Improving the Performance of Local Services

The drive to improve and modernise local services applies as much to cultural services as to any other sector.

MLA believes that by engaging with local government improvement we can:

• Embed continuous improvement in our sector and deliver high quality services that the public want; 
• Demonstrate our sector’s impact; 
• Advocate for our place at the heart of new initiatives and make use of new resources and partnerships that helps our sector do even more

Developing an outcomes framework for museums, libraries and archives

Government policy toward local government is changing. The challenge to local government is to shape place, tackle the difficult issues and enhance the lives of people by improving outcomes. MLA believes that mueums, libraries and archives make a valuable contribution to this agenda. To help the sector deliver, MLA has published Securing excellence: delivering for communities (Word 145KB) which sets out a strategic approach to the contributions that the sector makes, and also an approach to to performance management and support for self improvement to better fit the sector to deliver.

Comprehensive Performance Assessment

Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) measures how well councils are
delivering services for local people and communities. It looks at performance from a range of perspectives and combines a set of judgements to provide both a simply understood rating and a more complete picture of where to focus activity to secure improvement.
From 2006, cultural services are being assessed by a Culture Services Block. This includes performance indicators for museums and libraries.

Local authority libraries are assessed through Public Library Service Standards. These are being reviewed in 2007.

Local authority museums are assessed according to the Museums Accreditation Scheme. The level at which a museum performs within this Scheme determines a score which contributes to the overall rating for the Culture Services Block (PDF 178KB) and thus a council’s corporate CPA.

Archives are not currently represented by any performance indicators within the Culture Services Block. MLA is working with sector stakeholders to develop performance indicators (PDF 103KB) for archives, and a wider range with applicability to museums, that could potentially form part of developing local government performance frameworks.

Improving local services

MLA’s programmes seek to transform and modernise museums, libraries and archives, and support improvement at a local level.

• Framework for the Future:  the Government’s programme for public libraries. Includes Peer Reviews, delivered in conjunction with the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA), local government’s own improvement agency. Peer Reviews support library services in securing their own improvement.
• Renaissance: a major investment in England’s regional museums, helping them to improve and to deliver against key agendas. A network of hub museums has been created to share best practice, while MLA’s Regional Agencies and a Museum Development Officers ensure that the whole museum community benefits.
• Archives Task Force: the Task Force’s report outlines actions to develop and enhance archive services.
• Inspiring Learning for All: a means to assess the impact of museums, libraries and archives on their achievement of delivering outcomes for their users.

Working across culture and sport

The Culture Services Block in CPA recognises that, while there are important differences between the various elements of culture and sport, their contributions to communities are often complimentary. This is also reflected in the way that many councils organise cultural services together or are committed to working with partners in the local area, often through the Local Strategic Partnership, to realise the benefits to communities of a joined-up cultural offer.

Where appropriate, MLA is committed to facilitating working across culture and sport. Along with DCMS, Arts Council England and English Heritage, we fund the Cultural Services Improvement Unit within the IDeA.

The Unit has published A Passion for Excellence. An Emerging Improvement Strategy for the Cultural Sector (PDF 321KB)

IDeA Cultural Connections DCMS and the IDeA have created a web resource to help local cultural services improve. MLA works with these partners to provide content to support improvement in museums, libraries and archives.