Making Ends Meet - Commissioning Social Care

Must Dos of Commissioning

Fashion an inclusive process:

Ensure corporate ownership of the social care agenda.
Design an explicit and transparent commissioning process which values the contributions of all stakeholders.

Set clear goals:

Define a limited number of key strategic objectives, bringing together national imperatives and locally determined priorities.
Devise commissioning strategies for each user group. See

Model Commissioning Strategy
Bexley Older People's Commissioning Strategy
Lincolnshire Commissioning Strategy

Devolve responsibility for achieving objectives through the business planning process.

Monitor progress:

Prioritise the development of sound information systems, linking finance and activity data.
Develop a core set of performance indicators to monitor the progress in achieving strategic objectives.
Benchmark performance against that of similar authorities.

Get value for money:

Use the principles of Best Value/Wales Programme for Improvement to inform all commissioning decisions (see Bexley Good Practice).
Decommission services that are not delivering the required outcomes or quality of care.

EXHIBIT 6

Must dos of commissioning

Source: Joint Reviews

GOOD PRACTICE TIPS

Strategic Commissioning

Do not underestimate the managerial capacity needed to deliver the commissioning agenda - most do!

Express objectives in terms of measurable improvements in the lives of service users and their carers to link strategy with operations

Encourage as much open sharing of information between purchasers and providers as possible to accelerate market development

GOOD PRACTICE TIPS

Purchasing

Build trust with valued providers through longer-term contracts to promote market stability
Re-tender at periodic intervals to maintain a competitive edge, but not so frequently as to overtax your organisational capacity
Spread the risk through contracting with a number of providers
Build a requirement for year-on-year efficiency savings into all contract arrangements
Have exit strategies for all short-term funded services, with weaning-off service options, wherever possible, for example, volunteer support
Aim to recycle a proportion of your base budget into new or changed services every year, so service development is not entirely dependent on growth funding