Enabling Commissioning

Introduction

Enabling Commissioning Framework

We have a responsibility to provide services to the entire community, and particularly to the most vulnerable members of the community.

Our Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) has identified commissioning as a vital area of the council's operations, with the potential for real improvement if we take a unified and ambitious approach. We have established an Enabling Commissioning Board with the role of creating a commissioning framework, providing guidance and training for commissioners, identifying best practice and ensuring all this makes a difference. We are committed to not only look to continuously improve the services we provide, but also to do this with increasing efficiency and economy.

Commissioning developments

There are a number of commissioning and procurement activities arranged which are designed to improve procedures, processes and communications with providers as detailed below:

1. Enabling Commissioning Framework
2. Engaging with Service users and Service providers
3. Commissioning and Procurement Intentions
4. Corporate Commissioning and Procurement Strategy 2011/12
5. System upgrade and name change
6. Third Sector Select committee recommendations

This page provides background information regarding the commissioning framework and commissioning developments.

We invite comments and feedback with regard to these developments and proposals.

Summary

The outcomes of the work of the Enabling Commissioning Programme will challenge long held working practices across the organisation. However, only by doing this will we achieve better value for money and develop more mature relationships with the marketplace to secure better outcomes for the citizens of the city.

Some of the change is around process, but more fundamentally the organisation needs to adopt a more corporate, businesslike approach. This will not happen quickly and we will need support to challenge prevailing cultures.

Feedback

For enquires/feedback regarding the enabling commissioning programme proposals please feel free to contact us using the feedback form.

Enabling Commissioning Framework

This framework will include a comprehensive set of guidance, templates and checklists for use by council commissioners in all commissioning processes. This development aims to standardise our commissioning practice. This will support public, private and voluntary community sector (VCS) organisations to better engage in commissioning processes and secure contracts. Strategic commissioning is the process by which we identify strategic outcomes and priorities in relation to assessed user needs, and design and secure appropriate services to deliver these outcomes.

Strategic commissioning is the bridge that will help us realise our vision through the way in which we design, develop and deliver improved and effective services that meet the needs of our citizens. Further details regarding 'what is commissioning' including definitions are available for download from our related documents section.

Our aim in producing this framework is to:

• Explain clearly what strategic commissioning is, and the sequence of activities typically involved in doing it well
• Set out the vision for what good strategic commissioning looks like, with 'success criteria' showing what needs to be achieved at each stage
• Ilustrate how the practicalities of strategic commissioning should work, such as how different officers and groups can collaborate, who is responsible for doing what and how mechanisms for governance and challenge should function
• Develop a common language and understanding for what strategic commissioning is, why it is effective, and how it should be done

The framework is relevant to those that:

• are responsible for strategic commissioning, and want guidance on your role and responsibilities, how you should interact with other individuals, groups and organisations, and the end-to-end process of designing and delivering services to meet strategic outcomes
• are a locally-elected member, and want to understand why commissioning is important, and how it can help with the effective delivery of public services by focusing how resources are used
• are a provider of a particular service, for example from the private and voluntary sectors, and want to see how you can be involved in helping design and deliver effective services to the local community

Our  Commissioning framework is based on the Commissioning Cycle. Details of its elements and roles and responsibilities are available for download from our related documents section.

Decommissioning - A council wide approach to decommissioning

The term decommissioning commonly covers all instances and is defined as:

"The process of planning and managing a reduction in service activity or terminating a [service or] contract in line with commissioning objectives." (Local Government Improvement and Development)

Decommissioning guidance is included within the framework, which sets out a council wide approach to process and standards for decommissioning. This will ensure that, where services are no longer required, service users are considered, services have robust exit strategies and organisations are supported in other commissioning processes.

The guidance forms part of the Enabling Commissioning Framework, and sets out processes and standards to refer to when reaching the end of a contract, end of grant funding arrangement and decommissioning services.

The process and considerations for decommissioning must be considered during the commissioning cycle and form part of any contract and service level agreement. Implementation of this guidance will ensure that the expectations of all parties are clear and reduce the risk of failing to comply with legal or financial requirements. This policy will apply to all services, including those jointly commissioned with partners, whether they are delivered internally or by an external contractor, and regardless of the 'sector' (e.g. VCS) in which the Provider is operating.

A diagram showing the commissioning cycle and elements of decommissioning is available for download from our related documents section

Governance

Everyone involved in the delivery of public services has some responsibility for ensuring successful commissioning, whether it is through assessing need, planning delivery models, or delivering services on the front line. The commissioning framework places emphasis on the importance of setting a governance structure at an early stage, illustrating the roles and responsibilities required to ensure successful commissioning. Further details are available for download from our related documents section.

Engaging with Service users and Service providers

This section of the framework sets out proposal for the stages of engagement, consultation and involvement with the markets (including all sectors) to be undertaken throughout the commissioning cycle
 
It is essential for the commissioners to be clear at the start of any commissioning activity about the objectives of any particular engagement activity. All Information should be clear about how and why the service users and service provider's views are gathered and how this is fed into the commissioning strategy.

There are 4 main approaches to engagement, which can be used by commissioners at each of the four key stages those being Analyse, Plan, Do and Review of the commissioning cycle. Those approaches are categorised into four main types of engagement:

• Communication: activities involved in providing information
• Consultation: activities involved in securing ideas, suggestions and feedback
• Negotiation: activities involved in securing agreement to commissioning decisions
• Participation: activities involved in working together to make commissioning decisions

Further details of these are available in tabular and diagrammatical formats.

