Commissioning has grown in significance as more and more public services are delivered by voluntary and community organisations and income for delivering public services is now the voluntary and community sector’s largest source of funding.
Commissioning is a process undertaken by public bodies, like local authorities, central government departments or local NHS bodies of finding out about public needs, then designing and putting in place services that address those needs. It's a decision making process that most frequently involves the procurement (purchasing) of services by either grant-funding or competitive tendering for contracts.
NCVO KnowHowNonProfit’s Commissioning and Procurement webpages will help you get a greater understanding of how commissioning and procurement works.
The Charity Commission publication Charities Delivering Public Services gives an overview of the legal and good practice issues that charities need to consider when delivering public services, primarily aimed at smaller charities and charities considering delivering public services for the first time.