Paul Bristow

Paul Bristow is Senior Policy Adviser at the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, with responsibility for developing policy relating to local government and communities. Prior to joining MLA in 2004 Paul held corporate policy and performance roles in the London boroughs of Wandsworth and Bexley. He holds an MSc in Public Policy and Management from the University of London. 

Detail session 5

Open windows – strategic commissioning in libraries

Behind many of the recent developments in local government, including Local Strategic Partnerships and Local Area Agreements, lies the idea that public authorities and their partners should be focused on, and organised around, the delivery of outcomes and that the more complex and challenging outcomes can only be tackled by organisations working in partnership. The sharper focus on outcomes is leading to the reorientation of public services around a commissioning model which has been used by various Council services (e.g. health and social care). In culture and sport, reforms over the past two decades have resulted in providers that, to varying degrees, operate at arm's length from the council. Less attention has been paid to the commissioning of culture and sport and to the sector's capacity to influence and add value to strategic developments beyond service boundaries. In this session Paul will discuss the concept of strategic commissioning; how it relates to library services and how libraries can engage better with strategic commissioning based on the discussion paper from the IdeA Improving strategic commissioning in the culture and sport sector.