Welcome to the NIHR SDO database of research studies on the impact of service commissioning in health, education and social care.

This database was produced as part of a research project funded by the NIHR Service Delivery and Organization Research Programme. The project completed a systematic review of the impact of ‘Joint Commissioning’ in these sectors and as part of this carried out an extensive search for research evidence on the impact of commissioning. A broad inclusive definition of ‘commissioning’ as process was adopted and studies may be about the complete commissioning cycle or just a part of it (e.g. contract monitoring).

Using the Database

• Searches can be carried out using keyword and free-text terms.  
• Help provides advice on using this database.

Recording your findings

To record results of your searches, you can print out your searches or reports, or cut and paste the table into word processing software. Landscape format provides the best results.