Glossary

  • Commissioning: There are different definitions of commissioning. Broadly commissioning is a cycle of activity comprising of assessing need, planning and then procuring services, and monitoring and reviewing those services.
  • Procurement: Procurement is the process of sourcing and selecting goods or services from other organisations, often through a competitive process.
  • Prime provider or lead provider: An organisation that is contracted by a commissioning authority to deliver services on their behalf, and subcontracts other organisations to deliver parts of that contract.
  • Subcontractor or subcontracted organisation: An organisation that is contracted by another to deliver part of a contract.
  • TUPE: TUPE stands for the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations. These regulations protect employees if the business in which they are employed by changes hands.
  • Memorandum of Understanding: A memorandum of understanding (is an agreement between two or more parties outlined in a formal document, but it is not legally binding.
  • Bid candy: This is where an organisation is included in a tender document (with or without their knowledge) by a lead provider, but subsequently not given any or sufficient funding or work [CG1] when the lead provider wins the contract.
  • Coproduction: Where professionals and people who use services work in equal partnership to design and deliver services.
  • Expression of Interest (EOI): Early in the procurement process, a commissioner or lead provider may ask organisations to express whether they are interested in delivering a service and ask organisations to explain what skills and capacity or resource they would bring. Commissioners or lead providers may develop a short list from this process.
  • Unique Selling Proposition (USP): USP is a feature of a service that makes it different or unique compared to other similar services.
  • Consortium: A consortium is an association of several organisations.
  • Alliance: An alliance is an agreement between two or more individuals or entities stating that the involved parties will act in a certain way in order to achieve a common goal. An Alliance contract is one contract between the commissioner and an alliance of parties who deliver the service. All parties work towards the same outcomes, and risk is shared across the Alliance.
  • User led organisation (ULO): A ULO is an organisation that is run and controlled by people who use support services such as disabled people and people who use mental health services.
  • Organisations ‘of’ marginalised communites: These organisations are set up and controlled by people who are ‘of’ the community or group they serve. They are different to organisation set up by people ‘for’ a group or community they are not from.
  • Joint venture: A joint venture a commercial enterprise undertaken jointly by two or more parties which otherwise retain their distinct identities. There are several different types of agreements that can support a joint venture.
  • BAME organisation: BAME stands for Black, Asian and minority ethnic. There are different definitions of BAME organisations but key characteristics can include whether they describe themselves as a BAME organisation, whether people from BAME backgrounds make up 51% or more of their governing body, and whether they provide support specifically for or work on behalf of BAME communities.

This page was last reviewed for accuracy on 03 February 2021