About us

Continuing a 200-year legacy of innovation from our historic home in The Sheds, BDFI brings together global partners and cross-disciplinary experts to stay ahead of the challenges of our digital future.

Founded in 2019, Bristol Digital Futures Institute (BDFI) is a University of Bristol Research Institute pioneering a new approach to digital innovation. Backed by £100m in funding - including a £29m UKRPIF investment - we bring together 26 partners across industry, government, and community sectors to shape a more inclusive digital world.

Our Mission: Shaping Sociotechnical Futures

Digital technology is no longer just a tool; it is woven into the fabric of daily life. To navigate the challenges and opportunities this brings, we focus on "sociotechnical futures" - understanding how people and technology evolve together.

Rather than reacting to change, we stay ahead of it by:

  • Creating Knowledge: Bridging academic disciplines with real-world expertise from telecoms to film.

  • Making it Real: Co-creating and testing new technologies within our globally unique experimental facilities.


Our Home: The Sheds

Located at the emerging Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC), our headquarters, "The Sheds" is a site of historic transformation.

We have reimagined the 19th-century Retort House and Coal Shed - once the heart of Bristol’s gas lighting revolution - into a cutting-edge research hub. Sharing the space with MyWorld, we continue a 200-year legacy of bringing transformative innovation to the city.