Commissioning Guidance
Monitoring & Evaluation
The purpose of monitoring and evaluation is to ensure that the investment of resources has delivered the desired service outcomes. Historically the NHS has focused almost entirely on delivery of contracted activity and waiting times as the main focus of performance management. They have also generally relied on providers to supply data, with less emphasis on information derived from commissioner–led processes. In the future commissioners will require evidence of delivery of other dimensions of service quality, and a wider variety of data sources, and they will need to make this available for external scrutiny both at local and national level. However there are challenges inherent in this shift. Monitoring and evaluation may demand resources which have not previously been available – both for commissioners and providers - so the process must be cost effective. There is also evidence that overly prescriptive – ‘micro management’ - performance management regimes can stifle innovation in providers, and may even produce unintended consequences by distorting service delivery priorities. Good monitoring and evaluation processes support both commissioners and providers to deliver service improvement by identifying strengths and weaknesses, and providing feedback from service users and other stakeholders.
Involving patients in monitoring and evaluation.
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