Community Gateway: Cardiff Business School partners with Grangetown

Cardiff Business School has developed a long-term partnership with Grangetown residents and businesses as part of Community Gateway, Cardiff University’s flagship engagement project.

Community Gateway brokers Cardiff University and community partnerships in Grangetown. It has launched more than 85 community-university projects making connections between university staff, students, and Grangetown residents to help bring community-led ideas to life.

This area in the heart of the capital is the largest electoral district and one of the most culturally diverse in Wales. Cardiff University has worked with residents to see and hear about their love for their community as well as their ambitions for its future and identified nine themes for investment in future partnerships which have steered what followed.

Cardiff Business School’s involvement

Since 2015, undergraduate and postgraduate students have participated in multiple impactful projects as part of the Community Gateway programme. These have centered around fostering connections and supporting Grangetown’s local businesses.

The project has also proven to be a valuable platform for our students to enhance their skills. By engaging in live business projects, students apply theoretical knowledge from their courses in real-world scenarios whilst contributing meaningfully to the local community.

Professor Eleri Rosier Professor of Marketing and Strategy

Shop and work locally in Grangetown

In response to the aspirations voiced by Grangetown residents for a vibrant local economy, Cardiff Business School helped initiate the 'Shop and Work Locally' project.

The aim is to have a thriving community with great quality produce, shops, and businesses which encourage people to shop and work locally and re-invest in the area.

The project has introduced several key initiatives:

Business Forum

Under the guidance of Professor Eleri Rosier, alongside Grangetown resident Steve Duffy, 250 undergraduate students took part in a live project assignment. Through market research, students formed recommendations for the development of a Business Forum in Grangetown.

These suggestions were then refined by Strategic Marketing (MSc) students through an in-depth feasibility study, leading to the establishment of the first Business Forum. Since its inception in 2017, the forum has provided a platform for local businesses to collaborate and influence decision-making processes.

Grangetown business map

Following an in-depth feasibility study by Strategic Marketing (MSc) students, an independent Grangetown Business Map was created, listing 22 local businesses. This initiative, born from discussions at the Business Forum, aims to promote Grangetown businesses and encourage community support.

Street market

Responding to community feedback, undergraduate Business Management students collaborated with Cardiff University’s Enterprise and Start-up team to conceptualise and launch a regular street market for local traders. The first Grangetown World Market took place in 2017 and has since become a regular fixture within the community.

Grangetown Street Market
Group who helped produce Grangetown business map.
Professor Eleri Rosier presenting at the Chartered Association of Business Schools Learning and Teaching Conference April 2018.

“Community Gateway has been a breath of fresh air. It's brought a lot of people together who are already doing things in Grangetown with others who want to, it's helped us focus on getting things done properly. We are starting to see some real tangible benefits - it's given Grangetown a friendly push in a positive direction.”

Steve Duffy, Grangetown Community Action and Grangetown News

Beyond these projects, Cardiff Business School students have been involved in a myriad of other initiatives as part of Community Gateway. These include:

Three second-year Business Management students designed a logo for the Grangetown Community Action group, still used today.
Strategic Marketing (MSc) students developed usage ideas for a successful National Lottery bid aimed at enhancing the Grange Pavillion, with ideas later becoming reality.
Strategic Marketing (MSc) students developed a design brief for the creation of the Grange Pavilion CIO brand which included a logo, defining a house style and key messages.
Under the umbrella of #Shoplocal, students have linked the business forum, world market, and business map together.
Through the Cardiff University Student Education Innovation Project, students have participated in placements with Community Gateway, honing their employability skills while contributing to community development.
Strategic Marketing (MSc) students devised a marketing plan for Pharmabees honey-based beer project, Mêl.

Logo produced by students.

Future plans

Since a recent Business Breakfast at the Grange Pavilion, Cardiff Business School is now exploring ongoing ways in which our research, teaching, and engagement can further support current interests in Grangetown. This includes supporting and developing independent businesses with regular users of the Pavilion such as the Youth Forum and Grangetown World Market.

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