Compact Commissioning Guidance

This is the first in a series of Compact implementation guidance and is designed to facilitate better working relationships between commissioners of services in national and local public sector bodies and third sector organisations. It identifies current Compact principles and demonstrates where and how they can be applied to commissioning to deliver better outcomes and improve performance. It also highlights those Compact principles relevant to third sector organisations involved in commissioning.

Published February 2009, 20 pages

National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning

Based on research by nef (the new economics foundation), the National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning has published the report 'A better return' on how spending on public services can be directed to achieve the best return for communities, the environment and the public purse.

Published January 2008, 29 pages

NHS Next Stage Review: what it means for the Third Sector

Summary of the Next Stage Review and how the third sector can be involved in local planning and service delivery.

Published December 2008

Shifting the Balance of Care to Local Settings

Government health policy has been encouraging a shift in the balance of care from hospital to community settings. The Department of Health commissioned The King's Fund, in partnership with Loop2, to undertake a simulation-based project entitled SeeSaw to understand how this shift in care could be achieved. This report outlines the simulation process and describes the event itself. The majority of the report, however, focuses on the learning that emerged during the event and in all the subsequent discussions on the implications for policy-makers, managers and professionals working in the NHS, in social care, and in the independent sector.

(Published June 2008, 72 pages)

Hearts and minds: commissioning from the voluntary sector

This report sets out our findings on: the extent and nature of the voluntary sector's delivery of public services; the locally perceived impact of government efforts to build capacity; the current state of commissioning; and procurement practice. The report is primarily for managers in local councils who are responsible for commissioning services, but it will also be of interest to voluntary organisations and national policymakers.

(Published July 2007, 76 pages)

Commissioning children's services and the role of the voluntary and community sector

The Laming Inquiry, followed by the publication of Every Child Matters, heralded the start of a debate that would bring about the most significant changes to the provision of Children’s Services for a generation. This document seeks to bring together core principles and challenges, as well as evidence of good practice. We hope it will help professionals in all sectors to share a common understanding of commissioning and the role of voluntary sector plays at the moment and has the potential to play in the future, as we progress our shared goal of improving children’s outcomes.

(Published 2004, 35 pages)

Making partnerships work

This document focuses on the role of third sector organisations as providers within health and adult social care.

(March 2007, 28 pages)

So where are the alternative providers in primary care?

PCTs can now commission primary medical care services from a range of different providers. Yet a recent study by the Kings Fund reveals that the volume of alternative types of provider in primary care remains small and the use of APMS contracts limited.

British Journal of Health Care Management, 2007, vol. 13, no. 2 p. 43-46 (Available via your local NHS Library)