What Manchester Digital Laboratory does

Manchester Digital Laboratory (MadLab) is a Community Interest Company (CIC) limited by guarantee, founded in 2012 and operating as a grassroots innovation organisation from Stockport, Greater Manchester, with a secondary site in Oldham and registered offices in Manchester. Its core function is delivering free, barrier-free digital skills training and community-led technology programmes, primarily for unemployed or underemployed 18–30 year-olds in underserved areas of Greater Manchester, alongside family-focused digital making events, public-sector training, and creative placemaking initiatives. The organisation runs programmes such as Shift Click (free full-stack web development training), Click MCR, TESTS (for NEET youth), Make Stuff, Tech Together Summer Camp, and Public Sector Training, with an aggregate of 800+ young people trained over the past five years and a 65%+ placement rate into roles at employers including the BBC, Co-op Digital, Auto Trader, Music Magpie, DWP and Barclays.

MadLab has built or co-developed several proprietary technology assets that materially differentiate its delivery model. Gather, launched in 2022, is a "Learning Community Operating System" powering highly-social, community-led online digital skills programmes and was explicitly designed to scale MadLab's hard-won delivery insight UK-wide. Incredible, built with DEMO Islamabad, is a blockchain-backed skills accreditation service for verifiable community credentials. Basilisk is an immersive VR experience featuring an AI-powered storyteller using deep reinforcement learning and natural language understanding, selected for Creative XR and SXSW 2020. The Congruence Engine applies named entity recognition, topic modelling, and generative AI to connect industrial-history collections across UK museums.

Commercially, MadLab is grant-funded rather than revenue-funded. The two largest disclosed inflows are £2.63 million from the UK government's Cultural Development Fund (delivered via Arts Council England) for the Stockport Creative Campus in 2022, and £3 million from the Fast Track Digital Workforce Fund (DCMS / GMCA / Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership) in 2021. Additional grant funding has flowed from UKRI, the National Lottery Community Fund, Power to Change, the British Council, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and WEA. Programmes are free at point of use to participants; modest service revenue derives from contracted public-sector delivery (Stockport Council libraries/museums; Salford Council schools; Onward Homes) and employer-mentor partnerships. The organisation employs a small core team (11–50 range) with a documented operating footprint across Greater Manchester plus project-based international activity in Pakistan, Malaysia, and exploratory engagement in South Korea.

Name

Manchester Digital Laboratory

Legal name

Manchester Digital Laboratory CIC

Website

https://madlab.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Manchester Digital Laboratory (MadLab) is a UK Community Interest Company delivering free digital skills training, creative technology programmes, and community placemaking initiatives primarily for unemployed 18–30 year-olds, families, and underserved communities across Greater Manchester, supported by government and charitable grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Skills Training & Community Innovation

NAICS

Computer Training (61142), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Technical and Trade Schools (6115)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

AI & Machine Learning (Foundations & Applied) (EDAMACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Technical Bootcamps & Accelerated Reskilling (Full-time/Part-time) (BPAEANAE), Learning Management (LMS) & Talent Development (BPACAPAG), Digital Learning Content Development (eLearning, Labs, Simulations) (BPAEANAD), AI/ML Learning Platforms for Students (EDAFANAE)

Keywords

• Digital skills training
• Community innovation programs
• Creative technology education
• Web development training
• Grassroots digital inclusion

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: Primary funding from government grants and cultural development funds. Received £2.63 million from UK government's Cultural Development Fund for Stockport Creative Campus. Additional funding from Power to Change, Arts Council England, DCMS, UKRI, National Lottery Community Fund, and others.
2. Digital Skills Training Programs: Free training programs for young people aged 18-30 including Shift Click (web development), games development, and digital essentials courses. Programs are free for participants, funded through grants and partnerships.
3. Community Partnership Services: Delivers training to public sector organizations (Stockport Council libraries and museums), housing associations (Onward Homes), and schools (Salford Council) under contract.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Manchester Digital Laboratory (MadLab) is a grassroots innovation organization that delivers free, barrier-free digital skills training programs in web development, game design, UX, and emerging technologies to underserved communities across Greater Manchester. Its core services are funded primarily through UK government and charitable grants, with supplementary revenue from public sector contracts and employer partnerships. The organization also develops proprietary software (Gather learning platform, Incredible blockchain accreditation) and creative technology products (Basilisk VR) to support and scale its training delivery.

