Co-commissioning of public services and outcomes in the UK: Bringing co-production into the strategic commissioning cycle

This article highlights two different ways in which citizens can be brought into public service planning – we refer to this as co-commissioning. First, it explores how commissioners can collaborate with service users and local communities within the commissioning cycle in order to improve public services and outcomes – this builds co-production into the commissioning cycle to make it a co-commissioning process. Second, it explores how this strengthened co-commissioning process can help to make other co-production approaches more effective throughout public services.   

The article demonstrates that both citizen voice and action are required in each of the core public sector intervention strategies, namely problem prevention, detection, treatment and rehabilitation. The co-commissioning of services which implement these strategies needs to ensure not only that co-production is embedded within them to improve outcomes but also that the approach to co-production conforms to public governance principles, in line with the Governance International Public Value Model presented in the article.

Cite as: Loeffler, Elke and Bovaird, Tony (2019), Co-commissioning of public services and outcomes in the UK: Bringing co-prouction into the strategic commissioning cycle, Public Money and Management, 39 (4): 241–252.

Access the article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2019.1592905