Integrated commissioning for better outcomes: A commissioning framework
The Integrated Commissioning for Better Outcomes Framework 2018 is a practical tool for council and NHS commissioners to support improving outcomes through integrated commissioning.
A joint project of the LGA and NHS Clinical Commissioners, it was developed from the Commissioning for Better Outcomes Framework 2015 and has been updated to better reflect the changing commissioning landscape. The framework was developed in consultation with NHS and Local Authority commissioners and tested in workshops across seven NHS/Local Authority areas.
The ICBO standards will support local health and care economies to strengthen their integrated commissioning for the benefit of local people. Whilst the standards are primarily designed for use by commissioners in adult social care and the NHS, it is hoped that providers of services, people with personal budgets and other stakeholders are also engaged with locally when the standards are used to drive improvement.
Julie Wood, chief executive of NHS Clinical Commissioners, and Sarah Pickup, deputy chief executive of LGA, said “We hope that Integrated Commissioning for Better Outcomes: a Commissioning Framework (ICBO) will be a really useful tool for local areas to use to support continuous improvement in integrated commissioning in order to achieve the best possible outcomes for local people.”
The framework and associated resources can be downloaded from the LGA’s website.
About the framework
The framework covers four areas: building the foundations; taking a person-centred, place-based and outcomes-focused approach; shaping provision to support people, places and populations; and continuously raising the ambition; and includes annexes giving further resources plus background on NHS and local authority contexts.
The standards are designed to support a dynamic process of continuous improvement and can be used:
- to support cross-organisational reflection and dialogue on how well integration in local commissioning arrangements are working
- as a benchmarking diagnostic tool in critical self-assessment by system partners
- in a peer to peer review or peer challenge to promote sector-led improvement.
The Steering Group included representatives from the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), Think Personal Act Local (TLAP), NHS England, Care Providers, Housing LIN and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The work was funded by DHSC as part of the Care and Health Improvement Programme.
