Commissioning and procurement resources

Resources to support local commissioning

Below are resources to help you as a development worker with supporting local commissioning. You many also be interested in our policy briefings covering developments of national policy impacting commissioning, found over in the policy section.

Resources produced by NAVCA LCPU

Resources & guidance for commissioners - Information to share with public sector colleagues to support better procurement and commissioning

Right to Challenge - Information about the new community right to challenge

Challenging  tender processes - What you can do if you think a tender process  is unfair.

ISO 9001 and tendering - Take Care when Tendering for services! Ignore what the consultants are trying to sell you, find out what quality standards you really need for tendering.

When  do procurement rules apply? June 2012 Update - Which procurement rules do commissioners have to follow when procuring a service? Or looked at from another angle, when are they free not to apply procurement regulations? We've developed a flowchart and accompanying guidance to try and make this complex area more  straightforward.

Where to find  tenders A list of websites to give an idea of what the public sector  is buying, and how they advertise tenders.

How to find a commissioner A common question asked of  NAVCA's Local Commissioning and Procurement Unit is 'how do I find out who my  commissioners are?' The right people to speak to do not always have 'commissioner' in their job title so it can be a struggle. Also your organisation's services might not fit neatly into any category. Here are some tips.

Commissioning and procurement glossary A glossary of common terms used in commissioning and procurement to help you navigate the process.

Commissioning and Innovation - resources and contacts Some general information and links about innovation in commissioning.

Decommissioning Information and checklists on decommissioning services.

External Resources

Useful external resources organised by theme. We've trawled through externally produced resources and pulled out the best bits for local support and development organisations to help them with supporting orgnanisations on commissioning -  updated Summer 2011

LCPU Publications

Browse or order publications from NAVCA's Local Commissioning and Procurement Unit. These include A Beginners Guide to Commissioning, a Bridge Between Two Worlds - a case study of support and development organisations' work with local commissioning and Pathways Through the Maze.