Students support growth of County Durham community hub

Students from Northumbria University’s Business Clinic are helping a County Durham church to boost its income and provide an even greater variety of services to the local community.

St. Andrew’s Church Hall in Spennymoor is owned by St. Andrew's Parish Church, managed by the Parochial Church Council and run largely by volunteers. A valuable community resource that is often hired by organisations and individuals, it generates income from the bookings which pays for its running costs and contributes to the church’s overall finances.

The Business Clinic students were asked to devise a strategy that would make innovative use of the hall to raise much-needed additional income for the church. They launched the project with a detailed audit of current activities at the church, an analysis of activities undertaken by competitors and research into additional sources of funding that the church could access. An online survey was then distributed in and around Spennymoor to identify which events and  amenities appealed most to potential customers.

A menu of recommendations was then designed to help St Andrew’s diversify its income streams and broaden its appeal to potential audiences. They included repairs to the hall to improve its physical appeal, an online advertising campaign to increase awareness of the church and community engagement activities such as coffee mornings, bingo nights and music events.

Economics student Isabelle Robinson led the project team, supported by fellow economics student Nana Yaw Acheampong, business management student Muskaan Sobti and Andrea Aramini, who is studying economics and finance at Northumbria.

Isabelle Robinson said: “Our recommendations were based on survey findings, competitor research and what we believed was realistic and achievable for the client. We prioritised recommendations that were realistic, cost-effective and achievable. For example, improving social media consistency and increasing online visibility were relatively low-cost strategies with the potential to improve awareness and increase bookings.”

Fr John Livesley at St Andrew’s Church, said: “The recommendations were presented under a three-tiered system – bronze, silver and gold –  which was very helpful as it gave us a range of options to consider with different costs attached. There are definitely things we can do immediately, such as minor repairs to the hall to improve its physical appeal and doing more to advertise our community events online. Naturally, we have to be mindful of budget but these recommendations have definitely given us food for thought.

“As a result of our work with the Business Clinic, we now have more tools in our armoury to increase awareness of the hall and broaden our appeal to individuals and organisations. Essentially, if we can raise more income we can better support the local community.”  

Students work at the Business Clinic in their final year of study, offering clients a full consultancy experience that encompasses activities as diverse as feasibility studies including finance, investment and growth; HR including recruitment, retention and diversity; marketing including branding and digital; business analytics; logistics and supply chain management. The aim of each project is to undertake research and make recommendations that will benefit organisations in the short and long term.

Ed Cottam, director of the Business Clinic, said: “We were impressed with the students’ ability to come up with innovative solutions to the challenge within a limited budget. We’re confident that their excellent work will increase awareness of St Andrew’s and provide genuine value to a vital community resource.

“This project is a great example of the experiential learning that we offer students and our programme has benefited hundreds of organisations since it was launched 13 years ago.”

The Business Clinic has delivered over 950 consultancy projects involving more than 3,820 students across all business subjects since it was founded in 2013. It offers pro-bono consultancy support to SMEs, multi-national organisations, charitable organisations, educational trusts and social enterprises that operate across a wide range of sectors, both in the North East of England as well as further afield in the UK and overseas.