Ethical commissioning programme 2025–26

The Iriss ethical commissioning programme is focused on supporting implementation of the ethical commissioning and procurement principles at both local and national level.

The core activity areas for 2025-26 are:

1. Support with national policy and implementation on Ethical Commissioning and Procurement – Iriss will continue to support Scottish Government and other partners with the ethical commissioning implementation plan and on the development of any national guidance for commissioners.;
2. Involvement of people with lived experience in commissioning and procurement practice – Iriss will work with Disabled People’s Organisations to develop resources and practical guides for commissioners and others on how to involve people with lived experience in commissioning and planning of social care support services
3. Provide Support to Commissioners with working across local authority teams and influencing others within their authority on embedding ethical commissioning – Iriss will run workshops providing support with ethical commissioning implementation to different local authority roles: commissioners, procurement leads, finance and contracts to support internal collaboration and development of change leaders.
4. Development of resources and learning reports – Iriss will work to identify, share and collate examples of progressive practice on ethical commissioning from local areas and will work on maintenance and updating of the Iriss ethical commissioning online course.

Details of our previous ethical commissioning projects can be found on our past work page.

The Iriss Ethical Commissioning programme is funded by the Adult Social Care Ethical Commissioning (ASCEC) team at Scottish Government.