The single most important key critical element of successful delivery of externally commissioned services is being clear on ‘what good looks like’ to both you and your external service provider. However, in the many hundreds of external service delivery partnerships we…

Your strategic supplier in whatever project you have decided to look for assistance on, is a linchpin to its success, to the value optimisation that is achieved throughout the process, and to the outcomes that are actually achieved. Choose your…

The utopian view of public sector services being run in-house by the public sector in a manner that all believe to be in the best interests of the population at large, seems to be a distant and hazy memory. This…

If you’re even the slightest bit politically inclined, or you happened to have switched over to the leader’s debate on TV last week, the real ‘hot potato’ subject of note was the private sector outsourcing of NHS services. This is…

So, here we are again. The rumpus of big public sector outsourcing (although not necessarily just in the public sector) has hit the headlines with both Christopher Hyman (CEO, Serco Group) and Richard Morris (CEO, G4S) both falling on their…

Most organisations, whether in the public or private sector, are under extreme pressure to cut service costs – and quickly. But they also remain under pressure to keep service levels as high as they possibly can. And minimise complaints from…

I am always on the lookout for mentions of service commissioning in the media, and at the end of last month I sat down to watch a Dispatches special, Getting Rich on the NHS. The programme highlighted Virgin’s involvement in public…

There are many factors that you must consider when entering into a service commissioning partnership. You are no doubt familiar with the “usual suspects” – price and capability. It isn’t unreasonable for them to be key considerations – after all,…