Rules of Engagement
Cross-sector commissioning for effective service delivery
This round table discussion, considered the issues around commissioning, procurement and delivery of services to the public. Effective service delivery requires the matching of people’s needs with what it is possible to deliver for them. Commissioning these services requires specialist knowledge of what the market will bear and what the service strategy should be. Procurement involves designing contracts, putting them into place and managing them, as well as managing strategic supply relationships.
Participants acknowledged the significant role that the third sector has to offer in the delivery of public services, particularly in engaging and representing particular groups of people with a whole range of disadvantages in designing services. However, cultural assumptions can lead to a clash between the public, the private and the “third” sectors and the balance between competition and co-operation sometimes gets lost in this process. The commissioning process has diverted some funding away from smaller organisations.
