A core experience of commissioning as a practice is collaborative design which means:
- Participants are demonstrably representative
- Processes are transparent
- There are fewer fundamental constraints on what options might be pursued
- Shared decision making occurs
As a participant, in most commissioning cycles, you should be able to listen to and interact with other participants. This can include hearing the voices of people with lived experience, sharing collaborative space with people with lived experience or seeing their contributions to service redesign. To evaluate our practice, we use this definition in the four points above to test whether a particular process is consistent with our intended approach.
Anyone interested in a commissioning cycle should be able to see when activities are occurring, read a listening report and understand where the cycle is up to. This is about being transparent and inclusive.
Together, government and the sector should use evidence to test and choose how to redesign a service or provide a solution
Importantly, we have a clear problem or framing statement and an open opportunity to explore both the challenges/problem(s) and the options to meet the need.
Understanding collaboration
Collaboration means different things to different people. In commissioning it can involve:
- Collaboration methods or activities –creative thinking tools or activities used to generate collaboration via reflection, critical thinking, discussion, brainstorming, prioritisation etc
- Co-design –is about designing with, not for. It challenges the imbalance of power held by people who make decisions. It prioritises relationships, brings lived experience voices and stakeholders together with governments and uses creative tools to examine challenges, problems, or systems for improvement. There is more than one way to undertake co-design and there are various methods used across the ACT Government.
- Co-production – a relationship where government, sector partners and community members collaboratively design and deliver health and support services across the full commissioning cycle. Recognises that all parties have vital contributions to make in the design and delivery of services.
- Lived experience -is defined as “personal knowledge about the world gained through direct, first-hand involvement in everyday events rather than through representations constructed by other people.” It is also defined as “the experiences of people on whom a social issue or a combination of issues has had a direct impact.” Lived experience can be:
- advocating for needs informed by personal experience
– Creating connection with other people who have had similar experiences
– deeply personal, intimate, at times traumatic and formative part of a person’s identity
– Intergenerational, weaving families and community experiences together.
– raw, triggering, a process of healing, carried daily, shared often or rarely spoken about.
Page updated: 28 Feb 2024
