The vision we have been working towards for a number of years is to establish a hub for social innovation and enterprise, in the heart of Bradford’s historic Little Germany district, to serve the people of our city and of the region.
This vision has been grounded in values of Leadership, Openness, Collaboration, Inclusion, Policy and Listening, qualities we aim to imbue in all our work.
Leadership
Curating and offering thought leadership.
Openness
Sharing our resources generously and transparently.
Collaboration
Cultivating ecospheres of collaboration, rather than competition.
Inclusion
Creating democratic spaces & cultures open to all of the city’s people.
Policy
Turning civic engagement into the development of inclusive policymaking.
Listening
Hearing the city’s people with empathy & compassion.
Bradford has long been a lab for social innovation – from Titus Salt’s workers village in the 1800s, to William Forster’s work on the first national education legislation. Bradford’s schools were the first to offer free meals to children and Bradford was the world’s first UNESCO City of Film. We see ourselves as one of many custodians of this legacy of social impact. Impact Hub Bradford will be a home for social innovation and enterprise in the heart of Bradford’s historic Little Germany district to serve the dreams of the people of our city and of our region.
Our story began in 2015 when our CEO Kamran Rashid, in starting up his Socially Conscious Company venture, experienced the frustration of working from home and in a team of one. Visiting the Impact Hub in London convinced Kamran that this could both alleviate his entrepreneurial isolation as well as create new opportunities for Bradford. Imran Ali joined the team in 2016, with a background in innovation ecospheres and technology, with Alex Chisholm joining shortly after to develop strategies for arts and culture. Together they established 30 Chapel Street, the company which would incubate the work necessary to join Impact Hub’s global network and build our capacity. By 2019, we were joined by Mandip Sahota, bringing expertise in policy and strategy, as we transitioned from a private company, limited by guarantee, to a community interest company in order to provide more robust governance and an ethical vehicle for external funding.
At the heart of Impact Hub is a platform for social experimentation, our “Civic Collaboratory”: an organisational form that encompasses social processes, collaboration, co-design, formal and informal communication and consensus on principles and values. As both learners and facilitators at the intersection of various key sectors – public, private, voluntary, academic, entrepreneurial, NGOs and academia – the “Collaboratory” is a hub that convenes and creates dialogue across unconnected disciplines.
A capacity to see the city as a platform offers opportunities for curiosity, accessibility and even “remix-ability”, where all its components become the materials and behaviours by which social innovations take place.
We see the role of Impact Hub Bradford as a platform for creating prosperity and a catalyst for bringing together innovators who wish to tackle the city’s challenges. Prosperity is a broad goal, but for our city we have very specific markers we wish to use as metrics in assessing our impact.
Our knowledge of and access to Bradford’s unique demographics and diversity allows us to offer a vital multicultural and youthful perspective to the wider world. We believe sharing the lived experiences and solutions of our city creates a vital solidarity with other communities around the world and a sense of being part of global social innovation.
Our vision is coalesced around three themes:
As well as six of the United Nation’s Sustainable Developments Goals
SEUK Member Number: 10618
Company Number: 10755285
ICO Registration: ZA363971
Locality Member Number: Locality03072
