WIREDGOV

A new report from NLGN and CBI reveals that conversations between councils and independent providers of public services are stuck in low gear. This creates a risk that councils will not be able to access the innovative new partnerships they need to manage growing demand, spending cuts and changing social needs.

A plan for this sophisticated commissioning approach is outlined in the report ‘Commissioning Dialogues’, which takes the form of an open and holistic dialogue between local government and providers, of which formal procurement is just one stage.

This new research from NLGN and the CBI shows that commissioners have not yet put in place the conditions for innovation necessary for their transformation into the efficient commissioning councils of the future. Providers in the private sector and beyond, unaware of the wider context of what local government actually wants, are proving slow to invest in innovation.