Your mission is to connect

Mission-driven is what Keir Starmer calls his government and it will need a new level of proactive communication from organisations and individuals to work.

CILIP has launched a new toolkit to give members a head start.

CILIP Connect helps librarians and information professionals across all sectors communicate with politicians and decision makers.

?Why now?

If you search “my mission-driven government” into Google you’ll see the Prime Minister uses the phrase a lot.

An inclusive and encompassing mission makes wide participation possible to achieve ambitious goals that the government wouldn’t be able to achieve on its own.

For this to work communication needs to flow, disrupting the traditional impression that the doors to power are generally closed except to a chosen few.

?Mission Boards

Now in Government, Labour is looking to break down silos within Whitehall. It hopes to do this with new ‘Mission Boards’, chaired by the Prime Minister, to get departments moving towards shared goals.

Of the five missions, growth is the predominant one. For example, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has said that ‘the Health Department is now an economic growth department’.

The Government also wants this mentality to extend to metro mayors, local government and its business and third sector partners.?

A mission-driven policy is the perfect good environment for CILIP members says CILIP CEO Louis Coiffait-Gunn: “The new government’s focus on Missions aligns perfectly with the work of CILIP and its members.

“Consider the Libraries Change Lives themes and Trust Libraries pledges. Information professionals are embedded in every aspect of society, the economy, and the country.

“If Starmer’s government aims to drive growth, opportunity, or health, our sector is already contributing significantly, but there’s potential to do even more.”

CILIP has already identified several Bills and agendas where information professionals can play a crucial role and has already written to the relevant ministers to say how the sector can help achieve these.

We encourage members to proactively engage by reaching out to their local MPs, councillors, and mayors, and as mentioned in the toolkit, is keen to hear if other members have done so too.

?Find out more and access the Toolkit

?Professional benefit

Engaging stakeholders is a valuable skill for every CILIP member, and can also have a wider-reaching impact on the profession.

Asking members to be aware of key messages from the library and information professions - included in the toolkit- and how to fit them into communications saying members can “effectively showcase your service alongside CILIP’s wider aims for the sector”.

Putting together a communications package will also give members a chance to engage with CILIP resources – like over 180 stories and case studies from its Libraries Change Lives campaign which members are encouraged to add to and to use.

As well as improving the sector’s communications with external bodies and decision makers, another goal is to boost the flow of information within the sector.

Become a member today and help put libraries firmly into the agenda with the CILIP Connect Toolkit.?

A longer version of this article will appear in the next edition of IP magazine.

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