Due to political, economic and governance factors, local authorities are reviewing current models of service provision. As a result, a number of local authorities are considering alternative methods of service delivery, including devolution of museum services. There are a number of forms or structures that this could take which would be dependent on the situation in each local authority area. Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) received enquiries on this issue from some of their membership who are considering trust status. MGS has begun work to support local authorities with the decision-making process. A first step was the completion of a systematic review on alternative forms of public service delivery. The review presents an overview of the literature, identifies gaps and presents conclusions. This was published on the MGS website in June 2010. In addition, MGS is developing an Options Appraisal Toolkit which will support local authorities to consider their own circumstances and enable each to develop its own ?best practice? model for museums services. The aim of the toolkit is to provide a structure to complete a high-level overview of options for service delivery. This can be used in combination with existing review methodologies.

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## About SCVO

SCVO (Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations) is the national membership organisation for Scotland's voluntary sector.

Our role is to champion the role of voluntary organisations in Scotland and to support them to do work that has a positive impact.

SCVO supports members and the wider voluntary sector with all aspects of setting up and running a voluntary organisation. SCVO represents the needs and concerns of the voluntary sector to the Scottish government in Holyrood and UK government and Westminster. Through our learning and events programme SCVO offers training and development opportunities to the sector.

Members access an extensive membership benefits package including specialist, in-depth, 1-to-1 guidance from our Information Services team and from professional service partners.

Access to exclusive membership networks (including comms, employers, governance and policy) supports members to grow their connections, stay up to date, exchange ideas and views with peers, and learn through tailored, learning opportunities.

SCVO members enjoy free access to Funding Scotland Premium to stay on top of funding opportunities to support their organisation’s financial resilience.

Discounts and savings savings on SCVO products and services (including our HR service, managed IT support, payroll service and events and training) and partner offers provide members with support to allow them to focus on delivering their organisation’s goals. Further SCVO products and services include [extensive digital support](https://scvo.scot/support/digital), a climate action resource [Growing Climate Confidence](https://climateconfident.scot), a voluntary sector publication [Third Force News](https://tfn.scot) and a voluntary sector jobs and recruitment service [Goodmoves](https://goodmoves.org).

For more information on SCVO membership, visit [SCVO membership](https://scvo.scot/membership)
