Commissioning and Procurement
7 Commissioning and Procurement
7.1 Introduction
This section of the Toolkit will enable you to gain an understanding of the commissioning and procurement process and how your organisation can approach tendering for contacts. Key learning points for this section will include:
- Developing an understanding of commissioning and procurement
- Developing an understanding of the tendering process
- Considered how to approach tendering and how to write a successful tender
7.2 What is Commissioning and Procurement?
Commissioning and procurement includes the following:
- Commissioning
A strategic operation that includes assessing a public agency’s requirement for a service, identifying specifically what is required (for example to ensure that the service meets the needs of the public), allocating resources to secure the requirement, and then securing the required service from a third party.
- Procurement
The actual process whereby the public sector purchases the services from the third party. This process can include writing a specification, inviting tenders, and then awarding a contract. The aim of both commissioning and procurement is to achieve best value.
In summary, public sector commissioners would work to identify the service that is required, and procurement is the process that provides the commissioner with that service.
