Bradford 2025: Data in Practice
This case study explores how cultural data is generated, used and shared across Bradford during its UK City of Culture 2025 programme—highlighting the real-world challenges and opportunities that informed the National Cultural Data Observatory (NCDO).
What it shows
- Cultural data is fragmented, inconsistent and underused
- Organisations often collect data for reporting, not insight
- There is strong demand for better tools, shared standards and data literacy
- Qualitative, people-centred data is critical but difficult to scale
Why it matters
The findings demonstrate that the sector doesn’t lack data - it lacks the infrastructure to connect, interpret and apply it effectively. Insights from Bradford directly informed the design of the NCDO, including its federated model, shared standards and focus on place-based intelligence.
Read the full report to explore the methodology, findings and implications in detail: