The implementation of USSU’s strategic goal to eradicate loneliness – January 2023 update.

The launch of USSU’s new strategy, including our ‘Big Hairy Audacious Goal’ to eradicate loneliness on campus has caused significant activity both within the university and across the SU sector. Here’s what’s happened since September 2023:

• At the announcement of our new strategy with the University Leadership Team (ULT), all members were asked to summarise their current anti-loneliness activities. These have been collated and sent back to USSU.
• From this baseline position, we are now continuing to engage with schools and services across the University to respond to this pressing issue.
• Already agreed is that Simeon Anyalemechi (USSU President) will become the project sponsor of a new app that the DIT team is developing. This app will include timetabling information, as well as information on social activities that societies and sports clubs host, as well as broader USSU events.
• There has also activity agreed to develop a peer-assisted study support scheme. This work is being led by the Library and Student Futures team.
• Finally, agreement has been made to prioritise the development of academic societies over the next six months, and a fund made available to students. We are now looking to develop a strategic approach to this issue.

The SU’s ‘Alterline Pulse’ survey (different to the University’s pulse survey) has presented initial findings on the scale of loneliness affecting Salford students for the first time.

While the results of the survey are not yet representative, as the survey continues throughout the academic year, there are early indications of the following:

• 8% of students say they are lonely always or often.
• 39% of students say they are lonely always or often or some of the time. Only 12% of students say they are never lonely.
• 14% say they always feel left out
• 14% say they always feel isolated from others
• 10% say they always lack companionship.

These statistics are draft and should be treated with caution, however they do align with the dataset available to us from national surveys.

USSU has also made new and important links with the wider sector, including speaking to academics and experts on loneliness, as well as meeting anti-loneliness practitioners such as the Social Prescribing team at the University of Manchester and staff members at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Simeon and Ed Moloney (CEO) have blogged on our approach on the Wonkhe SUs sector website, following some conference sessions that Ed delivered at the SU Strategy Exchange and at the Alterline SU Summit. Ed is also a panel speaker at the Campaign to End Loneliness International Conference in February 2024.

Internally, we have set up a new Task and Finish Group to oversee the implementation of the strategy with members of our Board of Trustees. At its first meeting, we discussed data analytics approaches, the development of a new theory of change, and our approach to sharing this strategy with our members (i.e. Salford students).

We will continue to keep you updated on our progress. If anyone has any questions, or would like to work with us on this issue, please contact Ed on E.Moloney@salford.ac.uk.