Local government has a choice in responding to the new Procurement Act. It can retreat into conservative approaches focused on control and managing risk, or seize the opportunity to think differently and creatively – to test new, more collaborative, community-focused approaches to commissioning as a route to achieving better outcomes at lower cost.
We know from the conversations we have been part of with authorities across the country that the current context for commissioning can feel scary and difficult. Navigating new legislation, working with budgets which continue to be stretched and negotiating the timelines for devolution have all added a layer of additional complexity to the work of commissioners. In spite of this there is a growing number of places across the country demonstrating what is possible.
Take a recent example from Devon. Commissioners there have set aside traditional commissioner-provider relationships and invested in prototype projects to reimagine support for victims and survivors of domestic abuse.
They asked the question: ‘What would happen if we started with a blank piece of paper and met people where they're really at?'.
The freedom to work in this way initially felt daunting for some as it meant reframing relationships and taking a leap of faith to trust that a new way of working was possible. Collectively, however, commissioners and providers were able to have bold conversations about anti-racism and marginalisation, remove arbitrary thresholds to access services and focus on holistic and strengths-based support.
We have been helping them capture the learning from these new ways of working and to create a spirit of experimentation underpinning everything they do. And the impact? Services have flourished and are achieving meaningful and sustainable outcomes for the people they support.
One of the opportunities for change is entirely within the gift of local authorities and not affected by the change in the law. All too often we see local authorities treating commissioning as an afterthought when developing new place-based strategies and partnership approaches. What if, instead, we considered commissioning from the start and acknowledged it as a key enabler for systems change?
How can we spread this energy and seize the opportunity the Procurement Act offers? Despite some interpreting the new Procurement Act as a reason for caution, we believe it offers plenty of opportunity to be creative.
Collaborate board member and partner at Anthony Collins law firm, Mark Cook, identifies the challenge as a tendency to blame the law for the barriers we face when really it is about a failure to innovate.
Seizing the opportunities of the new legislation therefore requires a change of mindset to enable all its flexibilities to be used. Cook tells us to put purpose first – designing the ideal process and then applying the law to adjust as required.
One of the opportunities for change is entirely within the gift of local authorities and not affected by the change in the law. All too often we see local authorities treating commissioning as an afterthought when developing new place-based strategies and partnership approaches. What if, instead, we considered commissioning from the start and acknowledged it as a key enabler for systems change?
When we open up conversations about commissioning in this way, it can be a powerful tool for fostering collaboration, reimagining relationships and achieving better outcomes in places through listening and learning together.
Commissioners of homelessness services in Liverpool City Region put systems stewardship at the heart of the process, based on the principles of Human Learning Systems. This is enabling providers and commissioners to reflect on learning together to adapt and improve delivery.
None of this is easy. We know commissioners are faced with longstanding systemic issues that are entrenched across the public sector after many years of New Public Management approaches and austerity. From drives towards standardised packages of care to short-term funding, these challenges stifle creativity and undermine the relational nature of the work we know is important when designing and delivering people-centred services.
This shift in language signals the opening of new opportunities for collaboration which are built on principles of trust, lived experience, equity of voice and long-term vision, setting the foundations for better service delivery locally.
Bold new ways of working that centre communities are starting to emerge all over the country. These reposition the role of commissioners from control and compliance, to enabling and collective problem-solving.
There has never been a better and, arguably, more important time to think differently about how we commission to better address complex challenges and build on the strengths of our communities and local system partners.
Amy Hurst is head of practice at Collaborate CIC, a social consultancy pioneering collaborative thinking and practice to tackle complex challenges across the UK
Collaborate is hosting a free online session on commissioning with communities next month. See here for details