Product overview

MadLab is a grassroots innovation organisation operating as a single unified entity offering a portfolio of community-focused digital skills training programmes and creative technology initiatives. The core learning offerings include Shift Click (free web development training for young people), Gather (Learning Community Operating System), and Click MCR (coding crash courses). The organisation delivers programmes for underserved communities including TESTS for NEET youth, Make Stuff family digital days, and public sector training. MadLab also develops creative products including Basilisk (AI-powered VR experience) and Incredible (blockchain skills recognition platform). International programmes span UK-Pakistan collaborations through OK-PK-UK, DIY City Karachi-Manchester, and blockchain for inclusive growth initiatives. Research projects include The Congruence Engine (AI for museum collections) and The Resilience Toolkit for creative micro-businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Shift Click: Free training programme for young people from Greater Manchester looking to get started in the digital industry, delivered in partnership with Stockport Council's Digital Team and leading local businesses. Funded by Fast Track Digital Workforce Fund and National Lottery Community Fund.
• Gather
• Click MCR
• Incredible
• Basilisk
• TESTS (Tech Employment Skills Team Salford)

Products and services

• Shift Click Free full-stack web development training programme for 18-30 year olds in Greater Manchester, delivered in partnership with Stockport Council's Digital Team and leading local employers. Includes career support, mentoring, and job-placement assistance; Shift Click 2 (2024-2027) targets 300 learners under National Lottery Community Fund support.
• Click MCR Free hands-on coding crash course for young people aged 18-30 in Manchester, funded through WEA and the European Union Social Fund. Two programme tracks: Core Skills and Career Ready.
• TESTS (Tech Employment Skills Team Salford) Targeted scheme supporting Salford-based young NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) people into tech careers through skills training, career guidance, and work-readiness skills via online and in-person pilots.
• TESTS in Schools Digital Participation in Schools pilot delivering coding, web development, software engineering, and games design workshops aligned with Key Stages 3 and 4 curriculum, in partnership with Salford Council.
• Make Stuff Award-winning programme of community-powered hands-on digital days for young people and families delivered at libraries and community venues across Greater Manchester. Winner of the 2017 Big Chip Tech for Good Award.
• Tech Together Summer Camp Four-week foundational creative digital skills programme for families in Hattersley, Tameside, delivered in partnership with social housing provider Onward Homes.
• Public Sector Training Creative training for Stockport Council Libraries and Museums staff to increase capacity for delivering public workshops and events, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (December 2024 – March 2025).
• Gather A next-generation, highly-social, grassroots-powered online Learning Community Operating System that powers MadLab's community-led digital skills programmes with built-in mentor support and learner progress tracking.
• Incredible Blockchain-backed skills accreditation service enabling grassroots organisations to collaborate and issue verifiable qualifications at dramatically lower administration costs than traditional accreditation; built in collaboration with DEMO Islamabad.
• Basilisk Semi-fictional immersive VR experience featuring a cantankerous AI-powered storyteller built on a deep reinforcement learning character engine; selected for Arts Council England's Creative XR programme and invited to SXSW 2020.
• Make Stuff 2 Creative place-making festival delivered in central Stockport between December 2023 and May 2024, delivering 125 activities to over 1,700 people, supported by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
• FutureTech Salford Hands-on workshops for Salford residents aged 25 and under covering computer games design, AI, VR, coding, and digital art with behind-the-scenes Media City access.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65%+ of trained learners secure employment in digital industry within 6 months
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability10 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, exploratory, secondary, supporting and major.

