Commissioning is a structured process which starts with assessment of needs for a given sector of the population. Those needs are translated into prioritised outcomes, products and services are acquired to deliver those outcomes, and performance against outcomes is monitored. Common failings include an insufficiently thorough needs assessment, and performance metrics which focus on service throughput not outcomes.
Fractal can help you design a robust commissioning process. We also run Commissioner, a business simulation which can be used to explore both performance management and commissioning in a rich integrated learning environment.