The Strategic Commissioner's box of tricks

Commissioning is the Government's preferred method of driving improvement in both health and local government. Commissioning occurs at several levels, from strategic, high‐level visioning to more intimate purchase by or on behalf of individuals who need services. While there is much written about commissioning as an organisational concept, the skills, knowledge and attitudes required to aid strategic commissioners do an excellent job are still not well articulated. This article looks at some of the key knowledge to be acquired in the near future that will assist strategic commissioners in getting to grips with their massive agenda. It charts key moments in recent policy development to reiterate their strategic role, acknowledges cross‐cutting themes and seeks to define some of the more developed thinking that commissioning strategists will have in their box of tricks.