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Commissioning tools

  • Last modified date:
    20 November 2007

The department seeks to promote good practice for commissioning and has developed a number of tools to help everyone involved in the commissioning process apply good practice and enhance their skills.

Building Capacity and Partnership in Care (BCPC)

In October 2001, Building Capacity and Partnership in Care (BCPC) was published by the Department of Health. This is a key document setting out the principles for good commissioning that were agreed by government, independent sector providers and health, housing and social care commissioners.

The Commissioning eBook

In June 2003, a commissioning and training group was formed (as a sub-group of the Strategic Commissioning Group). The group, which included representatives from TOPSS, Skills for Health and universities, commissioned a scoping study to:

  • identify who commissions children, adults and mental health services including the numbers, and assess the skill levels and training needs of staff
  • identify staff roles involved in the commissioning process, such as planning, contracting, research and needs assessment
  • identify staff who do these activities as all or part of their role
  • research the current infrastructure that enables staff to gain training, education, skills and qualifications including where this takes place, and assess the quality of such training.

The Learning and Improvement Network (LIN) for Better Commissioning was launched in March 2004. It aims to bring together senior staff from local authority social services, primary care trusts, independent sector care providers and housing providers that are interested in forging better working relationships in commissioning better care for older people.

The Department has been working with commissioners and providers to develop some good practice guidance on contracting social care for adults, and as a result, the DH Change Agent Team published the Commissioning eBook on 22 March 2006 to help both parties effectively use contracts in a way that the service users are placed firmly at the top of their priority.

The Commissioning eBook is a unique, free, open access online facility to help commissioners of community-based health, social care and housing services. 

A Catalyst for Change

The Change Agent Team also produced the workbook, A Catalyst for Change, which provides a systematic approach for people in health and social care organisations and their partners, to help them identify what stage they are at in their commissioning roles. The workbook goes on to identify to critical activities that will help them successfully develop the non-acute services that their communities need.

Commissioning Learning and Improvement Network (LIN)

The Better Commissioning LIN will be established, run and financed by the Health and Social Care Change Agent Team in partnership with DH policy colleagues. It is supported nationally by Association of Directors of Social Services (ADSS), national organisations representing the independent care sector and the National Primary and Care Trust Development Programme (NatPaCT).

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