Improving health outcomes in Bradford & Craven

Activate Bradford District & Craven (ABDC) Partnership has developed a new product that leads a transformative shift in how the need for support to voluntary sector organisations is identified and prioritised. Faced with rising demand and constrained funding, the sector required a smarter, more targeted approach to sustaining essential services. The challenge is to work out where the need is most urgent?

ABDC introduced a data-led system using MyCake resilience ratings in 2024/25, to assess VCSE organisational financial health. This enabled a shift from reactive to proactive support, dramatically improving productivity and targeting. In 2024/25, the partnership assessed 83 priority organisations, conducted diagnostics for 43, and delivered intensive consultancy to 16. Five organisations at risk of collapse were stabilised, protecting over £2 million in health contracts and preventing service disruption in disadvantaged communities.

This approach showed reduced manual effort, improved decision-making, and increased efficiency of resource deployment. In 2025/26 they assessed 1,700 organisations, using the data-ed diagnostics, narrowing the review pool to 79. With diagnostics underway they are now able to target support where the need is most urgent. The model has reversed the traditional support dynamic: ABDC now presents evidence-based intervention plans to funders and commissioners, building trust in the process.

The transformation has not only improved infrastructure support outcomes but also influenced regional strategy. ABDC’s model is now being adopted in Wakefield and Leeds, with shared tools and training accelerating replication. This represents a scalable, measurable transformation in sector-wide operational performance.