Our Code of Good Practice on Consultation aim is to state the seven consultation principles and to ensure their consistent application to council consultations.

With regard to Consultation, Information and Engagement the Bristol Partnership agrees the following points to be embedded within the commissioning framework that in any communication/consultation with the VCSE and communities the public agencies will clearly explain the purpose of the exercise, who they need to talk to and why and ensure they communicate appropriately and accessibly with the target group:

• that consultation will apply only to processes where there is a clear agreed opportunity to change the policy, service or outcome that 12 weeks will be allowed for responses to written consultations
• that public agencies will resource the consultations and dialogue with the VCSE, eg costs of reasonable adjustments, travel, childcare.
• that public agencies will publish feedback for consultees outlining the information gathered during the consultation and actions arising as a result
• that VCSE organisations are encouraged to work closely with Bristol's Infrastructure Organisations in order to benefit from the wider knowledge base

Commissioning and Procurement Intentions 2012 to 2013

In response to private and VCSE sector feedback, we are publishing summary details of services that it intends to commission during each financial year. Such forward notice of commissioning intentions will allow current and potential providers to prepare for specific commissions, form partnerships and allocate resources to their activities in commissioning processes.

2011/2012 was the first time the council prepared a document of this kind and we look to build on this every year. We have taken this step because we want to give all service providers the opportunity to do business in the city. 2012-13 information has now been published.

The purpose of this document is to identify the services which Bristol City Council will be seeking to commission during the up and coming financial year. This document now provides 2011-2012 information as well as intentions for 2012-2013.

Download: Commissioning and Procurement Intentions (pdf, 2.1 MB)

The document is split into four sections:

1. Outline of the Council's approach to commissioning and service delivery
2. An explanation of the Council's commissioning framework
3. Presentation of commissioning intentions
4. Implications of the new approach, including how the Council will approach decommissioning

The intention is that any potential service provider can use this document to understand more about the approach the Council is taking to provide the best possible service outcomes for the communities of Bristol, and the opportunities this may bring to service providers across the city and beyond.

Corporate Commissioning and Procurement Strategy 2011/12

The draft strategy, which includes commissioning and procurement principles and strategic developments, will be published in the New Year. The Council's strategy, incorporating the commissioning framework, will dictate the way the council undertakes commissioning and procurement. Corporate Commissioning and Procurement have been working with the compact to ensure principles are embedded within the strategy.

System upgrade and name change

The council has been committed to developing an e-procurement as a major tool as part of its procurement strategy. The application of e-procurement will achieve savings in the costs of supplies or services, and also the costs of processing transactions. e-Tendering is a way of increasing efficiency and reducing costs for all parties involved in the tendering process, and includes the advertisement of contracts on the council's website, and suppliers being able to submit tenders electronically to a secure site.

The Bristol e-Procurement System, BePS for short, is now well established with a large number of organisations registered on the current system. Over the past 12 months the Council has been looking at enhancing the functionality of the system with a proposed upgrade incorporating the additional functionality of embracing all commissioning and procurement arrangements Bristol City Council

The development of the new system has incorporated feedback from current and past providers and aims to be more usable and intuitive. Its library function, for example, will allow providers to upload their policies and procedures once and select relevant documents for each tender process (rather than upload them all each time). It is likely that the system's name will change to reflect its broader application to all stages of the commissioning cycle (analyse, plan, do, review), compared to the previous focus on procurement (the 'do' stage). Bristol Compact will be working with the Corporate Commissioning & Procurement Team to facilitate some VCSE user workshops in the testing of the new system.

Further guidance and consultation will take place January - February 2011 with the new system targeted to go live beginning of April 2011. Current registered providers will not need to re-register onto the upgraded version as complete integration is incorporated.

Baseline standards / minimum requirements to contract with Bristol City Council

Proposal to make the submission of Baseline standards / minimum requirements to contract with Bristol City Council more streamlined and, in terms of current and potential providers to remove the onerous request for the need for this information to be submitted for every tender.

Third Sector Select Committee

Over the last few months, Bristol City Council and the Bristol Compact have been working closely in several important commissioning developments that will help the VCSE sector engage with commissioning.
 
The Select Committee, which presented its report to Council on 7th September 2011 had six clear objectives:

1. To recommend ways in which the role of the Third Sector can be maximised in shaping the design of services for commissioning.
2. To identify the Third Sector's state of readiness to respond to the Council's programme of commissioning services, and to the commissioning programmes of Partnership bodies. 
3. Through working with our Key Partners establish a consistent approach to service commissioning across all Council Departments and other public sector commissioning bodies, to complement (but not duplicate) the work already being done through the "Enabling Commissioning" Initiative, which has a strand devoted to the subject of the Third Sector. 
4. To identify other ways in which the Council and its Partners can contribute to the aim of the LAA target of creating the environment for a thriving Third Sector, building on work already done to date such as the previous Select Committee on "Sustaining Voluntary Sector Organisations". 
5. To establish whether current Council procurement practices are a barrier to the Third Sector and if so, what can be done to make procurement more accessible. 
6. To explore with legal services and procurement how we can better support the Third Sector to collaborate within consortia and partnerships to deliver services and share the risks of service delivery.

The final report made ten recommendations, which the Council are now considering. Many of the issues raised are been considered and met through the Enabling Commissioning framework.

Baseline Standards

When commissioning from the voluntary and community sector (VCS) or awarding grants the council requires minimum standards to be met by VCS organisations. These are called baseline standards and are set out in the Baseline Standards for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Organisations (pdf, 43 KB) document.