Best Value and the Artsby Sandy Craig It’s in the Arts Council’s interest to support Local Authority Arts Officers to achieve Best Value (BV) and their ‘Best Value and the Arts’ publication is both a bible of wisdom and a practical workbook. It comes as a pack of punched loose-leaf pages ready to be slotted into a binder. Written in pithy and direct language it aims to provide a degree of purchase on this slippery subject. The guide does assume a somewhat negative response to the BV phenomenon (you may find phrases like "There are opportunities here!" a little patronising) but on the whole it is encouraging and supportive. You’ll need to take some time to read through the pack in its entirety – it’s thorough, starting with the big picture and working through to the fine detail – but once you’ve done so you’ll be imbued with the spirit of BV. You can then go back and use the pack for reminders and ideas as you work through your own Best Value process. Flow charts and checklists break up the monotony of the text. The fact that Local Authorities and individual arts organisations have offered real examples of projects, contracts and Performance Indicators, lends the publication additional credibility and shows we’re all in it together. Written absolutely for those working at the Local Authority coal face, there’s probably too much here for those with a passing interest in the subject, but all in all this is an excellent publication. Best Value - A Guide for Voluntary OrganisationsNVCO, 2000, Free If you want a quick summary of the key tenets of Best Value you may find the first two pages of the National Council for Voluntary Organisation’s slim publication useful. It’s not particularly aimed at the arts, but its elaboration on the potential role for voluntary organisations as advocates or conduits for the views of local people may interest those working in the community arts sector.
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