• GRIT StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Working alongside MadLab and Manchester Metropolitan University on Community-led High Street Innovation exploring inclusive regeneration in Stockport.
• Salford CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Digital Participation in Schools pilot programme part of Greater Manchester-wide digital inclusion initiative, supported by UK Government's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
• Chungju Cultural City CenterexploratoryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Exploring cross-border collaboration with Korean partners including Chungju Cultural City Center in North Chungcheong Province to share approaches for regenerating declining regional towns using placemaking and culture-led development.
• Onward HomessecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Social housing provider commissioned MadLab to run Tech Together Summer Camp for families in Hattersley, Tameside. Reached nearly 100 local residents with digital skills workshops.
• Beacon CounsellingsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Mental health support partner for Shift Click programme, providing holistic support to young people overcoming barriers to employment.
• Guardian JobssupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2024Recruitment platform used for hiring staff including Lead Instructor positions for Shift Click programme.
• The Young FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership through Community Knowledge Fund to co-design investigational prototypes addressing digital skills barriers for underserved communities.
• Manchester Metropolitan UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 March 2022Campus Talent program delivered by IN4 Group, MadLab, and Manchester Metropolitan University to provide place-based, industry-oriented leadership and training. University extends Design Factory initiative to deliver creative sector skills.
• Science Museum GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Co-Investigator on The Congruence Engine research project using AI and machine learning to connect industrial history collections. Project is one of five Discovery Projects supported by Arts and Humanities Research Council.
• British Film InstitutemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Co-Investigator on The Congruence Engine research project alongside Science Museum Group, MadLab, Historic England, National Museums Scotland, and others.
• British CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Supported OK-PK-UK programme through Digital Collaboration Fund. Also supported Incredible blockchain platform development in Pakistan through DICE programme. Partnership facilitates UK-Pakistan creative exchanges.
• Historic EnglandmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Co-Investigator on The Congruence Engine research project using AI to connect industrial history collections across UK museums and archives.
• National Museums ScotlandmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Co-Investigator on The Congruence Engine alongside other major UK cultural institutions.
• UCL Institute of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Making Spaces project - a digital skills meets social justice incubator programme to broaden participation in digital making amongst young people aged 18-29. Research partnership examining equity in makerspaces across Global South and North.
• UWE BristolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Led 18-month research study developing The Resilience Toolkit - a diagnostic tool for creative and cultural micro businesses facing challenges from Brexit, Covid, and cost of living crisis. Funded by UKRI's Economic and Social Research Council.
• DEMO IslamabadcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partnered to construct and trial Incredible blockchain skills recognition service for community learners in Pakistan. DEMO delivered digital business skills training to 500+ women entrepreneurs across Pakistan.
• British Council MalaysiasecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Creative Hubs Malaysia project - research visit to fifteen creative hubs as part of British Council's Hubs for Good programme. Produced situational analysis report shaping 2020 programme.
• Stockport CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Led the Stockport Creative Campus initiative with £2.63m Cultural Development Fund. MadLab relocated from Manchester to Stockport in 2018 to focus on reviving deprived communities. Partnership involves digital skills training, physical creative spaces development, and cultural placemaking in Stockport's town center.
• Numaish KarachicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Longstanding creative partnership with grassroots art collective Numaish. Multiple projects including DIY City Karachi-Manchester placemaking initiative and Sheherazade Lahore arts-tech festival.
• The Arts CatalystsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Commissioned LabEasy - a two-week pop-up community biotechnology lab in East London. Won 2014 KiiCS Award for Arts and Science Innovation.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Makers Academy: London-based coding bootcamp offering 16-week full-stack web development programmes with employer hiring partnerships. Comparable bootcamp format and employer pipeline approach, though commercial rather than grant-funded model.
• Just IT: UK IT training and apprenticeship provider offering digital skills bootcamps, apprenticeships, and employment programmes. Comparable focus on employer-led digital-skills pathways for entry-level talent, though operates as a commercial training provider rather than CIC.
• Northcoders: UK coding bootcamp offering full-stack and data engineering bootcamps with strong employer hiring network. Comparable bootcamp-style format (similar to Shift Click), though operates on a commercial fee-funded model rather than grant-funded.

Direct peers

• CodeYourFuture: UK-based non-profit coding bootcamp offering free web development training to refugees and disadvantaged adults. Directly comparable mission (community-led, barrier-free digital skills training for underserved groups) and similar reliance on grants/employer partnerships for sustainability.
• Code First Girls: UK-based social enterprise providing free coding courses for women and non-binary people to address gender gaps in tech. Comparable in targeting underrepresented groups into digital careers, delivering training through employer partnerships (similar to MadLab's Shift Click employer network).
• Generation UK: UK branch of Generation, a global employment-focused non-profit offering free tech training programmes to unemployed/underemployed adults with strong employer hiring partnerships. Comparable outcomes-focused model placing learners into tech roles (similar to MadLab's 65%+ employment rate).
• Founders & Coders: UK-based non-profit coding cooperative offering free full-stack web development programmes. Comparable peer-to-peer learning model and similar reliance on community/mentor networks for delivery.

Broad incumbents

• The Prince's Trust: Major UK youth charity offering education, training, and employment support including digital skills programmes for 18-30 year olds facing barriers. Comparable target demographic, mission, and employer/government partnership model, though much larger scale and broader scope.
• Multiverse: UK tech-apprenticeship provider offering funded programmes in software engineering, data, and digital skills with major employer partnerships. Comparable focus on employer-led digital-skills pathways and government/employer funding model, though operates at much larger scale and as a commercial enterprise.
• Catch22: UK social business delivering employability, education, and skills programmes including digital inclusion for disadvantaged groups. Comparable social-enterprise model with grant-funded digital skills and employability training for underserved communities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/madlabuk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/madlab-manchester-digital-laboratories-
• Instagraminstagram.com/madlabuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/madlabuk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Manchester Digital Laboratory