Bradford Culture Company
Unlocking Heritage Call Out 2026
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Unlocking Heritage Programme
Unlocking Heritage is a programme of bespoke development for organisations working in Bradford District’s heritage sector offering support with building capacity, resilience, and knowledge in a specialised area.
Deadline to apply: Friday 28 August 2026
What are we looking for?
The Unlocking Heritage programme will provide a cohort of up to 10 heritage organisations with 3-5 days of bespoke specialist support to increase organisational resilience. The bespoke support will vary across the cohort, responding to need and identifying the most impactful intervention based on each organisation’s circumstances.
Support could be:
- Fundraising, bid or business plan writing
- Leadership development support
- Business development, strategy, governance
- Project planning support
- Volunteer programme development
- Partnership brokering
- Specialist advisors, consultants, architects, designers
Unlocking Heritage is not a mentoring or training programme. It is an opportunity to bring in specialists to help you with a specific piece of work.
What can I apply for?
- 3-5 days of specialist professional support
- 3 individual sessions with an experienced producer
- Up to £600 stipend to support your organisation/team to cover staff time/travel/engagement with the project
- 3 half-days of in-person gatherings. These are for the full cohort and combine networking with peer learning and accountability
The cohort gatherings will take place in September, November, and February 2027 (dates to be agreed). Further external specialists may be brought in to deliver training, where there are shared needs.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
When is the deadline for applications?
We need to receive your application by Friday 28 August 2026 (end of day).
Access support to make an application
If you need this information in another format or if you have access requirements related to making an application, please get in touch with us straight away to discuss how we can support you. Please email Preet at grants@bradfordculture.co.uk.
Who can apply?
Unlocking Heritage is open to heritage organisations based in Bradford District. By heritage we use the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s definition. ‘Heritage is anything from the past that you value and want to pass on to future generations.’
This might be historic buildings or industrial heritage, nature and the environment, collections and archives, or more intangible heritage including community traditions and stories. You might be run by volunteers, have paid staff, or a mixture of both.
This opportunity is not open to individuals.
If you are not sure if you are eligible, please email grants@bradfordculture.co.uk to check with us before you make an application.
Please note, we will not be able to advise you on the suitability of your project or idea – only whether you are eligible to apply.
Bursaries
We can offer each successful organisation a bursary of £600. This may be spent on paying staff, travel, childcare, or other expenses that support the organisation to fully engage with the programme.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
The stipend is contingent on attendance of the sessions and may be reduced/withdrawn for non-attendance.
What we are looking for
Applications which:
- Have a clear goal and need for targeted support
- Address specific capacity challenges
- Potential for significant public benefit
- Will have lasting impact on the organisation
- Show a commitment to engaging and implementing the support
- Are from heritage organisations based in Bradford District
Timeline
- Application deadline: Friday 28 August 2026
- Applicants informed of outcome: early September
- Initial one-to-one meetings: early September
- Cohort welcome: September – October tbc, dependent on cohort availability
- Further cohort gatherings: November – February 2027
- Sessions with specialist advisors: October – January 2027
- Project wrap up: February 2027
How to apply
Please send a two-page application of no more than 2 sides of A4 outlining the following:
- A brief overview of your organisation
- An outline of the problem you want to solve/barrier you need help with and how support might help
- The kind of help/specialism you think you need (if you already know who you might like to work with let us know that too)
Send your completed application to grants@bradfordculture.co.uk by Friday 28 August 2026 (end of day).
Credits
Apna Heritage- Show & Tell for Heritage Open Days © Karol Wyszynski
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills