Commission beyond procurement
Put outcomes, communities, providers, evidence and the whole system back into commissioning.
Commission beyond procurementLearning for live public service change
Develop the people who have to make change work.
The Public Service Transformation Academy works with commissioners, transformation leaders and public service teams on live challenges: outcomes, systems, relationships, evidence, power and practical action.
A registered social enterprise. Practical, cross-sector and built around real work.
Live workBring a challenge that matters now.
Shared inquiryCompare what different people can see.
Practical actionTest a move, learn and adapt.
Since 2013Cabinet Office origins for the National Commissioning Academy
2,500+Academy and programme graduates across public services
Cross-sectorLocal and central government, health, policing, housing and civil society
Live challengesLearning is applied while the programme is running
Start with what you need
What are you trying to change?
Choose the situation that is closest. The programme comes second.
Lead change across boundaries
Work with authority, influence, relationships and complexity when no one organisation controls the result.
Lead change across boundariesBuild a team that can keep changing
Develop shared practice around live work rather than buying another detached training course.
Build a team that can keep changingSee what your system is producing
Use a Compass or short diagnostic to find strengths, blocks and a credible next move.
See what your system is producingNext national cohort
The National Commissioning Academy
Applications are open for the September 2026 cohort.
A flagship cross-sector programme for commissioners, transformation leads and public service colleagues who want to improve outcomes by working with the whole system.
View dates, fees, and how to applyHow the learning works
The work enters the programme.
Participants do not wait until the final day to apply what they have learned.
Bring a live challenge
Start from a real public service pressure, not an invented case.
See more of the system
Use other sectors, professions and positions to expose assumptions and missing information.
Test in practice
Try an intervention, conversation or change in the work while support is still available.
Leave with capability
Keep the relationships, methods and judgement needed for the next problem.
Current programmes
Different entry points. One practical spine.
Commissioning, transformation, contract management, simulation and place-based capability development.
Applications open
The National Commissioning Academy
A flagship cross-sector programme for people who need to improve outcomes by working with the whole system, not only individual services, contracts or procurement processes.
See the programmeAvailable in-house
Commissioning and innovation: playing on a bigger stage
An intensive, experiential three-day programme that helps commissioners and transformation leaders work more effectively across complex systems.
See the programmeAvailable in-house
Leading Transformation
A modular blended programme for people who need to understand, lead and sustain public service transformation across systems, organisations and services.
See the programmeFree tools
Get a better view before you act.
Use a quick individual prompt or a deeper team assessment. Neither replaces judgement.
Free
Commissioning Compass
A free system assessment tool that helps commissioners, leaders and partners see how commissioning is really working and decide where to act next.
Understand the toolFree prototype
smartCompass
A lightweight AI-supported tool that uses a short set of questions to help you see strengths, blockers, patterns and possible next moves in a system you care about.
Understand the toolBeta
Compass v2.0 beta
An emerging edition of the Compass that treats commissioning as collective system learning and makes place, power and the conditions for living well more explicit.
Understand the toolEvidence and practice
What we are learning from the work.
Short pieces, tools and cases for people who need to think and act under pressure.
Point of view ·
Commissioning beyond the cycle
Most commissioning problems are not caused by people forgetting a process. They are produced by the conditions in which the process is being used.
ReadLearning design ·
Learning changes when the challenge is live
Public service development works differently when participants are accountable for doing something with the learning while the programme is still running.
ReadTool note ·
What a Compass is for
A Compass should not tell you where every organisation must go. It should help people see where they are, compare bearings and choose a next move.
ReadParticipants
The useful test is what changes back at work.
Short extracts from people who used the programmes to think, connect and act differently.
‘Made me think differently.’
‘Not procurement: hearts, minds and the right questions.’
‘The theory is backed by practical examples.’
‘We used the programme to develop a focused 100-day plan.’
A platform for partners
Bring practice, not a pitch.
Partners can contribute programmes, events, resources and case material. Publication is moderated so the site remains useful to public service practitioners.
How to contributeNews, social media, and useful things
Latest from the PSTA
Three current things selected for relevance, each on a different topic.
The PSTA news
The National Commissioning Academy returns in September 2026
The next national cohort brings together commissioners, transformation leads, and system partners for applied learning from September 2026 to February 2027.
Read itBenjamin Taylor on LinkedIn
LGR success depends on what happens after vesting day
Simon Higgins on capacity, operating model, culture, and what a new council must be able to do once the immediate reorganisation is complete.
Read itThe PSTA tool
Try the Commissioning Compass
A free systems assessment for change, covering whole-system design, relationships, capability, outcomes, information, constraints, the commissioning process, and practical tactics.
Read itStart 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.