Commissioning is a process through which public sector bodies determine
the need for public services, design and procure the services, and
finally evaluate them for future commissioning.
The Government’s action plan sets out a number of actions to improve the
commissioning process for the benefit of both service providers and those
who commission public services, in order to ultimately lead to better
outcomes.
The aim is to ensure that the third sector can be certain of high quality
commissioning which recognises the qualities of third sector
organisations.
One of the main actions under this part of the plan is the National
Programme for Third Sector Commissioning.
The programme aims to:
-
coordinate guidance and support on commissioning services from the
third sector
-
increase understanding of the third sector among commissioners
-
provide awareness training for councillors and officers on the benefits
of involving the third sector in public services
-
provide training for 2,000 commissioners involved with services
-
improve the third sector’s bidding capacity
The programme was set up to improve commissioners’ understanding of the
potential of the third sector in designing, delivering and improving
public services, and to move forward with work on implementing
the Compact principles on funding and procurement.
The Office of the Third Sector is delivering the programme with the
Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA). Initially 2,000 commissioners
from across the public sector will be trained as part of the programme.
These will include staff in Jobcentre Plus, primary care trusts, the
National Offender Management Service, local councils, and others who have
a large impact on the third sector.
The programme will work alongside existing programmes, to ensure that
commissioners address third sector issues in the course of their work. It
will also bring more coherence, focus and investment to specific
programmes involving the sector, and ensure there is comprehensive
training for commissioners on what the sector can offer.
The programme will also take steps to improve the third sector’s bidding
capacity, particularly among smaller organisations.
The programme has been extended to cover the years of the 2007
Comprehensive Spending Review, until March 2011, and will now include
more commissioners.
More information on the programme is available on the IDeA
website [external website].
