Improvement support

Once you have identified your improvement needs, then you can begin improvement planning. There is a range of support in place, and this is being delivered in the context of the National Improvement and Efficiency Strategy and A Passion for Excellence: An improvement strategy for culture and sport.  MLA provides a range of support for the sector to secure improvement.  Much is available online, but for more expert advice you should consult your Regional Agency for museums, libraries and archives. 

Improving performance and addressing underperformance

Culture and Sport Improvement Toolkit (CSIT) A benchmark across eight themes that have a direct effect on the quality of service provided and how corporate outcomes are achieved.  CSIT can be used as a self-assessment, 360-degree feedback to identify external perceptions and views about the organisation, peer-led challenge, peer-supported improvement, a validation of the self-assessment where the organisation wants to check the robustness of the process, and the basis of a peer review.

Peer review making use of IDeA accredited peers to help improve local authority services.

Helping you to identify outcomes and show evidence of that contribution

• Outcomes Framework for Museums, Libraries and Archives (PDF 287KB)
• Community Profiling Guidance (PDF 199KB) provides an understanding the needs of the communities that you serve.
• Inspiring Learning for All  framework that helps identify the characteristics of an accessible museum, library or archive that supports learning and measures the impact upon learning.
• Generic Social Outcomes  framework that helps identify the social impacts of interactions.
• Research Resources  is searchable access to a database of case studies and research reports relating to the sector.

Helping to make your services and institutions more accessible

• Access for all Toolkit (PDF 290KB)  enables inclusion in museums, libraries and archives
• The Disability Portfolio is a collection of 12 guides on how best to meet the needs of disabled people as users and staff in museums, archives and libraries. It gives invaluable advice, information and guidance to help overcome barriers and follow good practice.
• Disability Checklist (PDF 706KB) is an easy to use checklist to identify existing good practice and areas for improvement.
• Cultural Diversity Checklist (PDF 716KB)  is an easy to use checklist to identify existing good practice and areas for improvement.
• Revisiting Collections (Word 106KB) is a toolkit for the capture of information to enhance the meaning and significance of museum collections for new and culturally diverse audiences

Enabling you to better manage performance and use sector standards

• Guidance on using sector standards
• Performance management
• Benchmarking (PDF 35KB) 

Improvment support for

• Collections management
• Customer service
• Community engagement
• Organisational and workforce development
• Leadership development
• Workforce diversity
• Regional support 

Meeting the needs of new and regenerating communities

Living Places  MLA is part of the Living Places partnership.  Living Places seeks to realise culture’s contribution to new communities that are being built and existing communities that are being regenerated through housing-led growth and renewal.  The Living Places website will be launched in July 2008 and will be a resource for advice and guidance regarding this area, including on how to plan and secure investment for new infrastructure, working with the planning system working with the third sector, and examples of national and international best practice.

Advice and guidance relating to performance improvement and delivering outcomes for local communities

Index of helpful websites (PDF 88KB)