A Practical Guide to Commissioning Services for Young People is part of the agency’s Routes to Success programme of work with the Local Government Group and consists of a range of documents, frameworks and toolkits to support organisations at different stages of the commissioning process.
The guide, which has been developed with the support of pilot authorities nationally, is available for free from the National Youth Agency’s website and comes in nine sections, four of which are available for download now (Guidance, Commissioning Readiness Tool, Options Appraisal and Decommissioning Checklist) and the remaining five will be launched later in the year.
Susan Quinn, National Youth Agency national programme manager, said: "Through our close relationship with local authorities nationally, supported by the Local Government Association, we know that many authorities have developed commissioning teams with a high-level of knowledge and skills in commissioning processes. But, we also know that some of them are commissioning young people’s services, such as youth work and targeted youth support, for the first time.
"Commissioning is also not the right option for every authority. This guide aims to support local authorities and organisations that deliver young people’s services in ensuring the highest quality services are delivered to local young people based on individual organisational structure and local need."
