New drive to boost cultural commissioning

A consortium of organisations including New Philanthropy Capital, the New Economics Foundation and Mission Models Money will be led by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations to deliver Arts Council England’s £900k Cultural Commissioning programme. The programme is designed to help arts organisations collaborate with public services to deliver health, wellbeing, social and economic outcomes and address the priorities of local communities, local government and health authorities. It will run for three years from July 2013, providing activities aimed at helping the arts, museums and libraries sectors to diversify their income streams by exploiting commissioning opportunities. The scheme is a response to the growing trend for Councils to use external providers to run cultural services, and the lead organisations were chosen due to their roles as policy advisors with extensive networks and contacts in the sector.