What is commissioning
Commissioning is the process of contracting services and shaping a market that meets the needs of our residents. It includes analysing what services will be required and code signing how they should be delivered with those that will draw on the service. Finding appropriate organisations and businesses to supply those services, purchasing and then monitoring those services.
In Adult Social Care we have a commissioning team that leads on contracting services for adults with eligible social care needs in Cornwall. This means that there is access to support that the Council organises and may also help pay for. This includes things like:
care workers visiting people at home
equipment and technology
supported living, or day opportunities (where you can meet others and join activities)
Commissioners work together with people who use these services. They co-design what kind of support will work best for them. They ensure the services are of good quality, are safe, and help people live well and remain as independent as possible.
If you’d like to learn more about your rights regarding social care or how Cornwall Council commissions support services, you can find more details here.
Contracted services are quality-assured and have been checked to make sure they are safe, reliable, and helpful. They offer the right support for things like housing, care, health, and work.
What we do
Strategic Commissioning
There are two tiers of commissioning, one at a strategic level and one operational. At a strategic level the range of work we do includes:
- Demand analysis: understanding the likely demand levels and the types of support that people eligible for social care may need to support them.
- Sourcing support and procuring it: sourcing and evaluating tenders to buy in the best services to meet the needs of the people adult social care is working with.
- Service design and specification writing: helping write the requirements of the services into contracts that will provide support to our residents.
- Contract and performance management, to ensure that organisations which supply services are performing well.
Strategic Development for Adult Social Care services
We use research to predict future need and trends in the market and encourage suppliers to develop their services to meet those needs. We also work with those suppliers and other stakeholders to consult about ours and their future plans. This ensures that growth is aligned to the values and priorities of the Council.
Contract management
We follow the Council's Contract Management Operating Model. This ensures that all contracts are handled fairly, and within the law.
Quality Assurance
We complete quality assurance reviews of provider services to make sure that high-quality care and support is being offered, and contractually expected standards are being met. We also work with non-commissioned providers (organisations we’re not paying to provide services on behalf of the Council, for people we support) to support them within any organisational safeguarding processes. You can read more about the Council’s approach to Quality Assurance here.
Read more about how we collate feedback
Commissioning
Commissioning involves a cycle of ‘Analyse, Plan, Do, Review’, as follows:
- Analyse: What have we got and what do we need? Analysing the support needed
- Plan: What should support look like? Planning the services, including developing service specifications
- Do: What do we need to do to put support in place? Implementing the services and making it easy for providers to deliver those services
- Review: Is the support meeting need? Monitoring what’s working and what needs improving and then starting the cycle again
We work with people, carers, providers and health services. This is to make sure that the services are achieving the outcomes that matter to people.
Delivering Better Care
One of the wider priorities of Cornwall Council is to make sure that everyone can start well, live well and age well. We hope to encourage communities that are vibrant, safe and supportive, that everyone belongs to, feels connected to, and where no one is invisible.
Over the past years, we have been talking to people about the services they provide and receive. Based on what you told us and analysing data, policies and trends we have drafted a number of strategies:
- View Our Maximising Independence Strategy
- View Our Better Lives Commissioning Strategy
- View Our Autism Strategy
- View the Adult Mental Health Strategy
- View Our Adult Carers Strategy
These inform our Adult Social Care commissioning programme Delivering Better Care for 2022-26.
You can read our strategies and commissioning intentions on our adult social care strategies page.
Working for the Council
If your business, organisation or charity would like to work with Cornwall Council, to provide any kind of services to adults with social care needs, we suggest that you register with these sites:
For more details of how to register for procurement opportunities please visit business and commercial services.Please visit our Commercial Services page
Providers' Platform
If you have a contract for adult social care services with us, you will be added to our Providers' Platform. This a website specifically for our commissioned providers and includes:
- current commissioning opportunities
- communication and news
- resources management such as policies, online forms, communication toolkits, quality assurance, etc
- training and event bookings, including our quarterly provider forums
You will be able to access these through a single log in, giving you a one stop shop of services, training, management information and news. You will also receive communications targeted at individual roles and specialisms within the groups that we support, allowing users to focus on their needs.
If you have any questions for a particular service provider, their direct contact details are provided on each service page.
Visit the Providers' PlatformIf you do not have an account you can sign up for one from the home page.