringing clear wins to the local communities.

“It’s the first time that the University has really gone out into that community,” said Pathik. “It’s a very under-served community, with significant challenges around health and crime. Residents typically feel that the University is aloof, an ivory tower, physically and symbolically a long way away. When students and staff come to these areas, it humanises the University.

“Young people in these neighbourhoods can see that they can aspire to go to the University of Southampton. They can see what is possible, and it creates really great human connections.”

Find out more: homegrownso14.org