National Commissioning Academy applications are open: September 2026 to February 2027View dates and fees

Sector-specific tool

Adult social care strategic commissioning options appraisal

A free self-assessment tool for adult social care commissioning, market shaping and place-based system design.

Free

The source from which the Compass grew

This tool was developed by the Public Service Transformation Academy and RedQuadrant and commissioned by the Local Government Association. It is tailored to adult social care: the Care Act, prevention, strengths-based practice, provider relationships, integration, regulation, demand and financial pressure.

It helps a group look beyond isolated services or contracts and examine the system conditions within which commissioning takes place.

Use it to

  • Compare views across commissioners, operational leaders, providers and partners.
  • Test how strategy, market relationships and delivery arrangements fit together.
  • Identify tensions between immediate pressure and longer-term outcomes.
  • Decide which areas need deeper inquiry or practical work.

The tool remains useful in its own right and also shows the lineage of the broader Commissioning Compass.

Start with the work

Tell us what is happening, who needs to act, and what cannot wait.

We will help you decide whether a short diagnostic, an in-house cohort, a place-based academy, or an existing programme is the sensible next move.