Guidance

Stage 4: portfolio analysis

Published 28 March 2017

1. Overview

Assuming that the cases for change and externalisation are strong, the next logical step is to consider whether the library service may benefit from being grouped in an alternative delivery model (ADM) with other services.

The exact type of externalisation is not important at this stage. What matters is that you consider whether there is a case for grouping the library service with one or more other services.

Several examples exist of library services combining with other related services to establish a new delivery model:

• York Explore – provides libraries and archive services
• Inspire Culture, Learning and Libraries - provides a range of cultural and learning services

2. How to assess the suitability of other services

To assess the potential suitability for combining services in a new ADM, you should consider the following questions:

Grouped objectives

To what extent does the library service share a common aim and objectives with the other service(s)?

Organisational culture

Do the services share common cultural characteristics and management styles? Do the services have a history of joint working and delivery, or has there been a difficult history between the services?

Technical issues

Would joining the services mean that different professions (such as librarians and teachers) would both be employed by the new organisation? Are there any implications, in terms of pensions (for example Local Government Pension Scheme and Teachers’ Pension Scheme)?

Complementary services

To what extent are the combined services complementary?

Common user base

To what extent does the library service share a common user base with the other service(s)?

Service specific requirements

To what extent can any library service’s specific requirements be maintained if grouped with other services?

Grouped competitive advantage

To what extent would the group of services enable the new delivery model to have a competitive advantage?

Grouped operational synergies

To what extent is there scope to realise operational synergies if the library service is grouped with other services?

Grouped financial stability

To what extent will the new delivery model be more financially stable if the library service is grouped with other services?

We wanted to protect the library and archive services, so we put them at the core of Explore and wrapped other things around.

York Explore

If you identify that one or more services may be suited to joining the library service in the new delivery model, we suggest that you also consider the case for change and the case for externalisation for each of these services.

Libraries represent about 50% of the turnover of Inspire, with the council providing just over 50% of the funding through a monthly contract payment. Libraries are the backbone of Inspire and are the vehicle to deliver the arts, cultural, heritage and learning offers from other Inspire services. This allows Inspire to share support and infrastructure costs and gain economies of scale, as well as an integrated cultural and learning offer to customers.

Inspire, Culture, Learning and Libraries

3. Lessons learned

3.1 Inspire Culture, Learning and Libraries

When assessing which services could be brought together to be delivered, decision makers from Inspire considered the following issues:

• what are the synergies in terms of management structures, back office services and delivery?
• is there a common purpose / ethos (or could there be)?
• how have they been managed (by who)?
• do the income and cost structures for each of the services help to ensure the sustainability of a new delivery model?
• what liabilities are there, for example, pension deficit liabilities and redundancy liabilities that may be transferring to the new service?
• do we have political and wider stakeholder support?
• does it confuse or enhance the potential of success?

3.2 York Explore

York Explore undertook a lot of work to consider the case for joining the library and archives services in a single delivery model. They:

• did joint staff development work from the beginning to bring everyone together
• spoke to the National Archives about any implications for them
• benefitted from having a clear strategy - the council was reducing its arts department at the same time and because they had been working closely together, Explore were able to take in the inclusive arts element

Overall it can be important to consider other services and having a clear strategy helps to determine which they may be.

The next section covers the fifth stage of the process - options appraisal.