Guidance
Community libraries for the 21st century
Arts Council England and LGA have published a report that looks into the different ways in which communities are involved in library service delivery. From this research guiding principles have been developed to assist local authorities who are considering reviewing the delivery of their library services to work with their communities. You can read more about the guiding principles here.
Engaging in Commissioning – a practical resource pack for the culture and sport sector
Engaging in commissioning is a new practical resource pack jointly produced by the LGA, cCLOA, Sport England and the Arts Council. It aims to help the sector engage with other public services through commissioning, to bring sport and culture to more people and contribute to better outcomes for individuals and communities. The resources have been informed by the practical experience of councils and cultural sector organisations and distil the lessons learned. There is a self-assessment guide to help you assess where you are and a step by step guide to help you plan your approach.
Affordable facilities
Sport England have recently devised guidance with a particular focus on the ‘affordability’ and ‘future financial sustainability’ of leisure facilities, The information is an essential reference for new community swimming projects or where the rationalisation of the existing facilities is being considered. Guidance for affordable pools can be found here and guidance for sports halls here. Whilst the emphasis is on affordability and generating income the documents and downloadable CAD files illustrate how new projects can meet a full range of community needs and comply with best practice standards.
The role of Culture & Sport in supporting Adult Social Care – revised guidance
Adult Social Care is facing some major challenges with reducing resources and increasing life expectancy. By 2026 there will be 1.7 million more adults who need support to help them live with conditions that seriously reduce the quality of their life. Culture and sport can play an important role in supporting adult social care to deliver better outcomes for people. To help increase understanding of the opportunities for culture and sport to contribute through the strategic commissioning process and to bring the guidance up to date by reflecting the latest policy and legislation, this well-received publication has been revised and you can download a copy here.
The Community Infrastructure Levy: advice note for culture, arts and planning professionals - Local authorities and the arts and cultural sector need to work with communities to understand their aspirations for art and culture, and to work with developers to make use of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to realise these ambitions. To support this, Arts Council England has produced guidance that explains how the needs for cultural and arts infrastructure in association with new development can be established and fed into the CIL process. It helps planning, culture and arts professionals involved with development of the Levy understand how to best exploit it in order to ensure that the arts and culture can be part of everybody's lives.
A guide to developing a local outcomes framework for culture and sport - Working with Local Government Association on behalf of cCLOA we've produced an updated version of the highly valued Outcomes Framework for Culture & Sport which can help you demonstrate the contribution culture and sport makes to better outcomes for individuals, communities and places. This online tool reflects the latest policy developments and we have created a fact sheet about how to get the most out of the tool, outlining the benefits of developing your own outcomes framework, explaining the elements that form the framework and also providing an overview of the stages involved in creating your own version locally. Culture First were also involved in facilitating the pilot phase; Heidi Bellamy shares her experience and offers 'top tips' in a podcast here......
The role of Culture and Sport in reducing Crime and Anti-social Behaviour - Culture and sport have an important role to play in preventing young people becoming involved in crime and anti-social behaviour. This document aims to help providers of culture and sport services better understand community safety and crime reduction agendas. It also offers a number of practical real world case studies that have a track record of successfully diverting those most at risk of offending through culture and sports based activities. You can download the report here......
Community managed libraries - The MLA has been exploring different models of community managed libraries and has recently produced a review to inform local authorities who are thinking about new ways of involving and working with communities. You can find out more about the different approaches possible, and the benefits and issues involved here......
Community sport asset transfer toolkit - Sport England has launched a toolkit to support sports clubs and local authorities who are considering community asset transfer of sports facilities. Developed in partnership with Locality (the UK's leading network for community-led organisations) the interactive web-based toolkit provides a step by step guide through the process. You can access the toolkit here......
A guide to externalising leisure services - Improvement East have produced a guide for local authorities considering externalising the management and operation of leisure services. The guide explores how each externalised model operates, together with the pros and cons and case studies to illustrate the experience of individual local authorities. The guidance also provides an indication of the potential savings that could be achieved. You can read the guidance here......
Strategic options for Tourist Information Centres - Improvement East and East of England Tourism have developed a number of strategic options for local authorities considering the future of their TIC service. The guidance includes case studies illustrating a reduction in the net cost through service diversification, outsourcing, combined service delivery and relocation. A complementary publication outlines how to improve retail performance as a means of contributing to running costs. You can download the guides here...... and here......
Guidance from English Heritage on the transfer of local authority assets - A number of local authorities are now looking to transfer buildings and land assets to the community. English Heritage have recently published Pillars of the Community, a guidance document aimed at assisting local authorities and community groups. The guidance outlines the process for asset transfers, both from a local authority and community perspective. It is accompanied by a number of case studies showing what can be achieved. You can download the guidance here......
Improving efficiency in the culture and sport sector - Local Government Improvement & Development have produced two guides for elected members and managers with a responsibility for improving efficiency in cultural services. Sharing assets and asset transfer provides a simple introduction to improving the use of existing assets and approaches to transferring assets to different delivery partnerships, with examples of how these concepts have been applied. Looking for new ways of delivering culture and sport services offers some ideas and advice on how members and managers might respond to the current financial pressures whilst protecting frontline services. You can download the guides here...... and here......
Guidance for Community Owned and Managed Swimming Pools has been produced by The Asset Transfer Unit, which helps to empower local people and organisations transform land and buildings into vibrant community spaces. In addition to offering guidance to help communities who are thinking about taking on responsibility for managing their swimming pool, it also provides Local Authorities with the information they need when considering the feasibility and varied benefits of community owned and managed pools. Download the guidance here......
Understanding Commissioning - The IDeA has published a new guide to help people in the culture and sport sector understand the process of strategic commissioning and how to engage in the process to produce better outcomes for communities. The guidance has specific sections on need assessment, options appraisal, procurement and building capacity in the third sector. Find more information and download a copy of the guidance here......
Positive Activities: Good Practice Guidance - The Departments for Children, Schools and Families and Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have published good practice guidance on providing positive activities for young people. The guidance aims to encourage local authorities to combine resources and work more effectively by commissioning a diverse range of culture and sports activities. Download the guidance here......
