A St John’s College student has helped tackle a longstanding problem – how to demonstrate the difference a local council makes to some of the city’s most disadvantaged communities.
Stine Marie Hommelhaug spent six weeks working with the council’s Communities Service during the summer as part of the University of Cambridge’s Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research Programme.
Her task was to develop a better way of recording the often unseen impact of the team’s work connecting people, charities and community organisations across Cambridge.
Despite its international reputation for academic excellence and technological innovation, Cambridge is a city of stark contrasts.
“From an outside perspective, Cambridge is seen as a really affluent place to live because it’s a university city with high-tech companies,” said Scott Liddle, Community Coordinator for Cambridgeshire County Council.
“But inequalities like poverty, food insecurity, homelessness and digital exclusion are real issues here. Our role is to understand what’s happening across the city and identify where communities need support.”
For the Communities Service, one persistent difficulty had been measuring the wider benefits of its work.
“We do a lot of connecting people and organisations together, making introductions, sharing expertise, but we don't always see what happens further down the line,” Mr Liddle explained.
“I have a much better understanding of local issues and the vital role voluntary organisations play”
The team had long wanted to map the ripple effects of its activities but lacked the time and resources to improve an existing system that was cumbersome to use.
Stine set about designing a more effective approach to categorising and tracking outcomes, drawing on conversations with council staff to understand how they worked and what information would be most useful.
“What the team needed wasn’t a one-off snapshot of impact stats but something they could continue using after I’d left,” she said.
“I spent time talking with them, ‘borrowing’ their insights, and connecting them together.”
Her contribution went beyond the technical challenge. By asking questions about the team's day-to-day activities, she also helped staff recognise the wider significance of work that could easily be overlooked.
“Stine was brilliant – she brought ideas and software expertise we didn’t have,” said Mr Liddle.
“We are so involved in what we do that explaining it in answer to Stine’s questions made me realise its value. It's important to stop and remind yourself that you are doing something with purpose.”
The placement also offered Stine an opportunity to discover a side of Cambridge that students do not always encounter.
“As a student,you often only see one side to the city,” she said.
“Thanks to Scott and the team introducing me to community organisations across Cambridge, I have a much better understanding of local issues and the vital role voluntary organisations play.”
Stine was among 25 Cambridge undergraduates who spent six weeks working with 19 local organisations during summer 2026 through the Laidlaw programme, coordinated by King’s Entrepreneurship Lab.
The initiative aims to develop students’ leadership skills while supporting organisations working to address inequality and other challenges in the local community.
