About us
Community Gateway is a flagship Cardiff University engagement project committed to building a long-term partnership with Grangetown residents and businesses, creating pathways between the University and community and facilitating the co-production of projects for mutual benefit.
Community Gateway has supported 67 community-university projects making connections between University staff, students and Grangetown residents to help bring community-led ideas to life, including the award-winning Grangetown Youth Forum, a Grangetown Business Forum which led to the launch of Grangetown’s first World Street Market, the Grangetown Safe Play Lanes pilot in partnership with Cardiff Council, a Pharmabees Citizen Science programme, the Run Grangetown social running group, an annual mental health day event, Grangetown Safety Week and the much anticipated annual Career and Role Models week.
In 2019, Cardiff University became asset guardian of Grange Pavilion, helping the community raise over £2m to build a high quality, accessible resident-led facility in Grange Gardens which provides affordable space for hire, a community-focused café, coworking spaces and a biodiverse garden and green for play, health and wellbeing and seasonal growing.
Long-term strategy
Community gateway’s long-term strategy is to foster place-based partnerships and to connect and focus our diverse expertise in research, teaching and professional development by co-productively identifying new and sustained opportunities for long term anchor partnerships, locally and internationally, with government, industry, and communities. Community gateway is passionate about understanding, connecting, and promoting individual and collective skills, interests, and ambitions.
Collaborations
As of March 2021, since launching Community Gateway, 262 expressions of interest have been received, leading to the initiation of 67 University-community collaborations (Access Projects).
710 students from Business, Medicine, SOCSI and Architecture courses have worked on 33 ‘live’ teaching projects and 206 students and graduates have volunteered on Grangetown projects.
Community Gateway has collaborated with academics from 20 out of 25 University Schools across all three Colleges, in addition to working closely with professional staff from Widening Access, Careers and Employability and Procurement & Estates departments to develop career and enterprise pathways between the University and community.
Community Gateway has collaborated with 30+ third sector partners, as well as Cardiff Council, and Welsh Government and operate through a Grangetown Schools Advisory Panel, a Steering Group, the Grange Pavilion CIO, an annual Engaged Research Symposium, a Love Grangetown strategy and celebration day, and a Careers and Role Model Week.
Achievements
Community Gateway has achieved over £2 million investment in Grangetown, a RIBA Research Trust funding award, a Cardiff University Celebrating Excellence award, a Leading Wales award, a National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement award, a CIPR Cymru Wales award and the inaugural international Professor Sir David Watson Award.
Community Gateway is a team of five and sits within the Welsh School of Architecture.