Explore further support to help you develop confidence, knowledge and skills in commissioning. This includes peer support, confidence, reflective practice, and further learning.
National peer network for commissioners
We have a welcoming and supportive commissioner peer network you can join for free. It offers regular masterclass events, peer learning sessions, and a newsletter with details on how to get involved in our work.
There are several other peer support groups in commissioning:
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Regional ADASS networks and communities of practice
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Social Care Future – Community of Peer Support
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Local Government Association – Extra Care Commissioning Network
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NHS England – National Learning Disability and Autism Community of Practice
Top tip
Feeding info back to your internal and other networks is a great way of sharing insights and best practice.
Without the peer support available in my team, I don't feel I would have settled into the role as quickly as I have, or feel as confident as I do. We don't believe in "stupid questions", everything is a learning experience.
My colleagues have a lot of patience and respect for those who are learning, and thrive off sharing their skills and knowledge with each other.
Kennedy Broxup, Commissioning Officer, Lancashire County Council
Confidence in commissioning and reflective practice
One of the discussion topics which came up with commissioners and stakeholders who co-created this induction framework was confidence in commissioning. When you’re new into role, especially in the adult social care commissioning space, it’s easy to feel unsure of your decisions.
There is no singular way to do commissioning, and good commissioning can look different in each local authority or integrated setting, but using our reflective checklist can help you to feel more confident that you’re making the right decisions.
PDF - 37.4 KB
A tool you can continue to use during your time in commissioning. It includes a set of questions for you to refer to when you are involved in an initiative or project, or when you have a decision to make.
Reflective practice
Using the reflective checklist is a form of reflective practice. Reflective practice is about compiling, sharing, and utilising information on what work has already been done, and using it to find solutions to future challenges, learn lessons, and share good practice. Reflective practice can be a good tool to use in ongoing contract management, when evaluating and reviewing, or when things aren’t quite working.
There are many models of reflective practice, but a place to start if you’re unfamiliar with this type of practice is:
Top tip
Revisit the Reflective Checklist after your first three months, whenever the questions are helpful for reflecting, re-assessing, and boosting your confidence.
Reflect not just on outcomes, but on your own behaviour and assumptions, and how these shape commissioning practice.
Coaching is another helpful way of building your confidence and reflecting. You might want to work with a coach on the Reflective Checklist.
Further learning
If you would like to develop your knowledge and skills further, we recommend the Level 5 Principles of Commissioning for Wellbeing qualification.
Find more information about the Level 5 qualification, including available funding.
Other learning and development commissioners have found useful in the past have included:
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