QUEST, the independent Quality, Efficiency and Standards Team set up by former Culture Secretary Chris Smith to identify and promote good practice within the cultural sector, was closed last year when its initial 3-year funding came to an end.
Launched in a flurry of publicity in 1999 following the announcement of its establishment in the 1998 Comprehensive Spending Review, QUEST was an independent unit whose remit included looking at the process through which DCMS allocates funding to its sponsored bodies. Research was central to the unit?s work, and a series of investigations were published on issues ranging from the costs of making National Lottery applications to the potential for e-commerce in the cultural industries. At the launch of QUEST Chris Smith said ?An independent view of how the funding agreements between DCMS and the organisations it supports are actually working will be of great value in highlighting what value for money they provide for the taxpayer.? But following an internal restructuring, including an expansion of its own analytical services, many of the evaluation and monitoring duties of QUEST have been absorbed by DCMS into its Policy, Innovation and Delivery Unit. The future direction of QUEST?s research and publication function, however, is not yet clear and no indications have been given as to whether or how such work will continue.
Published: 27-01-2003