Developing Joint Commissioning

In 2006, Solihull Children's Trust agreed a process for establishing a joint planning and commissioning team, along with an action plan for the incremental development of jointly commissioned services.

Solihull has developed strong relationships with its key partner groups. It has achieved commitment from these partners to work collaboratively to implement an approach to joint planning and commissioning.

The case study highlights the steps and timelines involved in undertaking detailed work, involving working groups comprising children's social care and education specialist staff from the council, and representatives from external organisations such as the priomary care trust and the children's adolescent mental health service. This developmental work during late 2005 and 2006 has resulted in the development of a high level strategy and plan for implementing joint planning and commissioning.

Key steps include:

• Devise a three-year action plan for developing a joint commissioning strategy
  
  
• Identify a preferred option for the infrastructure to be put in place to facilitate the delivery of joint planning and commissioning.
  

These two pieces of work relate to Steps 5 and 6 in the joint planning and commissioning process:

• Step 5: plan the pattern of service most likely to secure priority outcomes, considering carefully ways in which resources can be increasingly focused on prevention and early intervention
• Step 6: decide together how best to deliver outcomes, including drawing in alternative providers to widen options and increase efficiency.

These key steps for Solihull are also informed by Steps 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Click to read more about the joint planning and commissioning cycle or to read further case studies.